The condominium's tax certificate for suppliers: a quick guide

The condominium's Certificazione Unica (Single Certificate) is the document through which the condominium, acting as a withholding agent, certifies to each supplier the sums paid and the withholdings applied in the previous year. It stems from an obligation little known to owners but well known to administrators: when the condominium pays for certain services it must withhold a percentage and pay it to the tax authorities. Hence the duty to certify what was withheld. Let us look briefly at when the certificate is needed, what it contains and which deadlines to respect.

The condominium as a withholding agent

The condominium is a withholding agent: when it pays fees for services relating to contracts for the supply of works or services carried out in the course of a business, it must apply a 4% advance withholding on the amounts, under article 25 ter of Presidential Decree 600/1973. The withholding is deducted when the supplier is paid and is remitted to the tax authorities. The Single Certificate then serves to document to the supplier, and to the tax administration, the amount withheld.

When the 4% withholding applies

The 4% withholding applies to the amounts due for services relating to contracts for works or services carried out in the course of a business. It therefore generally covers payments to businesses that perform maintenance, cleaning, building works and similar services for the condominium. The basis of calculation is the taxable amount of the payment. The withholding is then remitted using the F24 form with the specific tax code.

When the withholding does not apply

There are cases in which the 4% withholding must not be applied. In particular it does not apply to sums the condominium pays to businesses by bank or postal transfer in order to claim the tax deductions available for building renovation or energy upgrade works: in those cases it is the bank that applies the specific withholding on the qualified transfer. For those amounts, therefore, the condominium does not apply the 4% withholding and does not issue the related certificate.

What the Single Certificate contains

The condominium's Single Certificate reports the identifying details of the condominium as withholding agent and of the supplier as recipient, the amounts paid during the year and the withholdings made and remitted. It is the document that allows the supplier to prove the withholding suffered and to offset it against their own taxes. It must be issued to every party to which withholdings were applied during the previous year.

Delivery and filing deadlines

There are essentially two obligations. The first is delivery of the certificate to the recipient supplier, which must be made by 16 March of the year following the one in which the withholdings were made, shifting to the next working day if the date falls on a Saturday or a public holiday. The second is electronic transmission to the Revenue Agency. For certificates containing only income that cannot be reported through the pre-filled tax return, electronic filing may take place within a longer deadline. Given how the deadlines can vary, it is always advisable to check the calendar for the current year.

The link with the 770 form

The Single Certificate is not the only obligation of the condominium as a withholding agent. The withholdings made and remitted also flow into the withholding agents' return, the 770 form, which summarises for the year the withholdings carried out and the related payments. The certificate and the 770 are therefore two sides of the same obligation: the first certifies to the individual supplier, the second summarises to the tax administration.

How to avoid the most common mistakes

The most frequent mistakes concern failing to apply the withholding where due, applying the 4% withholding even to qualified transfers already subject to the bank withholding, and missing the delivery and filing deadlines. Keeping the register of payments to suppliers in order, distinguishing by type of service and method of payment, is the best way to complete the certificates correctly.

• Identify the payments subject to the 4% withholding.
• Apply the withholding on payment and remit it via F24 with the required tax code.
• Exclude qualified transfers already subject to the bank withholding.
• Deliver the certificate to each recipient supplier within the deadlines.
• Transmit the certificates to the Revenue Agency and summarise them in the 770.

Management software keeps track of payments to suppliers, automatically applies the withholding where due, prepares the F24 forms and generates the Single Certificates ready for delivery and filing. AmministraPro handles the obligations of the condominium as a withholding agent starting from the accounting already recorded: you can see how it works on the features page and compare the plans in the pricing section.