IMU and Primary Residence: Italy’s Supreme Court Clarifies the Rules

Selling a portion of one’s primary residence, dedicating part of a home to temporary use, or integrating private spaces with professional functions is becoming increasingly common — even among owners of high-value properties.

For years, however, this choice exposed many homeowners to an unexpected tax risk: losing the IMU exemption on their primary residence. A restrictive interpretation of the law, applied by some municipalities, argued that renting out even a small portion of one’s home was enough to forfeit the benefit.

The Italian Supreme Court has now put an end to this ambiguity.

With ruling no. 8236 of 2026, the Court clearly established that the IMU exemption is preserved even when part of a primary residence is rented out, provided that the owner continues to live there permanently and maintains it as their registered residence.

In other words: what matters is that the property remains one’s home — not that it is used exclusively for residential purposes.

What Changes — and for Whom

This was not a minor issue. For high-end properties (cadastral categories A/1, A/8 and A/9), IMU on a primary residence can represent a significant cost.

The risk of losing the exemption simply for partially leasing one’s residence had created uncertainty and, in many cases, led to costly and burdensome disputes with local tax authorities.

The Supreme Court clarified that no law requires the exclusive use of a property as a condition for qualifying as a primary residence. Attempts to impose such a requirement through interpretation lacked any legal basis.

It is also worth noting that this position had already been expressed by the Ministry of Economy in 2012 and reaffirmed in 2013. The ruling now elevates that interpretation into a consolidated legal principle, making it far more difficult to challenge.

For owners of high-quality properties, the message is clear: managing one’s space with flexibility — allocating part of the residence to professional use, hosting selected guests, or adapting the layout over time — does not compromise the tax treatment or legal status of the primary residence.

It is a freedom recognized by law — and one that should be exercised with awareness.

Property as a Choice, Not a Constraint

In this sense, the ruling is not only good news from a tax perspective. It is also an invitation to rethink the relationship with one’s property in a more strategic and less rigid way.

A home is not a static container: it is a living asset that can be shaped over time, in response to family needs, market opportunities, and thoughtful wealth planning.

The role of professionals operating in the high-end real estate sector is precisely this: to support clients not in a single transaction, but in a long-term vision where property selection, usage strategies, and tax management are all part of a single, coherent approach.

Krhome Real Estate supports investors and families in the management and enhancement of high-value properties, with an integrated vision that combines market expertise with a deep understanding of tax and wealth dynamics — so that those who own valuable assets can live in them, manage them, and pass them on with full awareness.