The green bonus for condominiums: gardens and common areas

The green bonus for condominiums was the Italian tax relief that allowed owners to deduct part of the costs incurred for the landscaping of gardens and common areas. Introduced to encourage the care of private and shared greenery, the bonus remained in force until the end of 2024. Even though it no longer applies to new expenses from 2025, it is still useful to understand how it worked, because those who carried out the works within the deadline continue to deduct the yearly instalments in the following years.

What the green bonus was

The green bonus was an income tax deduction equal to 36% of the costs incurred for landscaping works on private and condominium open areas. The relief covered the creation of gardens, the supply and planting of plants and shrubs, the arrangement of flower beds, the installation of irrigation systems and the construction of wells, as well as the related design and maintenance. The ordinary periodic maintenance of existing gardens, not linked to an innovative intervention, was excluded.

The spending cap and the maximum saving

The deduction was calculated on a maximum amount of 5,000 euro per residential property unit. With the 36% rate the tax saving therefore reached up to 1,800 euro per unit. The deduction had to be split into ten yearly instalments of equal amount, to be reported in the tax returns of the years following the expense. The limit referred to the property unit and not to the individual work, so several works on the same unit contributed to the same cap.

The green bonus on condominium common areas

The bonus also applied to works carried out on the external common parts of condominium buildings. In this case the individual owner was entitled to the deduction up to a spending limit of 5,000 euro referring to the share attributable to them, calculated on the basis of the thousandths. An owner who carried out works both on their own unit and on the common areas could therefore combine the two limits, each of 5,000 euro, referring to distinct works documented separately.

The administrator's role

For works on the common areas, the administrator had a central role. They had to allocate the cost among owners according to the thousandths and certify to each of them the relevant share, so that individuals could report the correct amount in their tax return. Proper documentation of the costs and their allocation were therefore the precondition for claiming the relief, and an error in the allocation could affect the deductions of all the owners.

How the payment had to be made

To be entitled to the deduction, payments had to be made with traceable instruments, such as bank transfer, debit or credit card or cheque, so the expense could be proven in the event of an audit. Invoices and the documentation attesting the nature of the works also had to be kept. Traceability was an essential requirement, not just good practice: a cash payment meant losing the right to the deduction.

Combining with other reliefs

The green bonus could not be combined with other reliefs on the same expense. On the same work it was not possible to claim both the green bonus and another building deduction at once: you had to choose the applicable relief and avoid double claims on the same cost. This rule required the administrator and owners to classify each work carefully, distinguishing landscaping works from other works on the common areas that fell under different reliefs.

What changes from 2025

The green bonus was not renewed by the budget law and therefore ended for expenses incurred from 1 January 2025. Those who completed and paid for the works by 31 December 2024 keep the right to deduct the remaining yearly instalments in later returns. For new landscaping works it is instead necessary to assess the other building incentives that may apply to the specific case, checking their requirements and limits before starting the works.

Managing expenses and allocations with software

When a relief requires allocating a common expense by thousandths and certifying to each owner their share, management software makes the job easier: it records the expense, calculates the shares based on the millesimal tables and produces the statement to hand to each owner for their tax return. Even though the green bonus has ended, the same method applies to every deduction on the common areas and reduces the risk of allocation errors. Keeping invoices, bank transfers and allocation statements in good order also lets you respond quickly to any request for documentation, both during the period when the remaining instalments are deducted and in the years when the relief remains open to audit.

AmministraPro records expenses on the common areas, allocates them automatically by thousandths and produces the statements to give to owners for tax deductions. You can see how it works on the features page or compare the plans in the pricing section.