Buying a home is an important step in the life of many individuals, and one of the main concerns is the possibility of taking advantage of the “first home” tax breaks. These breaks, in fact, allow for a significant reduction in the taxes due when purchasing a primary residence, making the purchase more accessible for many people.
But what happens if you already own the bare ownership of a property received as a gift? Is it still possible to benefit from these concessions?
This is the question posed by a reader to the Revenue Agency website through the FiscoOggi platform.
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The reader’s question
The reader asked:
“My parents donated me the bare ownership of the house where I live. If I want to buy another home, can I still take advantage of the first home tax breaks?”
This question reflects a common situation in many Italian families, where parents transfer the bare ownership of a property to their children, maintaining the usufruct until their death. But how do tax breaks apply in this context?
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The Revenue Agency’s response
The Revenue Agency has clearly answered the question, specifying the conditions necessary to benefit from the “first home” tax breaks.
According to the law, in order to benefit from the “first home” concessions at the time of purchase, the buyer must declare that he/she respects certain conditions. One of these conditions is that of not be the ownernot even in the slightest part, of property rights, use, usufruct, habitation or bare ownership of another property, located in any part of the national territory, which has been purchased benefiting from the same concessions.
Therefore, the answer to the reader’s question is affirmative: it is possible to benefit from the “first home” concessions even if you own the bare ownership of a property, provided that the bare ownership was not purchased using the same concessions.
If, however, the bare ownership was acquired by benefiting from the “first home” concessions, it will be necessary to sell the property received as a gift within one year of the new purchase in order to request the concessions again.
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The “first home” relief
Tax breaks for the purchase of a first home are a valuable opportunity for those who want to buy a primary residence. These breaks include a series of tax benefits, including a reduction in the registration tax to 2% (compared to the standard rate of 9%) and the mortgage and land registry tax reduced to fixed amounts.
However, the legislation imposes specific conditions that must be respected in order to access these benefits.
One of the fundamental aspects concerns the ownership of other properties. In particular, as underlined by the Revenue Agency in its response to the reader, it is not possible to take advantage of the “first home” benefits if you already own, even partially, real rights on other properties purchased with the same benefits. This principle is valid whether the property is fully owned, in legal community, in usufruct or, as in the case of the reader, in bare ownership.
However, there is an important distinction: the mere ownership of the bare ownership does not automatically preclude access to the “first home” benefits, unless such real right was acquired by benefiting from the benefits themselves. In this case, the law requires that the property in question be sold within one year of the new purchase.
