Short-Term Rental Tax in Italy: The Real Cedolare Secca Rules for 2026

By Patrick

The short version

For a foreign owner letting an Italian property short-term — contracts of 30 days or fewer, outside an existing business — the ordinary cedolare secca rate is 26% of gross rental income. You may elect 21% for one property of your choosing each tax period, declared on your tax return. From 1 January 2026 the favourable regime, at either rate, tops out at two apartments per tax period. None of this depends on where you live: cedolare secca carries no Italian residency requirement.

Where the rates come from

The 2024 Budget Law (Legge 213/2023) restructured how the Agenzia delle Entrate taxes locazioni brevi. 26% became the ordinary rate. The 21% figure most guidance still quotes survives only for one rental unit per tax period, chosen by the owner and identified in the return — it isn't automatic, and it isn't available property-by-property once you own more than one. Eligibility turns on being a natural person letting outside a business, not on Italian tax residency, so a foreign owner uses the same structure as a full-time resident.

The platform's 21% is a down payment, not the bill

Airbnb and Booking.com withhold 21% from every payout. Under Article 4(5) of Decreto Legge 50/2017, as amended by the 2024 Budget Law, that withholding is always provisional (a titolo di acconto) and applied regardless of the rate you actually owe. If you've elected 21% for that property, it settles your bill. If your correct rate is 26%, you owe the balance yourself via an F24: in one instalment by 30 November if it's under €257.52, or in two, by 30 June and 30 November, above that.

The 2026 cliff

The Legge di Bilancio 2026 (Legge 199/2025, art. 1, comma 17) caps cedolare secca on short lets at two apartments per tax period, down from four. Beyond that threshold, the law presumes the activity is carried out in business form: partita IVA, INPS contributions on the rental income, and ordinary bookkeeping in place of a simple substitute-tax return. Cedolare secca stops being available for the activity as a whole, not just for the extra property.

How you declare it

Short-term rental income under cedolare secca goes in Quadro RB of the annual Modello Redditi Persone Fisiche, using the CU (Certificazione Unica) the platform issues for the tax it withheld. Unlike an ordinary long-term lease, the contract needn't be registered — but the substitute tax is reconciled at filing, not settled by the platform's withholding alone.

In numbers

One apartment earning €20,000 gross, designated for the 21% election: €4,200. A second earning €15,000 at 26%: €3,900 more, for €8,100 combined — still filed as a private individual. Add a third, and the whole activity is presumed a business, with accounting in place of a flat percentage on the top line. Illustrative figures on the published rates only; a commercialista needs your full income picture, any withholding already applied, and your municipality's rules.

Expect it to move again

Italy's short-let regime has changed twice in three years, and the pattern — narrow the favourable rate, then narrow the eligible count — tends to continue. The Legge di Bilancio 2027 is expected between October and December 2026. Treat the above as current as of September 2026.

Before you buy, price the real tax rate. A listing's advertised yield rarely accounts for which rate you'll land in, let alone a cap that changes your legal status. A Trovara Individual Property Report models investment returns for the specific property you're considering, alongside eight further pillars covering legal risk, structural condition and verified comparable sales.

This article was prepared with AI assistance and reviewed by the Trovara team. General information based on Italian tax law as of September 2026, not tax or legal advice — confirm your situation with a commercialista before filing.