Net income from a Sicilian vacation home: what is left after commission and tax (example)

The result: one week at 1,000 EUR

Say the guest pays you 1,000 EUR in total for a week, final cleaning included. You rent out as an individual outside a business activity and choose the cedolare secca. Before your own costs, about 595 EUR is left at a 21% tax rate and about 545 EUR at 26%. For scale: 1,000 EUR is roughly a week at the June median in the price index of Terra Mia Immobiliare (140 EUR per night, 7 nights = 980 EUR). How to set the price for your house is covered in Pricing a vacation home in Sicily: how to set your nightly rate.

Of every euro the guest pays, about 59 cents (21%) or 54 cents (26%) are left. Your own costs are not deducted: the final cleaning you pay to a cleaner, linen, electricity, water, gas, heating, air conditioning and upkeep of the house. They depend on the house, its location and your contracts, so the example includes no amounts for them.

Who pays whom

For a booking through Terra Mia Immobiliare, the guest pays you directly. Terra Mia Immobiliare mediates the booking and is not a party to the rental contract. The contract is formed once the deposit reaches you within seven days of the booking confirmation. It is 25% unless stated otherwise, 250 EUR in the example. The guest pays the remaining 75% (750 EUR) no later than 21 days before arrival. The whole rent therefore goes to you. The commission is a separate amount that Terra Mia Immobiliare charges only when a booking is made. Listing is free.

Commission and VAT

The commission is 16% of the total price the guest pays you, final cleaning included. Tourist tax, electricity, water, gas, heating, air conditioning and the security deposit are not part of the base. VAT is added to the commission only, never to the rent. Which rate applies depends on your VAT ID:

The main example uses the first case. If you want a set amount to remain after commission and IVA, divide it by 0.8048. 100 EUR per night becomes about 124.25 EUR.

Cedolare secca in 2026

The cedolare secca is a flat tax on gross rent. Since 2026 it is available for short-term rentals on at most two apartments per tax period (Law 199/2025; Art. 207 TUIR, D.Lgs. 117/2026), and only to individuals outside a business activity. The rate is 26%, reduced to 21% for one unit the landlord chooses ¹. The tax base is gross rent, and the Agenzia delle Entrate guide provides no flat deduction ¹. The example therefore applies the rate to the full 1,000 EUR: 21% is 210 EUR, 26% is 260 EUR.

The example holds only if these conditions apply to you. Whether they do, how the income is treated in your country of residence and how you declare it depend on your individual case. A tax advisor or a commercialista can tell you. Terra Mia Immobiliare gives no tax advice.

Variant: an August week at the median

The August median in the price index of Terra Mia Immobiliare (snapshot of October 29, 2026) is 230 EUR per night. Seven nights come to 1,610 EUR if that is the guest price. Commission and IVA make up 19.52% of it, so 314.27 EUR (257.60 EUR + 56.67 EUR). The cedolare secca is 338.10 EUR at 21% or 418.60 EUR at 26%. Before your own costs that leaves 957.63 EUR or 877.13 EUR.

Tourist tax and your own costs

The guest pays the tourist tax on top of the total price. It is not part of the commission and goes to the municipality. Each municipality sets its own, and whoever collects the rent is responsible for it. In Palermo it is 4.00 EUR per person per night for short-term rentals (since July 1, 2025) ², charged for at most four consecutive nights and payable within 15 days after the end of each calendar quarter ³. For two guests and a week that is 32 EUR (at most four nights × 2 guests × 4 EUR). Other municipalities have other rates.

If the guest cancels

Once the deposit has arrived, the rental contract is formed. The commission therefore stays owed even if the guest cancels. The cancellation fees belong to you. If you have not agreed your own terms for the house, the standard fees apply, calculated on the total price without tourist tax and utilities:

Even the lowest fee of 25% covers the commission and IVA of 19.52% together. The example does not take the tax treatment of cancellation fees into account.

Next step

Once you know your guest price, create your listing in the owner area. How to write a vacation rental listing in Sicily: photos, description, prices, CIN and CIR shows what it needs. The commission is charged only when a booking is made, and the mediation agreement can be ended with one month's notice, at least 30 days, to the end of a month.