Building bonuses in a condominium: which documents to keep

For deductions on works to the common parts, it is not enough to have carried out and paid for the works: you must be able to prove the right to the benefit with complete documentation. The administrator must collect and keep resolutions, invoices, traceable transfers, certifications issued to owners, filings sent to the tax authorities and the required technical statements. These documents are needed in case of an audit and must be kept for the whole period during which the tax authorities can carry out checks.

The documents arising from the owners' meeting

The documentary chain starts from the owners' meeting. The minutes approving the work, stating the object of the works, the estimates chosen and the cost split, are the first piece. They must be kept together with the notice of meeting and any technical report that supported the decision. Without a valid resolution, the very basis of the subsidisable common expense can be called into question.

• Notice of meeting with the agenda on the works
• Minutes with approval of the work and of the estimates
• Statement of the cost split per unit
• Any appointment of the works supervisor or the engaged technician

The expense and payment documents

The core of the proof consists of the expense documents and the related payments. You must keep the suppliers' invoices addressed to the condominium, the traceable transfers proving payment from the condominium account and the receipts. It is essential that each invoice can be matched to its transfer and to the resolution, so as to clearly reconstruct the flow of the expense from decision to payment.

The certifications to owners

The administrator issues each owner a certification of the deductible share of expense. A copy of these certifications must be kept in the condominium's records, because it is the link between the common expense and the individual deduction. In case of an audit on a single owner, the administrator's certification, consistent with the accounting and with the filing to the tax authorities, is a decisive piece of evidence.

Filings and technical statements

You must also keep the receipts of the electronic filings sent to the Revenue Agency for common-part expenses and, for energy works, the receipts of the transmission to ENEA. To these are added the statements and sworn declarations of qualified technicians, any necessary building permits and the tests of the systems. Every documented technical obligation strengthens the solidity of the benefit.

• Receipts of the electronic filings to the Revenue Agency
• Transmission receipts to ENEA for energy works
• Sworn statements, certificates and technical sheets of the professionals
• Building permits, authorisations and start-of-works notices where required

How long to keep them

The documentation must be kept at least for the whole period during which the tax authorities can carry out assessment activity, which in the case of deductions split over several years extends beyond the year the expense was incurred. In practice it is advisable to keep the archive for a wide time span, covering all the years of use of the benefit plus the period useful for checks. The precise terms must be checked against the regulations in force.

An orderly archive with AmministraPro

With AmministraPro the administrator keeps the documents of the work in a structured way, linking resolutions, invoices, payments and certifications to the condominium's accounting, so as to quickly retrieve any proof in case of an audit. An orderly digital archive reduces the risk of documents lost when the administrator changes. The features are described at /funzioni and the plans at /prezzi. The retention terms and the specific documentary obligations must always be checked against the regulations in force.