Home Bonus for DIY work: when is the technician needed?

The do-it-yourself regime according to the official practice of the Revenue Agency

The official regulations, codified starting from the historic Circular 57/1998 – always cited subsequently in all the other documents of practice dedicated to the deduction – recognizes the right to relief for works carried out directly by the owner of the property, without the aid of a company or manpower, as long as these fall within the scope of extraordinary maintenance, or energy saving. The text specifies that “In the case of work carried out on a budget, the deduction is limited to the expenses incurred for the purchase of the materials used”.

As for free construction, the Revenue Agency, in particular with Circular 28/2022, has clarified that the fact that some works do not require building permits has no bearing on the right to deduction when the works fall, precisely, in the category of extraordinary maintenance. For this, a self-certification specifying the type of work carried out is sufficient.

Extraordinary maintenance and energy saving

Our reader’s question refers to an energy saving intervention in free construction, i.e. the purchase of an insulating material (blond cork in granules) which will then be used to insulate an attic by spreading a twenty centimeter layer, with the aim of improving the thermal insulation of the bedroom which is located below the room to be insulated.

The reader wonders whether to obtain the benefit for this intervention it is sufficient to obtain a detailed invoice for the material and make the payment via bank transfer, or whether a technical report and sending of the documentation to ENEA are also required. Since it concerns the insulation of a horizontal structure aimed at improving the insulation of the sleeping area from the summer heat and winter cold, in fact, the work directly affects the thermal transmittance of the casing.

Compliance with energy requirements for the purposes of the deduction

The possibility of obtaining the deduction for renovation, i.e. the Home Bonus, also for energy saving interventions, is provided for by letter h) of the art. 16-bis of the TUIR. In fact, the text states that the deduction is also permitted for interventions “relating to the construction of works aimed at achieving energy savings with particular regard to the installation of systems based on the use of renewable energy sources. The aforementioned works can be carried out even in the absence of building works in the strict sense, by acquiring suitable documentation certifying the achievement of energy savings in application of current legislation on the matter”.

So yes to the deduction but in compliance with sector regulations. The reference legislation for works such as those indicated is the Ministerial Decree of 26 June 2015 (and related updates), which imposes mandatory limits of thermal transmittance for interventions on the building envelope. Therefore, since the law conditions the legitimacy of tax deductions on compliance with national regulations, for the purposes of the deduction it is necessary to certify compliance with the limits prescribed by the Ministerial Decree, or the fact that the intervention leads to improvements compared to the pre-existing situation. In the specific case, i.e. without technical certification, the intervention cannot be classified as energy saving but as simple ordinary maintenance and as such is not deductible.

For interventions on the casing, in practice, the documentation of the materials alone is not sufficient because it does not demonstrate that the intervention that will be carried out can be truly efficient based on what the regulations establish. Therefore without certification you cannot have the deduction.

As regards the communication to ENEA, as also clarified in the instructions for the tax forms, in the context of the Home Bonus, failure to send the communication does not cause the right to the deduction to be lost.

No to DIY for systems

Finally, regarding energy saving, it is also good to remember that the do-it-yourself deduction is not available for interventions involving air conditioning systems in general, regardless of the manufacturer’s report. For these, in fact, certification of installation in compliance with standards is an essential requirement.

Summary table of requirements for energy saving construction work in the economy