First Home Bonus 2025/2026: what really changes
With the 2025 Budget Law (Art. 1, paragraph 116, Law no. 207/2024), a significant change was introduced to the “first home” tax relief scheme, later clarified by the Italian Revenue Agency through official rulings in 2025. The rules remain in force in 2026.
From the old to the new deadline for selling your first home
Anyone purchasing a property with “first home” benefits continues to pay reduced taxes:
2% registration tax if buying from a private seller;
4% VAT if buying from a company.
To maintain the tax benefit, those who already own another property must sell it within a specified timeframe.
🔹 Before: the deadline was 1 year to sell the previously owned property.
🔹 Now: the 2025 Budget Law has extended this deadline to 2 years. Anyone purchasing a new “first home” while already owning another property previously acquired with the same benefit now has 2 years to sell the existing property without losing the tax relief.
This extension also applies to deeds signed in 2024, provided that the original one-year deadline had not yet expired by the end of 2024.
Tax credit: 2026 updates
The tax credit for the repurchase of a first home still exists, but it now operates differently depending on the situation.
The Italian Revenue Agency has clarified that:
- If you sell first and then buy (sale followed by a new purchase): the tax credit still applies, but it must be claimed within 1 year from the sale of the previous property — not 2 years.
- If you buy first and then sell (purchase before selling the previous property): the tax credit can be granted provided that the sale takes place within 2 years, i.e. within the new extended deadline.
👉 Summary (updated for 2026)
➡️ The deadline to dispose of a previously owned property has been extended from 1 to 2 years.
➡️ Tax credit: the two-year deadline does not always apply — in some cases, the original one-year limit still applies (when the sale occurs before the new purchase).