What happened to the Superbonus in Italy

What the Superbonus was

The Superbonus was a temporary tax deduction created by article 119 of decree-law 34/2020, the “Rilancio” decree. It rewarded a short list of heavy works that improved a building’s energy performance or earthquake safety. Unlike the ordinary deductions, the headline rate was above 100% of the cost. The tax agency’s page “who can use it and to what extent” gives the final timetable:

From 1 January 2022 the deduction is spread over four equal annual instalments among those entitled to it, so a building can still show Superbonus deductions in tax returns for a few years after the works ended.

Who could use it

The agency lists three groups for spending up to 31 December 2025: condominiums; individuals acting outside a business or profession, for works on buildings of two to four separately registered units (even if owned by one person or co-owned by several); and certain non-profit bodies, volunteer organisations and social-promotion associations. Individuals could also use it on single units inside the same condominium or building, and on buildings that were demolished and rebuilt. Social-housing bodies and housing cooperatives had their own, earlier deadlines.

The 110% rate for individuals had tight conditions in 2022: it held for spending to 31 December 2022 only if 30% of the whole job had been completed by 30 September 2022. Condominiums and other bodies had different transitions. Those conditions are history, but they explain why you may find a building where the works stopped part-way.

Earthquake areas

The agency makes a specific statement for municipalities hit by earthquakes since 1 April 2009 where a state of emergency was declared: where state reconstruction contributions are also paid, the Superbonus applied to spending up to 31 December 2025, provided the building was declared unfit for use (damage assessed with the official “AeDES” form with outcome B, C or E) and the damage came directly from the earthquake. So even the earthquake exception, as the pages read describe it, stops at the same date.

Why you still hear about it

Three reasons. First, the credit was sold on and discounted on invoices at scale: the agency says that since 17 February 2023, decree-law 11/2023 generally ended the invoice discount and the sale of credits for the renovation and energy deductions, with transitional carve-outs. Second, a “save expenses” decree protected people who had not finished: if the required two-class energy improvement was not reached, they do not have to repay the deduction for the progress stages completed by 31 December 2023 for which they had already chosen the discount or credit transfer. Third, properties exist today with half-finished or recently finished Superbonus works, and a buyer inherits the paperwork questions.

What applies to your renovation now

For payments made in 2026 the Agency’s pages say:

• Renovation deduction (article 16-bis TUIR): 36%, or 50% for a main home, on up to €96,000 per unit, in ten instalments. See the 2026 renovation deduction.
• Energy-efficiency deduction (ecobonus): the same 36% or 50%, with fossil-fuel-only boilers excluded. See ecobonus.
• Earthquake deduction (sismabonus): the agency says the conditions in force in 2025 are extended to 2026. See sismabonus.

Because the old Superbonus rates have gone, any offer that promises “free” works or a discount covering the full cost needs checking against the year of payment and against the rule that, in general, invoice discounts have been unavailable since 17 February 2023.

If you are buying a home with Superbonus works

Ask the seller for the file: the works notification (CILA) filed, the technicians’ certifications, the payment records and any invoice-discount or credit-transfer choices. The agency’s pages describe a safeguard for unfinished works (see above), but they do not settle your particular file, so a technician and the notary should read it before you sign. Do not rely on a sale brochure’s description of “110% works”.

Which professional to consult

A building technician can tell you what was actually built and certified (architect, surveyor), and the notary checks the deed and any declarations in it. An accountant can check whether a seller’s or neighbour’s deduction choices affect you.