A complex mosaic of incentives, benefits and new tax rules: this is how the 2026 Budget presents itself, involving families, workers and businesses. Bonuses, deductions and discounts are placed at the center of the political story, with the declared objective of supporting incomes and consumption.
Behind the announcements, however, a more complex and less linear reform emerges: many measures have limited coverage, stringent requirements and an unequal impact. The real risk is that some benefits remain accessible only to certain categories, leaving out a significant part of the population.
Read also: ISEE 2026, all the new features introduced in the maneuver (which could also make you eligible for the bonuses)
Let’s see point by point what really changes.
School, the bonus for equals
The private school bonus will debut in 2026, up to 1,500 euros for families with an ISEE under 30,000 euros. The contribution will be modulated based on income and will have a spending ceiling of 20 million euros.
However, students in private secondary schools and in the first two years of high school are excluded. A measure welcomed by some family associations, but which reopens the debate on public funding for private schools in a school system already marked by strong territorial inequalities.
We talked about it here: Bonus of up to 1500 euros for children enrolled in private schools: requirements and how to receive it
Tax
On the fiscal front, an Irpef cut arrives: the rate of the second bracket drops from 35% to 33%, with a maximum benefit of around 440 euros per year for 13 million taxpayers.
But along with the discounts also come new taxes:
The scrapping of folders: the “quinquies”
Fiscal peace returns with scrapping quinquies. The bills from 2000 to 2023 can be paid off in 9 years, with 54 bimonthly instalments. The only real news is the reduction in the interest rate from 4% to 3%.
The rule on payments from the Public Administration to professionals has also been modified: the freeze on compensation will only be triggered within the amount of the debt registered in the register and only if it does not exceed 5,000 euros, to avoid disproportionate effects on those who work.
Building bonuses
The Budget confirms the 50% deduction for building work on first homes for 2026, while it drops to 36% for other homes. The exclusion threshold for the first home from the ISEE calculation also rises: in metropolitan cities it reaches up to 120,000 euros, lightening the indicator for many owning families.
On short-term rentals, no shock: the flat rate remains at 21% for the first property and 26% for the second. However, the business activity will start from the third rented property.
Family and work
The family package is one of the most extensive. The mother bonus rises to 60 euros per month (720 euros per year), tax-free, for employed and self-employed workers with incomes of up to 40,000 euros. For mothers with three or more children, the benefit lasts until the youngest child turns 18.
Also coming:
The declared objective is to counteract demographic decline and support female employment, but the issue of resources and the actual accessibility of the measures remains.
