There are four mandatory requirements by law to take advantage of tax relief for the purchase of a first home which we mentioned earlier:
a) the purchase must relate to an abode which cannot be considered a “luxury home” according to a series of particular criteria (set by the Ministerial Decree of August, 2nd 1969), among which there is mainly the surface, which must not exceed 240 square meters (excluding balconies, terraces, basements, attics, stairs and parking lots);
b) the property must be located in the municipality in which the purchaser is resident or in which he/she intends to establish it within 18 months from the signing or in the municipality where the purchaser has his main activity (any type of business including those carried out without remuneration), this assumption is not necessary if you are an Italian citizens who emigrated abroad or if you belong to the permanent staff in the military personnel or the police.
c) the purchaser shall not be the holder an exclusive or in community property with his/her spouse (legal or conventional) of ownership rights, usufruct, use and abode of other dwelling houses in the municipality where the property to buy is located. Consequently, the co-‐ownership of an abode with parties, other than the spouse, does not hinder the tax relief application;
d) you do not have to be the holder of shares, even under the legal community property, on the national territory, of ownership rights, usufruct, use, abode or residual life estate, of another home, also purchased by your spouse, having taken advantage of the tax relief benefits for “first time homebuyer tax credit”.
The conditions referred to in subparagraphs c) and d) and the commitment to establish his/her residency within 18 months on the part of the buyer who does not reside in the municipality where the property to buy is located, must be attested by a specific declaration to be included the deed of sale or, as clarified by the Income Tax Office, in an addendum. The action of checking the existence of the requirements of the “first time homebuyer tax credit” can be done by the locally competent Income Tax Office within a maximum period of 3 years after purchase.