The measure aims to protect taxpayers who could no longer benefit from the capital gains exemption for reasons beyond their control, such as delays in the construction of new homes.
The Government approved new tax rules for the housing market which introduce relevant changes to the real estate capital gains regime, creating protection mechanisms for taxpayers who face unexpected problems when purchasing a new home and extending tax benefits to the rental market.
The main novelty concerns taxpayers who sell their own permanent home and wish to reinvest the amount obtained in the purchase of another home for family residence. Until now, the law required that the reinvestment be carried out in the 24 months before or in the 36 months after the sale of the property, under penalty of losing the income tax exemption on capital gains, explains .
With the new diploma, published last week and which comes into force this Monday, there will now be a safeguard for situations in which the purchase of a new home fails for reasons beyond the control of the buyer. In these cases, the legal deadline for reinvestment will be suspended while legal proceedings related to the non-compliance of the business take place.
The measure aims to respond to situations such as delays in property constructionnon-compliance with promissory contracts or withdrawals by sellers. To benefit from the suspension of the deadline, the taxpayer must have signed a purchase and sale contract or a construction contract within the legal period and proceed to court in the event of non-compliance.
The measure gains relevance due to the slowness of the courts, which until now could cause taxpayers to lose the tax benefit through no fault of their own. The Federal Revenue will suspend the counting of the period from the moment the legal action is filed in court. If the final decision is favorable to the taxpayer, this will have another 12 months to complete the reinvestment. Otherwise, or if the new investment does not advance within this period, capital gains will be taxed, plus compensatory interest.
The diploma also includes a temporary extension of exemption from capital gains on the rental market. Between 2026 and 2029, anyone who sells properties intended for housing will be able to benefit from the IR exemption if they reinvest the amount in the purchase of properties intended for residential rental.
However, the regime imposes several conditions: the acquired property must remain in the rental market for at least five years and rents cannot exceed 2300 euros per month. Furthermore, the lease contract must be formalized within a maximum period of six months after purchasing the property.
