The Minimal Condominium as a Withholding Agent

A minimal condominium, that is one made up of a small number of participants, can operate without appointing a manager, but it remains a withholding agent. This means that when it pays a business for works or a professional, it must apply advance withholdings, pay them with the F24 form and certify them. The absence of a manager does not remove the tax obligation: it shifts it to the co-owners, who must organise themselves to fulfil it.

What a minimal condominium is

We speak of a minimal condominium when the participants are few, typically up to eight. In this case Article 1129 of the Italian Civil Code does not require the mandatory appointment of a manager, which becomes necessary only when there are more than eight co-owners. Similarly, below certain thresholds a condominium regulation is not compulsory. However, the Civil Code rules on managing common areas, on sharing expenses under Articles 1123 and following, and on meeting decisions still apply.

Case law has clarified that the general condominium rules apply to the minimal condominium, including those on the meeting and accounting, albeit with some practical adaptation due to the small number of people.

Why it is still a withholding agent

The status of withholding agent derives from the nature of the condominium as an entity, not from the presence of a manager. Article 25-ter of DPR 600/1973 on the 4% withholding on contracts and Article 25 on the 20% withholding on self-employment refer to the condominium as such. Consequently even a minimal condominium that pays a plumbing firm or a lawyer must withhold and pay the relevant tax.

Who withholds without a manager

In the absence of a manager, the obligations fall on the co-owners. In practice the tidiest solution is to identify, even informally, one co-owner to handle payments and tax obligations on behalf of everyone.

• Request the condominium's tax code from the Italian Revenue Agency, essential to act as a withholding agent and to fill in the F24
• Identify a co-owner in charge of making payments and remittances
• Apply the correct withholding depending on whether the supplier is a business (4%) or a professional or self-employed person (20%)
• Pay with the F24 form respecting the deadlines
• Issue the Certificazione Unica to recipients and file the 770 return

The condominium's tax code

Even a minimal condominium must obtain its own tax code, separate from those of the individual co-owners. It is needed for the F24 form, the Certificazione Unica, the 770 and any dealings with suppliers and the tax authorities. The request is submitted to the Italian Revenue Agency; without a tax code the condominium cannot fulfil its withholding agent obligations.

The same withholdings as any condominium

The minimal condominium applies exactly the withholdings provided for all condominiums: the 4% on works and services contracts with tax codes 1019 and 1020 and the 500-euro threshold payment rule, and the 20% on self-employment and professional work with tax code 1040 and payment by the 16th of the following month. There are no reduced rates or exemptions linked to the small size.

Risks not to underestimate

The biggest risk for a minimal condominium is forgetting the tax obligations precisely because there is no manager to handle them. A payment without withholding, an unpaid F24 or an unissued CU still expose it to penalties. Here too, voluntary correction (ravvedimento operoso) allows regularisation with reduced penalties and statutory interest, but it is always preferable to set up orderly management from the start.

Many minimal condominiums choose to adopt a management tool even without a professional manager, so as not to miss deadlines and withholdings. AmministraPro lets you record suppliers and payments, calculate withholdings and prepare F24 and certifications even for small entities: the features are on /funzioni and the plans with costs on /prezzi.