Condominium Works Deduction: Usufructuary or Bare Owner

When a usufruct burdens a unit, the deduction for works on the common parts belongs to whoever actually bore the expense, provided they hold a suitable title to the property. Both the usufructuary and the bare owner may hold a title, but the benefit follows the one who pays. If the usufructuary pays the condominium instalments, they deduct; if the bare owner pays them, the bare owner deducts. The distinction is common in homes gifted with a reserved usufruct.

Usufruct and bare ownership: two distinct titles

The usufructuary has the right to enjoy the asset and draws its fruits; the bare owner keeps title but without enjoyment until the usufruct ends. Both hold a real right over the property, so both can in the abstract benefit from the deduction for building works. What shifts the benefit from one to the other is who concretely bears the cost of the works.

The criterion of the expense incurred

The practical rule is twofold: a suitable title to the property is needed and the expense must have been paid. Whoever meets both requirements deducts. In the condominium the instalments for the works are charged to the unit: the one who actually pays them, between usufructuary and bare owner, is the person who earns the deduction. The payment must be traceable and attributable to the person who intends to deduct.

Who pays what: the typical scenarios

In the ordinary management of the relationship between usufructuary and bare owner, these situations occur:

• Usufructuary who lives there and pays the instalments: the usufructuary deducts
• Bare owner who bears significant extraordinary expenses: the bare owner deducts for the part paid
• Expense split between the two: each deducts based on what they paid
• Payment from a single account: the deduction follows the account holder, unless a different documented split applies

The civil-law split of expenses between usufructuary and bare owner (ordinary and extraordinary) is a different level from the tax one: it affects who should pay what, but for the deduction the actual payment is what counts.

The condominium does not distinguish the two in the allocation

For the manager the unit remains a single position in the accounts, with its thousandths share under Article 1123 of the Italian Civil Code. It is not for the condominium to split the expense between usufructuary and bare owner: the division between them is internal. The manager, however, must have both parties in the records and know to whom the expense certificate should be made out, or refer it to the unit with the known names.

Certificate and proof of payment

To deduct correctly, the usufructuary or the bare owner must be able to show that they bore the expense: the manager's certificate for the unit's share and proof of the payments made. If one pays but the certificate is made out to the other, a mismatch arises that must be clarified before the return. It is better to tell the manager in good time who bears the instalments.

Records of real rights always up to date

Correctly handling usufruct and bare ownership starts from records that register both titleholders of the unit and their payments. With AmministraPro the manager associates the usufructuary and the bare owner with the unit and produces certificates consistent with who actually paid. The records and accounting features are described on /funzioni and the plans on /prezzi. On who deducts in special cases, it is always advisable to check the tax rules in force.