Sismabonus: deductions for earthquake protection work

Through the so-called 'Sismabonus', all those who carry out interventions to adopt earthquake protection measures on buildings can deduct part of the expenses incurred from their income tax. The deduction percentage and the rules to access this tax relief are different, but obviously, higher deductions are available when the work performed leads to a greater reduction in seismic risk.

Who can benefit from the Sismabonus?

This tax relief is aimed at both individuals and companies, i.e. taxpayers subject to personal income tax (Irpef) or corporate income tax (Ires). Earthquake protection interventions can be carried out on all residential buildings - and on those used for production activities - located in high-risk seismic zones (zones 1 and 2) and in lower-risk seismic zones (zone 3)*. The deduction applies to expenses incurred during the year and, for interventions with a building permit by 16/02/2023, for the Third Sector or for interventions on buildings damaged by earthquakes or floods, the credit or contribution is provided in the form of a rebate.

What are the advantages of the Sismabonus?

For expenses incurred from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2024, there is a 50% deduction, calculated against a maximum total of EUR 96,000 per property unit per year, which will then be divided into five equal annual instalments. In some cases, even higher deductions are envisaged:

• 70 or 80%, if the interventions result in a seismic risk reduction of 1 or 2 classes;

• 80 or 85% when the works are carried out on the common parts of apartment buildings.

Expenditure on buildings under construction is excluded from the allowance, but the deduction may still apply in the case of:

• demolition and reconstruction of a building, provided there is no increase in volume, or with an increase in volume due solely to the seismic retrofitting of the building;

• renovation without demolition but with extension of the building, only for expenses related to the existing part.

Tax relief does not apply in the case of demolition and reconstruction with extension as the intervention is considered to be a “new build”.

For those who purchase a property in a building that has been demolished and rebuilt in municipalities in areas classified as “Seismic risk 1”, it is possible to deduct 75 or 85% of the purchase price, up to a maximum of EUR 96,000.

On the other hand, the so-called “Super sismabonus” is due to expire on 31 December 2023. It was introduced with deductions of up to 110 per cent for certain earthquake-protection measures carried out in conjunction with leading works included in the Superbonus.

Which earthquake protection works are covered by the Sismabonus?

There are several parameters to be considered when identifying the most appropriate earthquake protection works: the type of construction (single-storey or multi-storey), the type of load-bearing structure (masonry, reinforced concrete, wood), the foundations on which the building rests, the seismic zone, and the context in which the building is located. Equally fundamental to the choice of intervention is the advice of a competent technician, who can perform the appropriate diagnostic investigations and laboratory tests.

It is also important to distinguish between seismic upgrading, which is aimed at increasing the level of seismic safety, and seismic retrofitting, which is aimed at reaching the safety threshold required by law, depending on the seismic classification for the zone in which the building is located.

Here are the main types of earthquake protection interventions:

• Consolidation of masonry: structural deficits and atmospheric agents can lead to subsidence and therefore make it necessary to reinforce floors and walls (load-bearing and non-load-bearing) using fibre-reinforced plasters with a polymer matrix (FRP), carbon or glass fibres, mortars and thermosetting resins.

• Reinforcement of reinforced concrete or wooden structures: calculation errors during dimensioning, wear and tear, and stress can weaken wooden and reinforced concrete beams, pillars and columns. For work on these structures, carbon fibres have proven to be the most widely used, because they are light and quick to apply.

• Structural reinforcement works on floors: the use of connectors allows a thin slab, often made of concrete with electro-welded mesh, to be placed over the existing structure.

• Use of anti-seismic devices: seismic energy dissipation devices dissipate a large part of the energy transmitted to the structure during an earthquake, thus reducing the stresses in the structural elements; seismic isolators are positioned between foundations and elevated structures to decouple the frequencies of the earthquake from the frequencies of the elevated structure and avoid the occurrence of resonance phenomena; seismic expansion joints, on the other hand, allow the continuity of a structure to be interrupted and thus avoid seismic damage to two adjacent areas.

• Geotechnical consolidation: the improvement of foundation soils is just as necessary as structural improvement.

*Ordinance of the President of the Council of Ministers no. 3274 of 20 March 2003.