What happens to property benefits in the event of succession?

27.12.2022

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If the property is acquired by inheritance, the remaining deductions are transferred in full to the heir only

To retain and benefit from the tax benefit provided for building interventions, in case of succession, the heirs must have the material and direct possession of the property

If the property is rented or granted on a gratuitous loan for even part of the year, the heir cannot benefit from the portion of the deduction referring to that year

Property tax benefits and inheritance: the question addressed to the Agency

In the event of the death of the person entitled, the enjoyment of the tax benefit is transmitted, in full, exclusively to the heir who retains the material and direct possession of the property. This is one of the principles to be derived from the answer to interpellation rendered by the Revenue Agency No. 594/2022, in which the petitioner asked whether or not, as an heir, he would be entitled to benefit from the residual portions (No. 3) of the tax deduction provided for building renovations due to the de cuius. Even though the property subject to the interventions, at the time of the interpellation, appeared to be ''partially and temporarily'' leased to third parties. In the hypothesis submitted to the Agency, the petitioner highlighted the following: that his parent, deceased, had benefited from 2015 to 2021 from the ''deduction for extraordinary works'' performed on the inherited property that following his death, he had taken over ownership of the property through a legal succession that the property in its current state would result in partially and temporarily leased. That there would result in No. 3 residual shares of the deduction, still due to the de cuius. In light of the preceding, the petitioner believes that having succeeded as heir to the debts and credits of the de cuius, it would be ''illogical'' not to be able to benefit from the residual installments of deduction that would be due to his father, the same being a credit due to him.

Agency response

In the opinion of the Agency, as a general rule, it can be considered that in the event of the death of the person entitled, the enjoyment of the tax benefit is transmitted, in full, exclusively to the heir who retains the material and direct possession of the property. In more detail, moreover, recalling Circular No. 28/E of July 25, 2022, it can be observed how:

the change in the ownership of the property on which the subsidized interventions are carried out before the entire period of enjoyment of the deduction has elapsed entails, in the most frequent cases, the transfer of the unused portions of the deduction
in order to determine who can benefit from the share of the deduction relating to a year, it is necessary to identify the person who owned the property on December 31 of that year
In case of acquisition of the property by inheritance, the remaining shares of the deduction are transferred in full exclusively to the heir or heirs who retain the material and direct possession of the property.

In these terms, the Agency notes, the deduction accrues to the person who has the immediate availability of the property, being able to dispose of it freely and at will when he or she wishes, regardless of whether he or she has used the property as his or her principal residence.

What happens to the inherited benefit if the property is rented?

Having clarified that the benefit also operates in the case of inheritance and having identified the mechanisms that allow the deduction enjoyed by the de cuius to continue to be enjoyed by the heir, the Agency dwells on the hypothesis of rented property.
In this regard, the Agency observes that if the property is leased, the deduction is not due since the heir-owner cannot fully dispose of the property. As it is given to read in response to interpello in comment, the material and direct possession of the property subject to the interventions must exist ''for the entire duration of the tax period of reference''; therefore, in all cases in which the property received as an inheritance is rented or granted on loan even for only part of the year, the heir will not be able to benefit from the share of the deduction referring to that year.

The condition of the material and direct possession of the property must exist not only for the year of acceptance of the inheritance but also for each year for which the taxpayer intends to benefit from the remaining installments of deduction.
It follows that the heir cannot benefit from the installments of deductions about the years in which they do not hold the property directly because, for example, it is granted on loan or lease; at the end of the lease or loan agreement, they will be able to benefit from any remaining installments about it.