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When a let counts as short and how it is taxed
The module’s worked examples, then cases to attempt before revealing their solution · 6 sections · 464 words · 6 min
Worked example
Thirty-five days too many
A researcher on secondment rents a two-room flat in Padua for 35 days under a single €1,750 contract. The 30-day limit is exceeded: that contract is not a short let and follows the ordinary rules on leases, registration included. Two separate contracts of 20 and 15 days would each have stayed within the regime.
Worked example
The room with breakfast
Lucia lets a room in her flat to tourists for stays of three or four nights at €70 a night. As long as she provides a bed, linen and wi-fi, each contract is a short let. If she starts serving breakfast for €10 extra per person, the service falls outside the boundary: according to the Agency the activity becomes a business.
Worked example
The same takings under both regimes
An owner takes €8,000 from short lets on the only home he lets. Under the cedolare at 21% he pays €1,680. Under ordinary taxation the income is €8,000 × 95% = €7,600: at a 33% marginal rate IRPEF comes to €2,508, at 23% to €1,748, plus surcharges in both cases. Here the cedolare wins either way.
Worked example
Flat-rate cleaning and metered utilities
A five-night stay costs the guest €400 for the accommodation, €60 for end-of-stay cleaning at a fixed price and €25 for electricity recharged from the meter reading. The cedolare base is €400 + €60 = €460. The €25 stays out because it reimburses actual consumption.
Worked example
The son as borrower
A father lends his son a flat in Naples free of charge. The son lets it to tourists for one-week stays and takes €7,000 in the year. The father goes on declaring the property income of the flat. The son declares the €7,000 as miscellaneous income and may elect the cedolare secca on those fees.
Practical case
The studio by the sea
Carla owns a single studio flat, which in 2026 she lets to tourists for single weeks only, linen and cleaning included. Guests paid her €6,000 in all: of this, €900 is the fixed cleaning fee and €300 is gas and electricity recharged on actual meter readings. Carla elects the cedolare and names the studio as the reduced-rate unit. What is the taxable base and how much is the flat tax?
Hint: Ask which sums reimburse an actual cost and which are the price of the stay, then apply the rate for the chosen unit.
Show the solution
The contracts are weekly, concern a home and include only allowed ancillary services: they are short lets. The flat cleaning fee is part of the price and stays in the base; utilities recharged at actual cost come out. The base is €6,000 − €300 = €5,700. The studio is the unit named in the return, so the rate is 21%: €5,700 × 21% = €1,197.
Answer: A €5,700 base and €1,197 of cedolare
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