Sismabonus, new for 2023: stop to credit transfer and invoice discount

On 17 February 2023, Legislative Decree 11/2023 came into force which officially abolishes the possibility of opting for a discount on the invoice and the transfer of credit to take advantage of tax bonuses for building interventions in production activities, including the Sismabonus.

It is important to specify that this decree does not abolish building bonuses for the use of tax deductions. All bonuses (including Sismabonus) are therefore still accessible for interventions that have yet to begin via the classic tax deduction method, in fact the Sismabonus is still accessible until 31/12/2024.

It will therefore be necessary to evaluate the fiscal capacity of the company in advance in order to be able to access all the deductions due.

Which exceptions allow for still accessing the transfer of credit

However, there is a clause that safeguards at least part of the interventions and that allows for still opting for the transfer of the credit of the deduction and discount on the invoice. The interventions affected are those that have presented building permits or that started before the entry into force of this decree: works that began by 16 February 2023 can still access the transfer of credit and discount on the invoice as a method of use of the Sismabonus.

According to Legislative Decree 11/2023, the necessary documents to be presented to access the credit transfer are:

Certification of start of work.

The documentation that can demonstrate the start of the work is varied, but it is decidedly important: preliminary notification, building documents presented to the municipality and photographic files are the most relevant and accessible examples to support the certification of the start of work by the date set as the deadline envisaged by Legislative Decree 11/2023.
The start of work in the company must be documented by the client and the works supervisor.

Transaction recording

The decree also specifies that if it is still possible to opt for the transfer of the credit deriving from the Sismabonus “purchases,” it is necessary for the preliminary agreement to still be recorded by 16 February 2023.
As an alternative to the preliminary contract, the definitive purchase and sale contract must have been signed by the same date.

In essence, accessing the transfer of credit and discount on the invoice for the Sismabonus is a possibility limited to interventions started by the date of entry into force of Legislative Decree 11/2023, for all subsequent interventions the recovery of the tax bonuses is limited to a tax return deduction.

What did the transfer of credit for the Sismabonus consist of?

By transfer of credit, we mean the possibility for the productive activity benefiting from a tax deduction to transfer the credit that has accrued thanks to the support of a seismic requalification intervention (in the case of the Sismabonus), obviously subject to a fee.
The taxpaying company takes charge of the expense for the aforementioned works and accumulates an IRPEF credit (or IRES credit, depending on the case), at a pre-established rate in relation to the expense.
The taxpayer can therefore exploit the credit directly, offsetting their own tax bills or can decide to transfer their credit to third parties. In this situation, the taxpayer is called “transferor,” while the person who obtains the credit is called “transferee.”

Discount on the invoice and the Sismabonus

For the Sismabonus as well, the discount on the invoice is a method with which these credits can be used by the transferor to the transferee.
If the company benefiting from the deduction decides to pursue this method, the supplier of goods and services (the company that takes care of the intervention or the technicians as the case may be) applies a discount directly to the invoice to the taxpayer, based on the deduction rate at which the transferor has access to, which for the Sismabonus can reach up to 80% of the expenses incurred.

In conclusion, according to what was said previously, all production activities that are considering implementing anti-seismic redevelopment interventions making them entitled to Sismabonus but which do not satisfy the conditions dictated by Legislative Decree 11/2023, will be able to benefit from this tax deduction only on tax returns.