Italian Renovation Incentives 2027: Why the 65% Matters Less Than It Looks

Since mid-September 2026 customers have all been asking the same thing: "I read that 65% is coming in 2027 — should I wait?". It is a legitimate question, but it rests on a misunderstanding that costs a construction company thousands of euros per quote.

The 65% proposal concerns the ecobonus, the perimeter of energy-efficiency works. It does not concern the renovation as a whole. And on a mixed job — which is the norm — that difference reverses the answer.

What would fall inside the 65%, and what would not

According to press reports on the proposal under consideration, the strengthened ecobonus perimeter would cover only part of the works in a renovation:

In a typical full renovation the energy portion is worth around 30% of the value. Everything else would follow the ordinary building-bonus curve, that is 36% on a primary residence from 2027.

The arithmetic on a mixed renovation

This is where the answer reverses compared with a company that only fits windows. Take €50,000 of work on a primary residence, with €15,000 of energy works and €35,000 of everything else:

The threshold can be calculated: for waiting merely to break even, around 48% of the value of the works would have to fall inside the energy perimeter — €24,100 out of €50,000. That share is only reached on jobs aimed almost entirely at energy efficiency, not on a normal renovation. And it would still be a break-even conditional on the 65% actually being approved.

The opposite case is a company selling windows only: there the 65% would apply to 100% of the supply, and the arithmetic changes completely. It is worth knowing, because a customer who hears two different answers from two suppliers trusts the one who can explain why.

What are the 2027 rates under current legislation?

This is the comparison between expenses incurred in 2026 and those in 2027 under the rules in force today. The scheme applies to the renovation bonus, the ecobonus and the seismic bonus alike: the reduction curve is the same.

The deduction is recovered in ten equal annual instalments. Italy's new consolidated income tax act reorganised the building-incentive rules during 2026, but without changing the rates already set: the reorganisation changes the legal architecture, not the numbers the customer cares about.

The cap that halves in 2028

This is the part almost nobody talks about, and for companies doing turnkey work it matters more than the rate. The cap of €96,000 per property unit remains confirmed for expenses incurred up to 31 December 2027. From 2028, under current legislation, it drops to €48,000.

A full renovation of an apartment often exceeds €48,000. Which means a customer considering a significant project today faces not one deadline but two: the rate at the end of 2026 and the cap at the end of 2027. For work to be phased across years, that is a real planning factor — and a piece of advice that separates a company from one that merely produces a quote.

Is the reduction certain?

No, but the reverse holds too: the 65% is not certain either. As of September 2026 there is no draft legislation, no definitive list of eligible works, no caps. These are press reports about a proposal under consideration, with funding notionally drawn from European flexibility for the energy transition. The Budget Law, approved by the end of December, can confirm the reduction, extend the current rates, or introduce the strengthened ecobonus.

For a construction company the consequence is precise: you cannot promise 36% in 2027, nor reassure anyone that 50% will stay. The only verifiable statement is that whoever pays by December 2026 already knows their rate, while whoever waits will find out at the end of the year.

By when do you have to pay to fall under 2026?

In renovation this point matters more than anywhere else, because builds are long and customers assume they will not make it in time. Often they will: the cash basis applies, meaning the expense is considered incurred when the payment is ordered, not when the works finish.

• The transfer counts, not the building site. A build finishing in 2027 still falls under the 2026 rates for every amount paid by 31 December 2026. Payment milestones are the natural instrument for that.
• The order counts, not the debit. A transfer placed on 31 December falls under 2026 even if the value date is in January.
• It has to be a compliant transfer. Payment reference citing the legislation, tax code of the person claiming, VAT number of the company. An ordinary transfer loses the deduction, regardless of the date.

A company that sets the payment plan with this in mind gives the customer a concrete advantage competitors are not communicating. It is advice, not a discount.

What changes, in practice, for renovation companies

• Split the quote into energy and non-energy. It is the single most useful change right now: it lets the customer see exactly what the 65% would and would not touch, and it makes your advice verifiable.
• The payment plan is a sales argument. Structuring instalments so the larger share is paid by December is not a trick: it is the correct way to use the cash-basis rule in the customer's favour.
• Stalled quotes are worth more than new leads. Anyone who received a quote in the last twelve months and did not close is the warmest audience you have, and today they have a new reason to reopen the conversation.
• Response speed remains decisive. In this sector whoever responds within five minutes gets the site visit in roughly nine cases out of ten: a tax deadline is worth nothing if the lead waits two days for a call back. We cover it in lead generation for renovation companies.

How to say it without alarmism

The question about the 65% will come, and the worst answer is to brush it aside. The customer read it somewhere and wants to know whether it applies to them: whoever explains it with their own numbers stands apart from those who ignore it or simply push.

This version promises nothing it cannot deliver, and it offers a practical solution on top. It is the difference between selling a deadline and selling competence.

In summary

The 65% ecobonus under discussion would cover only the energy perimeter, which in a full renovation is worth around 30% of the value. The arithmetic says waiting loses in both scenarios: €22,350 in the best and €18,000 in the worst, against €25,000 for whoever pays by December. On top of that sits the cap that halves in 2028.

For a construction company that means a quarter in which the tax lever is at its strongest and, immediately after, a gap to fill. If you want to reach January with a flow of site visits that does not depend on incentives, now is the time to build it: that is the work we do on marketing for renovation companies.