By Chrysostomos Tsoufis

The tax bill which was made public did not include any particular surprises in its 48 articles in relation to what the finance ministry had already presented.

Except for Article 29 concerning the deduction of building renovation costs, a measure that is valid from 2020. However, in this bill, a double face lift is attempted on the measure in order to make it even more attractive in order to stimulate the real estate market at a time when the problem of lack of housing is booming.

Under the current regime, the tax is reduced only by expenses related to receiving services for the aesthetic, functional or energy upgrading of buildings. In other words, the tax is reduced only by the works, the “labors”. Now, with article 29, the purchases of materials necessary for the works ALSO lead to a tax reduction. This is the first major change.

At the same time, however, the tax reduction also increases significantly.

The old regime provided that the tax is reduced to 40% of expenses with a maximum expenditure of €16,000. That is, the maximum tax reduction was €6,400, which was then divided over the 4 following years of work. That is, someone who did €16,000 worth of work in 2023 would have a tax deduction of €1,600/year for the years 2024, 2024, 2026 and 2027.

The new regulation removes the restrictive 40% so the tax reduction can reach €16,000, and it will be spread over the next 5 years instead of 4. In the previous example, that is, for works+materials of €16,000 in 2023, the tax reduction will be €3,200 for each year of the period 2024-2028!!!

The conditions for someone to receive the tax credit do not change:

– There must be receipts and legal documents for the work and the purchase of the necessary materials and their payment has been made electronically (credit, debit or prepaid cards, web banking)
-Eligible expenses must not have been deducted from the gross income of business activity (you cannot be tax exempted twice from the same expense)
– The upgrade interventions should concern buildings that have not been included or will not be included in building upgrade programs or other grant actions.

For the functional/aesthetic upgrading of the building, the following are considered eligible costs:

-Installation/Replacement of electrical installation
-Installation/Replacement of hydraulic dimension
-Maintenance/Repair of roof
-Masonry repair
– Interior and exterior painting
-Upgrading-Elevator installation
-Change/Repair of floors
-Installation of fixed or mobile shading systems
-Installation of domestic recharging points for electric vehicles

For the energy upgrade of the buildings, the recognized costs are:

-Installation/Upgrade of heating/cooling systems and control devices
-Replacement of frames, glazing and external protective sheets
-Upgrading the lighting of common areas (for apartment buildings)
-Installation of a mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery
-Installation of a hot water production system using RES (Renewable Energy Sources)
-Installation of a system of self-production of electricity (with energy compensation), as well as systems of electric accumulators (batteries) when combined with photovoltaic systems