How to calculate the year-end balancing charge step by step

What you need before calculating

Three accounting elements are required. The first is the approved budget, the cost estimated at the start of the financial year, which generated the allocation plans and the advance instalments. The second is the list of advances actually paid by each owner during the period. The third is the final statement, the real documented cost, allocated by thousandths table.

The balancing charge is not a new expense: it simply aligns what was requested as advances with what the year actually cost. For this reason the prerequisite is a final statement approved by the owners' meeting under Article 1135 of the Italian Civil Code.

• Approved budget and advance instalment plan
• Advances paid by each owner during the year
• Final statement with real cost allocated by thousandths

The four steps of the calculation

The calculation always follows the same scheme. Step one: determine each owner's share by applying their thousandths of the relevant table to the real cost. Step two: add up what that owner paid as advances. Step three: subtract the share from the advances. Step four: read the sign of the result.

If the share is greater than the advances, the owner has a balancing charge to pay. If the advances are greater, they have a credit balance that will be refunded or offset against the following year, as the owners' meeting decides.

• Share = real cost times the owner's thousandths
• Difference = advances paid minus share
• Negative difference: balancing charge owed
• Positive difference: credit balance

A complete numeric example

Suppose a total final cost of 20,000 euros for a condominium with four apartments. Owner A holds 250 thousandths out of 1,000, so their share is 20,000 times 250 divided by 1,000, that is 5,000 euros. During the year A had paid 4,500 euros in advances, based on the initial budget of 18,000 euros.

A's balancing charge is the share minus the advances: 5,000 minus 4,500, that is 500 euros owed. Owner B, with 200 thousandths, has a share of 4,000 euros and paid 4,200 euros in advances: their balance is 4,200 minus 4,000, that is 200 euros as a credit. The algebraic sum of all the condominium's balancing charges must reconcile to zero against the difference between the final statement and total advances: this is the reconciliation check that must never be skipped.

• Final cost: 20,000 euros
• Owner A, 250 thousandths: share 5,000, advances 4,500, charge 500 owed
• Owner B, 200 thousandths: share 4,000, advances 4,200, credit 200

Watch out for different tables

Not all expenses are allocated with the same table. General expenses follow ownership thousandths, but stairs and lifts fall under Article 1124, while central heating accounts for consumption under standard UNI 10200. The correct balancing charge is obtained only if each expense item was allocated with the right table before the shares are added up.

A common mistake is to compute everything on general thousandths: the final figure then reconciles at condominium level but is unfair to individuals, because it does not reflect the real use of the services. Always check that lift or heating costs were assigned with the criterion provided by law.

Recording and collecting the charge

After the final statement is approved, the manager issues the balancing charge allocation, stating for each owner the amount owed or credited and the payment deadline. Charges owed become collectible condominium credits and, if unpaid, the manager may act under Article 63 of the implementing provisions of the Italian Civil Code.

Management software prevents manual errors: AmministraPro computes balancing charges by automatically applying the correct table to each item and generates the individual statements ready to send. You will find the accounting features on the /funzioni page and the available plans on the /prezzi page.

Frequently asked questions