State help for young first-home buyers in Italy

The guarantee fund

The fund was created by art. 1, para. 48, letter c) of Law 147/2013. Consap’s page, updated on 30 September 2026, states that the fund offers a public guarantee on mortgages for the purchase of a main home, and that Consap examines applications sent electronically by participating banks and financial intermediaries. If you default, the fund pays the bank up to the guaranteed amount and then has a right to recover that sum from you, including by tax-collection roll; the guarantee protects the bank, not you.

Who may apply. Consap’s page says the fund is for citizens who, at the date of the mortgage application, do not own other residential property, “including abroad”. An inherited property is the exception where it was acquired through inheritance and let free of charge to parents or siblings. For a buyer who owns a home in another country, this condition matters.

Priority categories. Access is reserved to:

• young married or cohabiting couples whose household was formed at least two years ago, where at least one member is under 36;
• single-parent households with minor children;
• tenants of social housing owned by the public housing institutes (IACP);
• young people who have not reached 36;
• households with three children under 21 and an ISEE (the family economic indicator) up to €40,000, four children and up to €45,000, or five or more and up to €50,000.

Since 3 August 2026, following Law 116 of 2 July 2026 (converting Decree-Law 66 of 7 May 2026, the “Piano Casa” decree), people with a permanent disability under art. 3, para. 3 of Law 104/1992 and members of a household that has included, for at least two years, a cohabiting son, daughter, brother or sister of the applicant with such a permanent disability are also admitted. For them the guarantee is 50%, or 80% if the ISEE is not above €40,000.

Guarantee and loan. The standard guarantee is 50% of the outstanding principal. For the other priority categories Consap says the law allows, where conditions are met, a request to raise the guarantee for loans above 80% of the purchase price including ancillary costs, within the ISEE limits; this rule has been extended to 31 December 2027. Payotte did not find the raised percentage on the page read, so ask the bank for it. The loan may not exceed €250,000.

The home. It must be the borrower’s main home, not in cadastral categories A/1, A/8 or A/9 and not having the luxury features set by the 1969 ministerial decree. It can be a purchase, a purchase with energy-efficiency works, or a purchase with the takeover of a builder’s split mortgage. A loan for renovation alone does not qualify.

How to apply. You ask a participating bank at the same time as the mortgage application; do not send the form to Consap. Consap notifies the lender of its decision within 20 days of receiving the application, and after admission the bank has 90 days to confirm the mortgage was granted or not. The bank still decides whether to lend. Foreign citizens attach their passport together with the residence permit to the form.

What happened to the under-36 tax exemption

The “under 36” regime, created by Law 106 of 23 July 2021 (the Sostegni bis decree), exempted registration, mortgage and cadastral taxes on non-VAT purchases, gave a tax credit equal to the VAT paid on VAT purchases, and exempted the substitute tax on the loan. It was open to buyers who had not turned 36 in the year of the deed and had an ISEE up to €40,000. The Agenzia delle Entrate’s circular 14/E of 18 June 2024 explains the last extension: it covered deeds signed up to 31 December 2024 where the preliminary contract had been signed and registered by 31 December 2023. The circular reads that condition literally: a preliminary signed in 2023 but registered in 2024 does not qualify. Payotte has found no later extension in the pages read. The Agenzia’s current first-home page, updated on 29 May 2026, lists only the ordinary first-home taxes and no under-36 exemption. For a deed signed today, treat it as ended.

What a young buyer pays now

• Purchase taxes (first-home relief). From a private seller or a VAT-exempt seller: registration tax of 2% (minimum €1,000) plus €50 each for mortgage and cadastral tax. Calculation, not a quote: on a €200,000 resale home bought as a prima casa, 2% = €4,000, against 9% = €18,000 without the relief. See the prima casa tax benefits for the conditions.
• Tax on the loan. If a bank grants the mortgage, the Banca d’Italia guide says the substitute tax is 2% of the amount, or 0.25% for a prima casa. On €150,000, that is 0.25% = €375 with the relief and 2% = €3,000 without it. The bank withholds it.
• Interest deduction. Interest on a mortgage for a main home earns a 19% income-tax deduction on up to €4,000 of interest a year, per the Agenzia delle Entrate, with conditions such as moving in within a year; for contracts signed from 1 January 2025 by taxpayers with income above €75,000, the deduction is capped by income and dependants. Calculation, not a quote: 19% of €4,000 is at most €760 a year before that cap.

Which professional to consult

A mortgage broker or the bank’s adviser can tell you if your lender participates in the fund. A notary confirms the prima casa declaration in the deed, and a tax adviser or a CAF office can calculate your ISEE.