THE FACADE BONUS

The facade bonus is available to all beneficiaries subject to the payment of IRPEF and IRES and for all types of buildings.

The 2022 Finance Act extended the facade bonus to 31 December 2022, but reduced the deduction from 90% (until 31 December 2021) to 60% for expenses incurred from 1 January 2022.

The 110% higher rate is available if the façade is painted in conjunction with a thermal coating.

Expenses can be deducted over 10 years in equal annual instalments.

INTERVENTIONS

What are the facilitating interventions with the facade bonus?

* Cleaning or external painting of opaque facade structures

* Works on balconies, ornaments or friezes, including those of cleaning or painting only

* Work on the vertical opaque structures of the facade that has a thermal effect or that involves more than 10% of the plaster of the total gross dispersion surface of the building

* Consolidation, restoration and improvement of the thermal characteristics, even in the absence of a heating system

* Renewal of the constituent elements of the external facade of the building, which constitute only the vertical opaque structure, as well as the cleaning and painting of the surface only

* Consolidation, restoration and renovation of the constituent elements of the balconies, ornaments and friezes, including only cleaning and painting of the surface

* Work relating to urban decoration: gutters, downpipes, parapets, cornices and the fitting out of all the plant parts on the opaque part of the facade.

The opaque part can be defined as the part that does not allow light to pass through.

In its answer to question 673/2021, the Revenue Agency has published a new list of works that are eligible for and excluded from the benefit.

These interventions are not included:

* works carried out on the internal facades of the building, with the exception of work visible from the street or from land for public use

* replacement of windows, frames, grates, doors and gates

The deduction is available for expenses incurred strictly in connection with the implementation of works eligible for the bonus.

ACCUMULATION WITH DIFFERENT BENEFITS

The Italian revenue Agency has clarified that for interventions other than those covered by the Superbonus, the benefits already provided for by current legislation remain applicable.

There are two possible scenarios:

1. A single intervention and different categories of benefits

In this case, the taxpayer can make use of only one of the above-mentioned benefits for the same expenses, choosing the most economically convenient one.

It is necessary to comply with the obligations specifically provided for in relation to the facility chosen.

2. More than one intervention and different eligible categories

If, on the other hand, more than one intervention is carried out that can be classified as different categories of benefits, the taxpayer can benefit from each facilitation, respecting the expenditure limits provided for the single facilitations. The expenses related to the different interventions must be accounted for separately.

It is also necessary to comply with the obligations specifically provided for each deduction.

ALTERNATIVES TO THE DEDUCTION

As an alternative to the deduction from the tax return, it is possible to opt for:

a) a discount on the invoice: a contribution, in the form of a discount on the amount due, up to a maximum amount equal to the amount due, advanced by the company that carried out the work.

By means of the discount on the invoice, the taxpayer can upgrade his property even if he does not have immediate liquidity. In turn, the supplier will be able to choose whether to deduct from his tax return the amount corresponding to the discount granted or to assign the corresponding tax credit.

It should be noted that the supplier is not obliged to make the discount: it is simply an option allowed by law to the taxpayer.

b) assignment of the tax credit: assignment to a third party (the firm that carried out the work or the Post Office, banks, financial intermediaries, insurance groups) of the tax credit corresponding to the deductible work. Through this instrument it is possible to obtain immediately the cash used to pay for the works, without waiting for the years in which the deduction can be distributed.

A sum will be deducted from the tax credit: it’s the payment for the transfer.

FAIRNESS OF EXPENSES AND CONFORMITY CERTIFICATE

When the taxpayer exercises the option of invoice discount or assignment of tax credit, the Financial Law 2022 requires the production of the following documentation:

* compliance certificate of the expenses incurred by a qualified technician

* compliance visa (asseveration) by a professional

By certifying the congruity of the expenses, the qualified technician shall asseverate their congruity with respect to certain parameters indicated in the MITE decree of 14 February 2022 (for the interventions indicated therein), the Regional price lists or the DEI price lists.

The technician must attach to the certification the estimated metric calculation indicating the maximum specific costs for each type of intervention.

The professional's certificate of conformity certifies the existence of the conditions for the recognition of the deduction.

If these costs are higher than those eligible, the deduction is applied within the maximum limits.

The compliance certificate and the asseveration are not required in the following cases:

. individual income tax return submitted on the basis of the pre-filled form

. individual income tax return made through the withholding agent

. interventions carried out in free building

. interventions whose total amount does not exceed € 10,000

From 1 January 2022, the expenses incurred for the issuance of the above documentation are always tax deductible and enjoy the same rate associated with the bonus deduction.

The Italian revenue Agency has clarified that the expenses incurred for certification and endorsement are also deductible in the period 12 November - 31 December 2021, (period of validity of the anti-fraud decree, repealed and merged into the Financial Law 2022).

THE NEW ANTI-FRAUD MEASURES

The need to act on the numerous frauds related to building bonuses has led to the issuance of the fraud decree.

The new measures apply to all building bonuses that include the options of credit transfer and invoice discount.

Excluded are the green bonus and the furniture bonus, for which the relief is only available through deduction.

Here is a summary of the main changes introduced by the decree:

1. possibility of making up to three assignments of credit: the last two assignments must be made to banks, financial intermediaries and insurance companies

2. prohibition of partial assignments: the credit must be assigned in full

3. introduction of the unique identification code: as from 1 May 2022, the credit will be assigned a code, which must be communicated on the occasion of each assignment

4. tougher penalties for false declarations: penalties for false declarations or serious omissions range from 2 to 5 years' imprisonment and from a € 50,000 to € 100,000 fine

5. use of credits subject to criminal seizure: such credits may only be used after the criminal effects of the measure have ceased

6. amendment of Article 316 bis of the Criminal Code: embezzlement of public funds and not only that of the State is also punishable under criminal law; the offence of misappropriation of public funds also includes subsidies, which were previously excluded.

MAINTENANCE OF THE IRPEF DEDUCTION IN CASE OF RESALE

In order to maintain the IRPEF deduction relating to the expenses incurred for the recovery of the building heritage and for energy requalification, in case of resale the selling party, with the consent of the purchasing party, must expressly declare at the time of the stipulation to reserve in its favour the deductions not yet used.

In the absence of an express declaration, the seller definitively loses the possibility of recovering the above-mentioned deductions.

The seller is obliged to produce the relevant documentation to the competent authorities.

Contact us to arrange a consultation with one of our technicians.