The year 2025 is shaping up to be one where Italy continues to focus on intertwining building regulations with the need to ensure everyone’s right to vertical mobility. The installation of lifting platforms and other devices aimed at eliminating architectural barriers is a highly relevant topic, particularly in apartment buildings where individuals with disabilities or mobility issues reside.
The Italian Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) has recently clarified a crucial aspect related to elevator deductions. Specifically, a user posed the following question: “In a three-story apartment building, it was decided to install a lifting platform in the internal stairwell to facilitate the mobility of disabled people. Only two out of six condominium owners decided to share the expenses. Can these two owners benefit from the tax deduction on the entire amount spent for the installation, or is the benefit limited to the portion of the expense calculated according to their ownership shares?”
The Italian Revenue Agency referred to existing legislation and previous clarifications on the matter. Law no. 234/2021 (2022 Budget Law) introduced a 75% deduction for expenses aimed at removing architectural barriers in existing buildings, covering interventions on stairs, ramps, elevators, stairlifts, and lifting platforms (Article 119-ter of D.L. 34/2020). Initially valid only for 2022, this benefit was extended until December 31, 2025, by Law no. 197/2022 (2023 Budget Law).
In response no. 291/2022 and circular no. 7/2021, the Italian Revenue Agency also established the following:
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In the case of installing a communal elevator, those bearing the expense can only benefit from the deduction for their proportional share of the cost, as the elevator becomes a shared property usable by all condominium owners.
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For the installation of a stairlift or lifting platform, however, the deduction fully applies to the individual who covered the expense, as it is a tool exclusively intended for the disabled condominium owner
