Cedolare secca for short-term lets in 2026: what changes

If you let one or more flats on Airbnb, Booking or any other platform in Italy, 2026 has rewritten the rules structurally. These aren’t marginal adjustments. The 2026 Budget Law (Law no. 199/2025, in force from 1 January) has changed thresholds, tax rates and obligations in ways that concretely affect anyone managing short-term lets in Italy.

Anyone letting a single flat will find few changes compared with previous years. Anyone managing three or more finds themselves under a completely different regime from twelve months ago, with obligations that didn’t exist before.

This guide explains what has changed, how the new system works and what to do in practice to stay compliant without surprises.

Note for readers outside Italy: cedolare secca is a flat-rate substitute tax on Italian rental income, chosen instead of ordinary progressive income tax (IRPEF). It’s a piece of Italian tax legislation, and the figures below apply specifically to properties let in Italy.

The 2026 rates: a three-tier system

Until 2025, the system was relatively straightforward: cedolare secca at 21% on one property, 26% on the others, up to four properties in total. From 2026 the system has a different structure.

On the first property, the one the taxpayer designates on their tax return, the rate stays at 21%. Which property to designate as the first is a free choice: it’s worth designating the one with the highest income, so the reduced rate applies where it makes the biggest economic difference.

On the second property, the rate automatically rises to 26%. There’s no choice here: the second property always pays 26%, regardless of which one is designated as the first.

From the third property onwards, the situation changes radically. It’s no longer a question of rates or of cedolare secca at all. From 2026, anyone letting three or more flats short-term within the same calendar year is automatically treated by law as running a business. It’s an absolute presumption: it doesn’t allow evidence to the contrary, and it doesn’t depend on how much you earn or how you run the activity. Anyone with three flats on short-term let in 2026 is a business owner by law, full stop.

The VAT registration requirement: when it kicks in and what it means

From the third flat on short-term let, the requirement to register for VAT (partita IVA) kicks in. This brings with it the whole chain of business tax obligations: VAT to manage, accounts to keep, a business tax return, and INPS social security contributions to pay.

An important distinction many people don’t know: the requirement concerns flats (distinct property units), not rooms within a flat. Letting three rooms inside a single flat doesn’t trigger the VAT requirement. The count is by cadastrally distinct properties.

Another relevant distinction: short-term let contracts (under 30 days) are counted separately from ordinary long-term let contracts. Anyone letting two flats short-term and another two under an ordinary long-term contract doesn’t exceed the threshold of three short-term let properties. They stay within the tier where cedolare secca still applies.

The law provides that the threshold is calculated annually: it’s the number of properties let short-term over the course of the 2026 calendar year, not at a single point in time. Anyone with three flats who lets two in summer and one in winter, all three within the same tax year, falls under the presumption of running a business.

A practical example: how much is paid

Marco has two flats that he lets on Airbnb throughout 2026. The first earns 15,000 euros in gross fees, the second 8,000 euros. Marco can stay under the private regime without registering for VAT.

It’s worth designating the property with the higher income as the first one, because the second automatically gets taxed at 26%. Marco designates the first flat, earning 15,000 euros, as the discounted property: on this he pays 21%, meaning 3,150 euros. On the second, earning 8,000 euros, he pays 26%, meaning 2,080 euros. Total cedolare secca: 5,230 euros.

If Marco had a third flat earning 5,000 euros, without VAT registration he could no longer operate short-term lets on all three. With VAT registration and the flat-rate scheme (regime forfettario, if he meets the requirements, meaning he doesn’t exceed 65,000 euros in revenue from all activities and has no other disqualifying conditions), the effective rate would be 15% on a taxable base calculated with a 40% profitability coefficient. On 28,000 euros total revenue, the taxable base would be 11,200 euros, the tax 1,680 euros. Effectively less than cedolare secca, provided the costs of VAT registration are added in (accountant, minimum INPS contributions).

The comparison between cedolare secca and the VAT flat-rate scheme needs making case by case, taking into account total income, other tax obligations, and the running costs of VAT registration.

The CIN: the requirement with teeth

The National Identification Code (Codice Identificativo Nazionale, CIN) has been mandatory for all hospitality businesses and short-term let properties since 2024. In 2026, checks have intensified significantly.

The code needs obtaining through the Ministry of Tourism’s portal, displaying physically at the entrance of the property (on a clearly visible plaque) and including in every online listing, on every platform. The EU DAC7 Directive requires booking platforms such as Airbnb and Booking to automatically pass on to the Italian Revenue Agency the data of all hosts: amounts received, property land registry data, number of nights let, bank details. The tax authorities already know your earnings before you file your tax return.

The penalty for not displaying the CIN ranges from 800 to 8,000 euros per property. That’s not a symbolic figure. Airbnb and Booking automatically hide listings without a valid CIN, which means losing bookings on top of the fine.

Physical safety requirements

Since 2024, every flat let short-term needs to be fitted with combustible gas and carbon monoxide detectors. At least one portable fire extinguisher every 200 square metres is also mandatory. The absence of these devices carries fines from 600 to 6,000 euros.

Identifying guests remains a requirement with no exceptions. Guest data needs submitting to the local police headquarters (Questura) through the Alloggiati Web portal within 24 hours of arrival. The rules are clear on one point: sending a photo of an ID document via WhatsApp isn’t a legally valid method of identification. A process is needed that guarantees certainty of identity.

Cedolare secca for ordinary lets

For ordinary long-term let contracts (4+4, 3+2 year terms), the 2026 rules don’t change from the past. The rate stays at 21% for free-market contracts, 10% for agreed-rent contracts in municipalities with high housing tension. There’s no limit on the number of properties for ordinary lets. The 2026 changes concern short-term lets under 30 days exclusively.

This distinction has a practical impact for anyone managing a mix of contracts: ordinary contracts don’t add to short-term ones in the count that triggers the presumption of running a business.

Payment deadlines

Cedolare secca is paid via the F24 form within the same windows as IRPEF. A first advance payment of 40% of the total due by 30 June (or by 30 July with a 0.4% surcharge). A second advance payment of 60% by 30 November. The balance is settled with the tax return, either the 730 form or the Redditi PF form.

If the total amount is under 257.52 euros, it’s paid in a single instalment by 30 November. Payment is made exclusively online.

Frequently asked questions about cedolare secca for short-term lets in 2026

If I let the same flat alternating between short periods (under 30 days) and long periods (over 30 days), how does the count work?

Short and long periods follow different rules. Only short-term let periods (individual contracts under 30 days) count towards the threshold that triggers the presumption of running a business. If you alternate the two types of contract on the same flat during the year, only the short periods are relevant for the threshold.

Can I choose which flat to designate as the first, to get the 21% rate?

Yes, the choice is free and is made on the tax return. It’s always worth designating as the first the flat that generated the highest income in the year, so the reduced rate applies where it produces the biggest saving. The second flat automatically gets the 26% rate, with no choice involved.

Are platform commissions (Airbnb, Booking) deducted before calculating cedolare secca?

No. Cedolare secca is calculated on gross fees, meaning the total amount credited to you before the platform’s commission is deducted. Commissions aren’t deductible under the cedolare secca regime, unlike under ordinary IRPEF taxation or the flat-rate scheme.

If I manage Airbnb on behalf of an owner under a mandate, are the rules the same?

No, the situation is more complex in this case. Anyone managing other people’s properties under a mandate is acting as an intermediary and needs to be careful not to fall under the presumption of running a business even without being the owner. The rules on the 21% withholding platforms apply to payments, and the applicable tax regime, depend on the specific structure of the mandate. A tax adviser is needed in these cases.

Does the CIN need displaying even if I only let once a year?

Yes. The CIN requirement applies to all properties let short-term, regardless of frequency. A single three-day let in a year still requires a valid CIN and its display at the entrance of the property. How often you let isn’t a variable that affects the requirement.

What changes if income from short-term lets pushes me over the threshold for the second IRPEF bracket?

If you choose cedolare secca, rental income doesn’t add to your other income for IRPEF purposes. It’s a substitute tax: you pay cedolare secca instead of IRPEF on that portion of income. This means choosing cedolare secca is particularly worthwhile for anyone who already has employment income placing them in high IRPEF brackets: the 21% cedolare secca rate is almost always more advantageous than IRPEF at 35% or 43%.