If you own one or more properties in Verona that you rent (or would like to rent) to tourists, 2026 brings two changes that you cannot ignore: the crackdown on the National Identification Code (CIN), now fully operational with concrete sanctions, and a revision of the flat tax rate that changes the rules of the game for those who own more than one property. In this guide you will find everything you need to know, explained in a practical way — not in bureaucratic jargon.
What is the CIN and why, if you don’t have it, you are illegal
The CIN, National Identification Code, is the code that uniquely identifies every single property intended for short-term rentals or tourist rentals in Italy. It is not a code linked to you as the owner, but to the specific apartment: if you own three properties, you will have three different CINs.
It has been mandatory since 1 January 2025 and has now entered a phase of full application, including sanctions. Must appear:
• On every online listing, whether on Airbnb, Booking.com, a specialized portal or your personal website
• Outside the building, visibly
Those who do not request it or display it risk fines ranging from 800 to 8,000 euros per property, and platforms such as Airbnb and Booking can forcibly remove adverts without the code. Added to this is the obligation to equip the property with safety devices (functioning gas and carbon monoxide detectors, compliant fire extinguishers) as a condition for obtaining and maintaining the code.
How to obtain it: the request is made via the National Database of Accommodation Facilities (BDSR), accessible online with SPID or CIE. You need a substitute declaration with the cadastral data of the property. If you operate in a region that already had a regional identification code (such as the CIR), that code is not replaced by the CIN: the two coexist and must both be maintained.
The real news for 2026: the flat rate tax changes based on how many properties you have
Until 2025, the dry tax on short-term rentals was a fixed rate of 21%, valid regardless of the number of properties owned. The 2026 Budget Law (L. 199/2025, in force from 1 January 2026) instead introduced a tiered system, linked to the number of real estate units intended for short-term rentals during the year:
| Property | Rate / regime |
| 1st property | Flat rate coupon at 21% |
| 2nd property | Flat rate coupon at 26% |
| 3rd and subsequent properties | Exit from the flat rate tax regime: business activity is presumed, VAT number obligation |
The count is national: if you own a property in Verona and one on Garda, both count for the tax authorities, regardless of the municipality in which they are located or the portal through which you rent them.
A practical example
Imagine owning two apartments in Verona rented short term, with gross annual rents of €14,000 and €10,000 respectively:
• First apartment: €14,000 × 21% = €2,940 tax
• Second apartment: €10,000 × 26% = €2,600 tax
• Total dry coupon: €5,540
With the old single rate of 21% you would have paid €5,040 in total: the difference, around €500 in this example, grows proportionally to the fees collected.
What happens if you have three or more properties
Here the change is deeper than a simple tax rate increase. From the third property intended for short-term rentals, the activity is no longer considered private asset management, but is presumed to be a business activity. This involves:
• Obligation to open VAT number
• Taxation at ordinary IRPEF rates (for natural persons) or IRES (if you operate through a company), instead of the flat rate tax
• Accounting and declaration requirements typical of a business activity, with the almost mandatory need for an accountant
For an owner who until recently managed his properties “part-time”, between one job and another, this is a non-trivial leap in complexity.
Because this particularly concerns Verona
Verona’s historic center is among the Italian areas with the highest concentration of properties intended for short-term rentals, thanks to the constant tourist attraction (Arena, UNESCO centre, Lake Garda a few kilometers away) and not only in the opera season. It is common for Veronese families to have inherited or purchased more than one property in the center over time – precisely the owner profile most affected by the new thresholds. Those who have 2-3 apartments managed “the old way”, perhaps without even an updated CIN for all, today find themselves having to face two fronts simultaneously: regulatory compliance (CIN, security) and the new tax complexity.
What to do in practice
• Check that you have the CIN for each property you rent, and that it is displayed correctly in advertisements and on site
• Check the mandatory safety devices (fire extinguishers, gas/CO detectors) — they are often a condition for issuing the CIN itself
• Do the math with your commercial come to the threshold of the three buildings
• Consider whether direct management still makes sense for you, or whether the time and complexity required justify hiring a property manager to take care of it for you
A point to clarify immediately
This guide is for general information purposes: your specific tax situation — number of properties, other income, corporate form — can significantly change what is best for you. For a personalized assessment, talking to an accountant remains the correct step before making decisions.
What we can do is take care of the operational part: verification and request of the CIN, compliance with safety requirements, daily management of the property – leaving you (and your accountant) only with the basic tax decisions, without the burden of following every deadline and fulfillment personally.
