Prima casa tax benefits: who qualifies and what you save

What you save

The Agenzia delle Entrate (the tax agency) gives the two pairs of rates side by side. Calculation on a €250,000 purchase:

On these figures the relief saves €17,500 on a private-seller purchase and €15,000 on a VAT purchase. These are calculations with official rates, not quotes, and they exclude the notary’s fee. The relief also applies to the tax on one pertinence (an annex) per category C/2 (storage), C/6 (garage) and C/7 (covered or open shed), provided it serves the main home, which must itself have been bought with the relief.

Condition 1: the type of home

Only dwellings in cadastral categories A/2 to A/7 and A/11 qualify. The Agenzia lists them: A/2 (civil), A/3 (economy), A/4 (popular), A/5 (ultra-popular), A/6 (rural), A/7 (small villas) and A/11 (dwellings typical of the place). The categories A/1 (stately homes), A/8 (villas) and A/9 (castles and palaces of artistic or historic value) are excluded. The category is on the cadastral record, so look it up before you make an offer (see cadastral value).

Condition 2: the municipality

Note II-bis of the tariff (DPR 131/1986) requires the home to be in the municipality where you have your residence, or where you will establish it within 18 months of purchase. You must state that intention in the deed, on pain of losing the relief. Two alternatives are accepted: the municipality where you work, which the Agenzia says includes unpaid activity such as study or volunteering; or, for someone who moved abroad for work after living or working in Italy for at least five years, the municipality of birth or of former residence or activity. The five years need not be continuous, and circular 3/2024 says the work-abroad situation must exist at the time of purchase. Armed forces and police personnel are exempt from the residence condition.

The test is by municipality, not region. For a foreign buyer, residence means registering as a resident with the municipality; the Agenzia says the change counts from the date you file the declaration of transfer. See prima casa for foreign buyers for the foreign-buyer angle.

Condition 3: what else you own

The buyer declares in the deed that he or she does not own, alone or with a spouse, another home in the same municipality, and does not own anywhere in Italy another home bought with the relief. Since 1 January 2016 the second point has an exception: you may already hold a home bought with the relief if you sell it within a set time, which since 1 January 2025 is two years (law 207/2024, art. 1 para. 116). That is covered in selling before buying. A home owned in the same municipality, bought without the relief, blocks the benefit even if you promise to sell, according to the Agenzia.

How you claim it

The relief is not automatic and not applied by the tax office on its own. The buyer declares in the deed that the conditions are met, and the notary applies the lower rate. The declaration can be made in a later supplementary deed. For VAT sales, note II-bis allows the declarations to be made in the preliminary contract as well as in the deed.

How the relief is lost

The Agenzia and note II-bis list the grounds. You pay the ordinary taxes, interest and a 30% surcharge if:

1. a declaration in the deed was false;
2. you sell or give away the home before five years, unless within one year you buy another home to be your main residence;
3. you do not move your residence to the municipality within 18 months;
4. within two years you do not sell the home you already owned, if you took that commitment.

The Agenzia describes ways to reduce the penalty: asking the local office to recalculate the tax before the 18 months have passed avoids the surcharge, while a late request can still use the reduced-penalty procedure (ravvedimento operoso) if no assessment has been notified.

Which professional to consult

The notary records your declarations and applies the rate, so tell the notary about every property you own anywhere in Italy. For a borderline case, such as co-ownership or a move to Italy that has not yet happened, a tax adviser can read your position against note II-bis.