With Rulings No. 312/2025 and No. 314/2025, the Italian Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) addresses two key aspects of the “first-home” tax relief regime, providing significant clarifications both on eligibility for taxpayers who have moved abroad for work purposes and on the conditions required to avoid forfeiture where the subsidised property is disposed of before the expiry of the five-year holding period.
Read together, the two rulings outline a coherent interpretative framework, marked by a substantive and flexible approach to assessing the territorial nexus required for access to the relief, alongside a strict adherence to the statutory time limits and conditions governing the retention of the benefit.
First-home relief and taxpayers registered with AIRE: recognition of a substantive territorial link
Ruling No. 312/2025 concerns an Italian citizen registered with AIRE who moved abroad for work reasons and intends to purchase a residential property in the municipality where he completed his entire secondary and university education—different from both his municipality of birth and that of his last registered residence in Italy.
The Revenue Agency refers to Article 2(1) of Decree-Law No. 69/2023, which amended Note II-bis to Article 1 of the Tariff, Part I, annexed to Presidential Decree No. 131/1986 (Consolidated Registration Tax Act), clarifying that the preferential regime for individuals who have moved abroad for work purposes is now based on an objective criterion, as explained in Circular No. 3/E of 2024, and is no longer linked to citizenship requirements.
Under the current provision, the relief is available to individuals who, concurrently:
- have moved abroad for work reasons;
- resided in Italy or carried out an activity in Italy for at least five years prior to the move abroad; and
- purchase the property in the municipality of birth or in the municipality where they had their residence or carried out their activity prior to the transfer abroad.
In this respect, the Revenue Agency reiterates a broad interpretation of the concept of “activity”, consistent with established administrative practice (Circulars No. 1/1994 and No. 19/2001), clarifying that it also includes educational activities, even where unpaid. Accordingly, the municipality in which the taxpayer completed his entire educational and university studies may satisfy the territorial requirement set out by the legislation, as evidence of a substantive—rather than merely formal—connection with the territory.
Compliance with the other conditions laid down in Note II-bis remains mandatory, including the absence of other properties previously benefiting from the relief and the absence of ownership or other real rights over residential properties located in Italy. In this specific scenario, however, neither the transfer of residence to the municipality where the property is located nor its designation as the principal residence is required.
Disposal within five years: confirmation of the one-year deadline for repurchase
A more stringent approach emerges from Ruling No. 314/2025, which addresses forfeiture of the “first-home” relief where the property is disposed of before the expiry of five years from acquisition.
Referring to paragraph 4 of Note II-bis, the Revenue Agency reiterates that, in order to avoid forfeiture, the taxpayer must acquire another residential property within twelve months of the disposal and designate it as his or her principal residence. According to Circular No. 18 of 29 May 2013, the execution and registration of a preliminary sale agreement within that period do not satisfy the statutory requirement, as a preliminary agreement has purely obligatory effects and does not transfer ownership.
The Agency also excludes the possibility of applying by analogy the extension to two years introduced by the 2025 Budget Law for the case governed by paragraph 4-bis of Note II-bis, concerning the resale of a previously owned property where another subsidised property is already owned. Such extension does not affect the general forfeiture regime applicable to disposals within five years, which continues to require repurchase within one year.
This conclusion is grounded in the principle of strict interpretation of tax relief provisions, repeatedly affirmed by Supreme Court case law, pursuant to which rules granting tax benefits cannot be extended beyond the cases and time limits expressly provided for by the legislature.
Where repurchase within one year is not possible, the taxpayer may avail himself of the voluntary disclosure and correction mechanism (ravvedimento operoso), by submitting a specific request for reassessment of the tax due and paying the outstanding amount and interest, without the application of penalties.
Final remarks
The two rulings confirm a balanced interpretative approach: on the one hand, the Revenue Agency recognises the substantive rooting of the taxpayer in the Italian territory, attributing relevance also to educational activities; on the other hand, it maintains a strict stance on compliance with statutory deadlines and the legal effects required to preserve the tax relief. This approach enhances legal certainty in an area—namely the “first-home” relief—of significant practical and fiscal importance.