The Superbonus is receiving a lot of attention. Between extensions, incentives, invoice discounts, and credit transfers, improving the energy efficiency of our homes has increasingly become the focus of many design firms’ planning.
As is now clear, the Superbonus stems primarily from the desire to improve the energy efficiency of one’s home, with the phantom leap in energy efficiency. What is perhaps less well-known, and which we will discuss in the following article, is the Sismabonus.
The Sismabonus focuses on interventions aimed at making buildings safer..
Earthquake bonus: how it works
This is an IRPEF or IRES tax deduction for work to secure a building located in high-risk seismic zones. To qualify for the tax deduction, such work must be classified as renovations and not new construction.
Earthquake bonus: which buildings are eligible?
The Earthquake Bonus benefits a wide range of buildings, not only including villas, condominiums, and functionally independent units, but also includes public buildings such as schools, nursing homes, clinics, and sports facilities, as well as businesses.
Earthquake bonus: work permitted
Expenses eligible for this tax relief include:
Static safety measures for the structural components of buildings (with a standard relief of 50% of the total expenditure);
Procedures that allow for a lower risk class (supported up to 70% for single-family homes and up to 75% for condominiums);
Procedures that allow for a lower risk class (supported up to 80% for single-family homes and up to 85% for condominiums);
Expenses incurred for earthquake-proofing works involving demolition and reconstruction in seismic zones rated 1, 2, and 3.
Earthquake bonus: what it includes today
Given that the objective is to ensure improved seismic safety, the expenses incurred are 50% deductible up to a maximum expenditure of €96,000, divided into five installments. The tax incentive can be converted into a discount on the invoice or a transferable tax credit by presenting a certificate of conformity issued by a certified expert.
Case study: Super Sisma Bonus application with demolition and reconstruction
With the updated provisions of Legislative Decree 77/2021 Simplification Bis, later converted into Law 108/2021, the Super Earthquake Bonus is introduced, with rates up to 110%. This latest incentive, which is in addition to those previously described, has the drawback of not being extended to all building types, but rather restricted to residential buildings: condominiums and single-family homes. As mentioned, demolition and reconstruction of entire buildings are also permitted under structural efficiency improvements. As the Revenue Agency has explained, rebuilding as before is not mandatory; on the contrary, interventions that involve a complete change in the planimetric and perspective shape are permitted.
A further change introduced by the Simplification Decree concerns the possibility of using the Super Sisma Bonus, or Superbonus 110%, for seismic risk expenses only, even in the case of demolition and reconstruction with expansion of the building’s volume, since the excess amount will no longer be considered new construction. This does not apply and cannot be applied to the Super Ecobonus, where the excess amount cannot be deducted at 110%. The difference between the Super Sisma Bonus and the Super Ecobonus means that, in terms of invoicing, the two types of intervention must be separated. Otherwise, the 110% deduction for the expansion would be lost.
In relation to the case study, the solution of demolishing and rebuilding a home using the Super Sisma Bonus offers several advantages:
The intervention allows for the elimination of any building violations that would otherwise have to be remedied if only the Ecobonus 110 were applied;
It guarantees compliance with all the technical parameters required by the Relaunch Decree, without any preliminary feasibility study;
It allows you to obtain a new home, different from your existing one, that meets all the highest energy efficiency standards;
It allows you to use the bonus even on excess volume;
It also allows you to benefit from the ecobonus at the same time, with careful attention to billing.
Earthquake bonus: certification
As with other bonuses, access to the deduction requires certification of technical requirements and the appropriateness of the expenses incurred, whether for energy-related interventions or seismic risk reduction. The certification declaring full compliance must be issued upon completion of the work or at each stage of progress. There cannot be more than two progress reports (SALs) for each project and must be equal to at least 30% of the total work, which is not the maximum deductible amount, but the actual cost of the project.
Currently, the deadline for demolition and reconstruction projects and 110% energy efficiency upgrades on single-family buildings is June 30, 2022, while for condominiums it will be the end of 2022.
The new provisions, introduced with the 2002 Budget Bill, currently under consideration by Parliament, could lead to extensions or significant changes to the tax incentives. All we can do now is wait for the new regulations and stay updated daily.
The Inside Project firm offers its expertise to guide clients through the complex and tortuous Superbonus process.