Condominium Works Deduction for the Cohabiting Family Member

The owner's cohabiting family member can deduct works on the common parts even without holding title to the unit, provided they actually bear the expense and cohabit with the person who holds title to the property. It is a possibility designed for real situations, where the one paying the condominium instalments is a family member other than the titleholder. The benefit arises not from ownership but from having borne the burden while cohabiting in the home that is the subject of the works.

Who the cohabiting family member is

The tax notion of family member includes the spouse, relatives up to a certain degree and relatives by marriage, together with recognised situations of cohabitation. Cohabitation must exist and is understood as stable cohabitation in the property affected by the works, or in any case within the owner's household. It is a substantial condition: the family tie alone is not enough, actual cohabitation is needed at the time the expense is borne.

The conditions to deduct

For the cohabiting family member to be able to deduct the expense, these conditions must, in short, be met:

• Cohabitation with the owner (or right holder) at the time the expense is borne
• Actual bearing of the expense, with traceable payment attributable to the cohabitant
• Property available to the family, not let to third parties
• Consistency between who pays and who deducts, documentable in the event of an audit

No contract between owner and cohabitant is required: it is the factual situation of cohabitation, together with the payment, that grounds the right. Naturally the cohabitant cannot deduct expenses relating to properties let out or otherwise not available to the household.

Paying the condominium instalments

In the condominium the practical difficulty is showing that it was the cohabitant who paid, since the instalments flow into the position of the unit registered to the owner. It is therefore necessary that payments come from an account attributable to the cohabitant or that there is otherwise proof of their outlay. The traceability of the payment is the element that supports the benefit, far more than a mere statement of having paid.

What the manager can certify

The manager certifies the unit's share of expense and the amounts paid during the year, but is not required to determine who, within the family, actually paid. If payments come from an account other than the titleholder's, it is useful for the cohabitant to keep the bank records. The certificate remains anchored to the unit; the link with the cohabitant is proved by the payment documentation.

Mistakes to avoid

The most common mistake is to think that the family tie alone is enough: without cohabitation at the time of the expense and without traceable payment, the deduction does not belong to the cohabitant. Another mistake is confusing the availability of the property with letting it: if the home is rented to third parties, the cohabiting family member cannot deduct. Clarifying these points before the return avoids adjustments.

Keeping track of who pays the instalments

To handle cases where a cohabiting family member pays, accounts that precisely record the payments and their source are needed. With AmministraPro the manager associates payments with the unit and keeps their history, making it easier to reconstruct the household's tax position. The accounting and records features are on /funzioni and the plans on /prezzi. As this is a special case, it is always advisable to check the tax rules in force with a professional.