Taxes
Whatever your source of income, you can calculate the taxes and contributions you will owe and compare the options to find the best one for you.
Flat-rate rental tax at 21%, at 10% or standard IRPEF: how much do you really pay on your rent?
TaxDemocracy calculates both schemes side by side on your real rent, IMU included, and shows you which one wins.
The tax on rental income comes down to a choice you make just once
When you register a rental contract you can choose between two routes: the flat-rate rental tax (cedolare secca), a substitute tax with a fixed rate of 21% (which drops to 10% for agreed-rent contracts), or standard IRPEF, where 95% of the rent is added to your other income and taxed by brackets, plus regional and municipal surtaxes and registration tax. The difference between the two options can exceed 1,400 euros a year on a rent of 800 euros a month.
The problem is that the right answer isn't the same for everyone: it depends on your marginal IRPEF rate, the municipality where you live, the type of contract and even the tax credits you already have. That's why calculators that only show the cedolare tell half the story. Below you'll find the rules updated to 2026 with worked examples; when you want your exact figures, the tool compares both schemes on your specific case.
How the comparison works on TaxDemocracy
- 1
Enter your annual rent, the type of contract (4+4, 3+2 agreed-rent, transitional or short let) and your other income: these are needed to calculate your real marginal rate, surtaxes included.
- 2
The tool calculates the flat-rate rental tax (cedolare secca) and standard IRPEF in parallel on the same scenario, including the 5% reduction of the rent, the registration tax and the Italian property tax (IMU) on the let property.
- 3
You compare the two totals on a single screen and see how much you save with one or the other. No email required, no cost.
What you can do with Tax Democracy
21% or 10%: the example on a rent of 800 euros a month
The rate of the flat-rate rental tax (cedolare secca) depends on the contract, not on your income. The 21% applies to free-market rent contracts, the classic 4+4. The 10% applies to agreed-rent contracts (3+2, transitional and for university students) signed in municipalities with high housing pressure, including Rome, Milan, Turin, Bologna and Naples, on the basis of the local agreements between landlord and tenant associations.
On a rent of 800 euros a month, that is 9,600 euros a year, the numbers look like this:
- Cedolare at 21% (free-market rent): 9,600 × 21% = 2,016 euros a year.
- Cedolare at 10% (agreed rent): 9,600 × 10% = 960 euros a year.
- Standard IRPEF with a marginal rate of 33% (income between 28,000 and 50,000 euros): taxable base 9,120 euros (95% of the rent), tax 3,010 euros, plus around 180 euros of surtaxes and 96 euros of registration tax on your side: around 3,290 euros.
Watch out when comparing within the same contract: agreed rent under the standard scheme enjoys a further 30% reduction, so the taxable base falls to 66.5% of the rent. Even so, with the 10% cedolare the substitute scheme almost always remains the more advantageous. Agreed rent also brings IMU reduced by 25% in most municipalities.
When the cedolare wins and when standard IRPEF does
The rule of thumb: if your marginal IRPEF rate is above 21%, that is if your total income goes beyond 28,000 euros, the cedolare at 21% wins almost every time. Below that threshold the advantage narrows, because IRPEF at 23% on 95% of the rent equals an effective rate of 21.85%, very close to the cedolare. At that point the secondary items weigh in: with the cedolare you don't pay surtaxes, registration tax (2% of the rent, split with the tenant) or stamp duty, and this usually settles the matter in its favour.
There are, however, cases where the standard scheme really does win. If the rent is your only income or nearly so, with the cedolare you risk losing IRPEF tax credits you have no way of using: medical expenses, renovations and mortgage interest are only offset against IRPEF, not against the substitute tax. And with the cedolare you give up, by law, the ISTAT inflation adjustment of the rent for the entire duration of the option, even if the contract provides for it: with inflation at the levels of recent years, that's no minor detail. One last often-ignored point: income under the cedolare still counts in full towards the ISEE means test, so it can affect the single allowance and other benefits.
That's too many variables for a generic table. The honest way to answer is to run both calculations on your own numbers.
Short lets, IMU and what changes in 2026
For short lets (up to 30 days, the typical Airbnb and Booking case) the cedolare stays at 21% on a single property of your choice, to be stated in your tax return, and rises to 26% on any further ones. From 2026 the limit has tightened: you can assign at most two apartments a year to short lets under the cedolare; from the third onwards the activity is treated as a business and you need a VAT number (partita IVA). If you collect through portals or intermediaries, they apply a 21% withholding that you then reconcile in your tax return.
The IMU chapter: the cedolare replaces IRPEF, surtaxes, registration tax and stamp duty, but not the IMU, which remains due on the let property because it's not your main home. On a one-bedroom flat in a provincial capital we're often talking about 800-1,200 euros a year: ignoring it skews any comparison of which is cheaper. That's why the tool includes it in the total.
You exercise the option for the cedolare with the RLI form when you register the contract, or in subsequent years within 30 days of the previous year's expiry. It can be revoked each year on the same timeline, returning to the standard scheme (and paying registration tax again from then on).
Frequently asked questions
Cedolare secca at 21 or 10: what determines the rate?
The type of contract. The 21% applies to free-market rent contracts (4+4). The 10% applies only to agreed-rent contracts — 3+2, transitional and for students — signed under the local agreements, generally in municipalities with high housing pressure. You can't choose 10% on a 4+4: to get it you must sign an agreed-rent contract, accepting the rent cap set by the local agreements.
Do I lose tax credits with the flat-rate rental tax (cedolare secca)?
The tax credits aren't lost, but they're only offset against IRPEF. If you have other sizeable income (a salary, a pension), you carry on using them as normal. The problem arises when the rent is your main income: the substitute tax allows no tax credits, so medical expenses, the renovation bonus and mortgage interest risk being lost. In that case standard IRPEF can work out cheaper despite the higher rate.
How much tax do I pay on a rent of 800 euros a month?
On 9,600 euros a year: 2,016 euros with the cedolare at 21%, 960 euros with the cedolare at 10% (agreed rent), while under standard IRPEF it depends on your other income — around 2,300 euros with a 23% marginal rate, around 3,290 euros with a 33% marginal rate, surtaxes and registration tax included. On top of these amounts comes the IMU, which is due in any case. You can compare the two schemes on your exact rent in a couple of minutes, free and without leaving your email.
Does the flat-rate rental tax (cedolare secca) also apply to short lets like Airbnb?
Yes, with its own rules: 21% on a single property of your choice and 26% on any further ones. From 2026 the scheme is allowed for at most two apartments assigned to short lets a year; from the third the activity becomes a business and requires a VAT number (partita IVA). The portals and intermediaries that collect the rents apply a 21% withholding, which you reclaim or top up in your tax return.
How do you elect the flat-rate rental tax (cedolare secca)?
With the RLI form, the same one used to register the contract: you can elect it straight away at registration or in subsequent years, within 30 days of the previous year's expiry. When the contract is renewed the option must be confirmed on the same terms. Remember the side effect: for the whole period the option is in force you give up the ISTAT inflation adjustment of the rent, even if the contract provides for it.