Housing bonus: recovery driven by work on first homes

Like a ball that has reached the bottom of its inclined plane, the decline in investment in tax-incentivised building renovations appears to have come to a halt in 2026. Between January and May, Italians initiated bank transfers totalling 10.25 billion euros. Admittedly, we are a long way from the record figures seen during the ‘superbonus’ period. However, the flow of payments to businesses and professionals in the first five months was 4.6 per cent higher than in the same period of 2025.

These are figures that Monday’s edition of *Il Sole 24 Ore* has taken from the Tax Revenue Bulletin, published by the Ministry of Finance. They allow us to understand where we stand today. It is as though, once the work generated by the 90 per cent and 110 per cent tax relief schemes has been factored out, a core of ongoing projects has emerged. Consider maintenance work approved by the owners’ association – perhaps because it cannot be postponed – for which the administrator is authorised to handle ‘the paperwork for the tax deduction’. Or the refurbishment of newly purchased homes intended as primary residences.

It has been noted by various quarters that the 36 per cent tax allowance on properties other than the main residence, which comes into effect in 2025, risks encouraging undeclared work. And whilst this may be true, the phenomenon is not reflected in the official figures. However, there is a significant proportion of taxpayers who have now learnt to make the most of tax deductions to reduce their income tax bill, and for whom a small refund is still better than no refund at all.

We are mainly talking about those in their 70s: according to tax returns filed in 2025, 36.1 per cent of employees with an income of over 20,000 euros and 51 per cent of pensioners made use of the renovation tax credit (data from the Department of Finance). It is this group that accounts for the bulk of payments, with 73 per cent of beneficiaries – according to CAF Acli – claim the deduction on their main residences, spending around seven times more on individual units than on their share of the common areas.

Let’s return to bank transfers. The trend for 2026 has not yet become established. The figure for May (2.41 billion) is down slightly (-0.4 per cent) compared with the same month last year, as was the case in January; February, April and – above all – March, on the other hand, fared better. That is why it seems more sensible to talk about an end to the decline rather than a recovery.