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IMU 2026 in Ferrara: rates confirmed, second homes and let property ahead of the balance payment

For 2026 the Municipality of Ferrara has not published a new rate schedule: the rates set by Municipal Council Resolution No. 17 of 24 February 2025 remain in force. The balance due on 16 December is calculated with the same rates as the first instalment. For ordinary canone concordato lets (rent agreed under the local agreement between landlord and tenant associations) the rate is 1.02%, with the tax reduced to 75%; the 0.5% rate is reserved for lets made under the Patto per la Casa (regional affordable-housing scheme).

Ferrara has not published its 2026 IMU (Italian municipal property tax) rate schedule on the portal of the Department of Finance (Dipartimento delle finanze): the 2025 rates continue to apply (Municipal Council Resolution No. 17 of 24 February 2025; Article 1, paragraph 767, of Law No. 160/2019) and the balance due on 16 December 2026 is calculated with the rates used for the first instalment.

The legal framework

For buildings, the taxable base is the cadastral income (rendita catastale) increased by 5%, multiplied by 160 for dwellings and for appurtenances in categories C/2, C/6 and C/7, by 55 for C/1 units, by 80 for A/10 and D/5 units and by 65 for other D units (Article 1, paragraph 745, of Law No. 160/2019); for building land, the market value on 1 January applies (paragraph 746). The tax is due in proportion to the number of months of possession (possesso) (paragraph 761).

For dwellings let at a canone concordato under Law No. 431/1998, the tax, determined with the municipal rate, is reduced to 75% (paragraph 760). For a dwelling granted under a registered comodato (free loan for use) to children or parents who use it as their main residence, the taxable base is halved. The relief requires the lender to own only one dwelling in Italy, apart from any main residence of his or her own in the same municipality, and to be registered as resident and habitually live in the municipality where the loaned property is located. Units in categories A/1, A/8 and A/9 are excluded; on the death of the borrower the relief passes to the spouse if there are minor children (paragraph 747, point (c)).

The rate schedule produced by the Fiscal Federalism Portal (Portale del federalismo fiscale) prevails over the municipal regulations (paragraphs 756, 757 and 764). If no schedule is published by 28 October, the previous year’s rates continue to apply (paragraph 767, third sentence). According to the Department of Finance, the basic rates referred to in the fourth sentence apply only to municipalities that have not yet published a first compliant schedule (notice of 10 November 2025).

The rates applicable in Ferrara

Schedule ID 539, confirmed by the Municipality for 2026, sets 0.6% for main residences in categories A/1, A/8 and A/9 and their appurtenances, with a EUR 200 reduction in the tax (detrazione) apportioned to the months and to the share of use as a main residence (paragraph 749), and 1.02% for other buildings (including dwellings let at open-market rent), building land and group D units.

The 1.06% rate applies to dwellings that have been neither let nor loaned for at least twelve months, to A/10, B, C and D units that have been a disposizione (not let or otherwise used) for the same period and to D/5 units. The 0.9% rate covers D/2 hotels, agricultural land and a dwelling loaned to a first-degree relative who lives in it, whether or not the requirements of paragraph 747 are met; where they are met, the halved base gives an effective rate of 0.45%. The 0.76% rate covers newly built D/7 and D/8 units in the Emilia-Romagna simplified logistics zone (zona logistica semplificata). Rural buildings used in farming, including D/10 units, are taxed at 0%; dwellings of the IACP (public housing institutes) or of other public residential housing bodies, where lawfully allocated, at 0.52%. A unit belonging to elderly or disabled persons permanently resident in a care home is treated as a main residence, provided it is not let.

The 0.5% rate is available only for dwellings let under the Patto per la Casa Emilia-Romagna (Municipal Executive Resolution No. 179 of 19 March 2024; Article 5-bis of the IMU regulations), not for ordinary canone concordato lets. A canone concordato let that complies with the local agreement filed on 18 October 2023 is taxed at 1.02%, with the tax reduced to 75%, that is, at an effective rate of 0.765%; for contracts concluded without the assistance of landlord and tenant associations, the Municipality requires a certification of conformity issued by a signatory association.

For businesses, the revenue from group D at the 0.76% rate is reserved for the State (paragraph 744); unlet fabbricati merce (buildings constructed by a business for sale) are exempt (paragraph 751); IMU on business-use property is deductible from business and self-employment income, but not for IRAP (regional tax on productive activities) purposes (paragraph 772). Building land is taxed on its market value at 1 January 2026; paying on a value not lower than the municipal table updated to 1 January 2025 limits the scope for assessment (paragraph 777, point (d)).

Two examples

An A/2 dwelling with a cadastral income of EUR 800 has a taxable base of 800 × 1.05 × 160 = EUR 134,400. Annual tax: if vacant for more than a year, EUR 1,424.64 (1.06%, instalments of EUR 712.32); if let at open-market rent, EUR 1,370.88 (1.02%, instalments of EUR 685.44); if let at a canone concordato, EUR 1,370.88 × 75% = EUR 1,028.16 (instalments of EUR 514.08).

A D/7 industrial building used by the business and not eligible for the reduced rate of the simplified logistics zone, with a cadastral income of EUR 10,000: taxable base 10,000 × 1.05 × 65 = EUR 682,500, tax at 1.02%: EUR 6,961.50, of which EUR 5,187.00 to the State (0.76%) and EUR 1,774.50 to the Municipality (0.26%). If it had been unused for at least twelve months, at 1.06% the tax would be EUR 7,234.50, of which EUR 2,047.50 to the Municipality.

Deadlines, return and ravvedimento

The first instalment of 16 June is based on the previous year’s rates; the 16 December balance settles the tax for the whole year on the basis of the schedule published by 28 October (paragraph 762). Where the rates are unchanged, the two instalments are the same, unless circumstances change during the year.

Since 12 August 2026 the IMU return has been governed by paragraph 768-bis (Article 26 of Legislative Decree No. 147/2026): it is filed electronically by 30 June of the year following the start of possession or the change, using the form approved by the Ministerial Decrees of 29 July 2022 and 4 May 2023 until the new decree is issued. For breaches committed on or after 1 January 2027, and therefore also for the return reporting changes that occurred in 2026, the penalty is 100% of the unpaid tax for failure to file and 40% for an inaccurate return, with a minimum of EUR 50 (paragraph 775, as amended by Article 12, paragraphs 5 and 9, of Legislative Decree No. 147/2026).

Failure to pay the balance is subject to a penalty of 25% of the unpaid amount, halved for delays of no more than ninety days (Article 13 of Legislative Decree No. 471/1997, referred to in paragraph 774 and in Article 12, paragraph 2, of Legislative Decree No. 147/2026; from 2027 Article 38 of the consolidated Act approved by Legislative Decree No. 173/2024). Under the ravvedimento (self-correction with reduced penalties; Article 13 of Legislative Decree No. 472/1997; from 2027 Article 14 of the same consolidated Act), the tax, the reduced penalty and statutory interest are paid with the F24 (unified tax payment form). Since 12 August 2026, Article 12, paragraph 3, of Legislative Decree No. 147/2026 has extended paragraph 1-ter of Article 13 to local taxes: the ravvedimento is barred only by service of payment demands and assessment notices (atti di liquidazione e di accertamento), and no longer by the finding of a breach or by the start of an audit.

In practice

• By 16 December 2026 (owner or intermediary): pay the balance using the F24 (municipality code D548), on the annual tax recalculated with schedule ID 539.
• For each dwelling: the type of registered contract (open-market, canone concordato with certification, Patto per la Casa), which determines the rate; for a vacant dwelling, the date on which the last contract ended, from which the twelve months for the 1.06% rate run.
• For whoever handles the calculation, the owner or an accountancy firm in Ferrara: applying 0.5% to a canone concordato let outside the Patto per la Casa results in an underpayment, which the Municipality recovers through an assessment, with penalties and interest.
• By 30 June 2027: IMU return for changes that occurred in 2026, where required.
• To be kept: contracts and certifications, cadastral extracts, receipted F24 forms, valuation reports on building land.

Frequently asked questions

The Municipality has not adopted any 2026 rates: must I apply the basic rates?

No. According to the Department of Finance, the basic rates apply only to municipalities that have not yet published a first compliant schedule. Ferrara published one for 2025 and, as no new schedule was published by 28 October, the previous year’s rates apply (paragraph 767).

My contract is a canone concordato let: do I pay 0.5%?

Only if the property is let under the Patto per la Casa Emilia-Romagna. An ordinary canone concordato let, complying with the 2023 local agreement, is taxed at 1.02% with the tax reduced to 75%, that is, at an effective rate of 0.765% of the taxable base.

I bought a second home on 10 September 2026: how much do I pay in December?

No first instalment was due. September counts as a full month, because the days of possession exceed half the month: the balance is four twelfths of the annual tax and must be paid in full by 16 December. In our view the rate is 1.02% even if the home remains vacant, because the twelve months of non-use required for the 1.06% rate are counted from the start of possession and had not elapsed in 2026. The rate schedule, however, attaches the condition to the property: if the home had already been vacant for at least twelve months while held by the seller, the Municipality could apply the 1.06% rate. It is therefore prudent to obtain written confirmation from the municipal IMU Office before paying the balance.

Sources

Law No. 160 of 27 December 2019, Article 1, paragraphs 738 to 783, in particular 744, 745, 746, 747, 749, 751, 753, 754, 756, 757, 760, 761, 762, 764, 767, 768-bis, 772, 774, 775 and 777 (Normattiva, text in force on 4 November 2026)

Legislative Decree No. 147 of 7 August 2026, Article 12, paragraphs 2, 3, 5 and 9, and Article 26 (Normattiva)

Legislative Decree No. 471 of 18 December 1997, Article 13; Legislative Decree No. 472 of 18 December 1997, Article 13, paragraphs 1 and 1-ter; consolidated Act on tax penalties approved by Legislative Decree No. 173 of 5 November 2024, Articles 14 and 38 (applicable from 1 January 2027)

Ministerial Decree of 7 July 2023, supplemented by the Decrees of 6 September 2024 and 6 November 2025; notice of the Department of Finance of 10 November 2025

Ministerial Decree of 29 July 2022 and Ministerial Decree of 4 May 2023 (IMU return form)

Department of Finance, IMU regulations and rates: Municipality of Ferrara (D548), schedule ID 539 for 2025, Municipal Council Resolution No. 17 of 24 February 2025, published on 17 March 2025; no schedule for 2026; regulations approved by Municipal Council Resolution No. 16 of 24 February 2025

Municipality of Ferrara: IMU web page; leaflet ‘I.M.U. anno 2026’ of the Servizio Risorse Tributarie (municipal tax department); IMU regulations, Article 5-bis; Municipal Executive Resolution No. 179 of 19 March 2024; local agreement filed on 18 October 2023