Frequently asked questions: Regime forfettario

The regime forfettario is a simplified tax regime for natural persons who run a business as sole proprietors (e.g. a craft or commercial business) or who carry on an artistic or professional activity on a self-employed basis. Taxable income is not determined on the basis of actual costs but on a flat-rate basis: revenue is multiplied by a profitability coefficient set by law, which depends on the activity (ATECO code). On this income you pay a substitute tax of 15% (under certain conditions 5% for the first five years) instead of IRPEF, the regional and municipal surcharges and IRAP. On invoices for domestic transactions you do not charge VAT and, conversely, you cannot deduct the VAT on your purchases. In addition, you do not have to keep accounting books or VAT registers; you do, however, still need a VAT number (Partita IVA), and invoices and other supporting documents must be kept.

Sources: Legge 190/2014, art. 1, c. 54–89 (normattiva) · Agenzia delle Entrate – Regime forfetario

It can be used by natural persons carrying on a business, artistic or professional activity who met two conditions at the same time in the previous year. First, the revenue (ricavi or compensi), calculated on a full-year basis, must not have exceeded €85,000; if several activities with different ATECO codes are carried on, the total counts. Second, total expenses for staff (e.g. employees, collaborators, occasional work) must not have exceeded €20,000 gross. If you are starting a new activity, you can use the regime straight away by declaring, when you open your VAT number, that you expect to meet the requirements. In addition, none of the statutory grounds for exclusion may apply (see next question).

Sources: Legge 190/2014, art. 1, c. 54–56 (normattiva) · Agenzia delle Entrate – Regime forfetario

The law sets out several grounds for exclusion. Those excluded include: anyone using special VAT schemes or other flat-rate methods of determining income; non-residents (exception: residents of EU/EEA states with exchange of information who earn at least 75% of their income in Italy); anyone who exclusively or predominantly sells buildings, building land or new vehicles. Also excluded is anyone who at the same time holds an interest in a partnership, an association of professionals or a family business, or who directly or indirectly controls a limited liability company (S.r.l.) or an associazione in partecipazione whose activity is directly or indirectly connected with their own. Anyone who works predominantly for their current employer or a former employer from the last two years (or for companies connected with that employer) is likewise excluded – there are exceptions, for example after a compulsory traineeship for a profession. Finally, anyone who in the previous year had income from employment (wages and salaries, but also pensions and income treated as equivalent) of more than €30,000 is excluded; for 2025 and 2026 this limit was raised to €35,000 (details in the question on employees).

Sources: Legge 190/2014, art. 1, c. 57 (normattiva) · Legge 207/2024, art. 1, c. 12, nel testo della L. 199/2025 (normattiva) · Agenzia delle Entrate – Regime forfetario

In principle yes, but with two important restrictions. First, your income from employment (wages and salaries, but also pensions and income treated as equivalent) must not have exceeded €30,000 in the previous year; for 2025 and 2026 the limit was raised to €35,000, and for 2027, as things currently stand, €30,000 applies again. The limit is checked again every year – so it also applies to everyone who is already using the regime. The limit does not apply if the employment relationship ended in the previous year – according to the Agenzia delle Entrate, however, only if in that year you did not also receive a pension or wages from another employment relationship. Second, you must not carry on your self-employed activity predominantly for your current employer, a former employer from the last two years or companies connected with that employer (there are exceptions, for example after a compulsory traineeship for a profession). Because there are further special cases, a tax adviser or a CAF can help in individual cases.

Sources: Legge 190/2014, art. 1, c. 57 lett. d-bis e d-ter, c. 71 (normattiva) · Legge 207/2024, art. 1, c. 12, nel testo della L. 199/2025 (normattiva) · D.Lgs. 117/2026 (Testo unico imposte sui redditi, from 2027), art. 233 (normattiva) · Agenzia delle Entrate – Regime forfetario

Anyone starting a self-employed activity must notify the Agenzia delle Entrate within 30 days of starting the activity; the VAT number (Partita IVA) is assigned in the process. Professionals and other self-employed persons who do not have to be entered in the business register (Registro delle imprese) use form AA9/12 for this; they can submit it by PEC, in person at an office (by appointment), by registered post or via the Agenzia delle Entrate’s software in their reserved area. Anyone who has to be entered in the business register (e.g. trade or crafts) instead registers via the single notification (Comunicazione Unica, ComUnica) to the Chamber of Commerce; it covers entry in the business register, social security and the VAT number at the same time. In the form you state the activity code (codice attività under the ATECO classification) – it also determines the profitability coefficient for the forfettario. Anyone who expects to meet the requirements ticks the box for the forfettario in the form; this is not a choice in the legal sense, because the forfettario is the “natural” regime, but the form provides for this entry. Professionals without their own professional fund must also register themselves online with INPS in the Gestione separata.

Sources: DPR 633/1972, art. 35 (normattiva) · Agenzia delle Entrate – Modello AA9/12 (apertura partita IVA) · INPS – Iscrizione liberi professionisti alla Gestione separata

You must apply for the VAT number (Partita IVA) within 30 days of starting the activity; in this declaration of commencement of activity you also state that you are applying the regime forfettario. Business owners (e.g. trade, crafts) report the start via the single notification (Comunicazione Unica, ComUnica) to the business register of the Chamber of Commerce; this notification takes care, in a single step, of entry in the business register and, among other things, of the notifications for INPS and for tax purposes (e.g. assignment of the VAT number). Traders are registered in this way with the INPS fund for traders (Gestione commercianti). In South Tyrol, craft businesses are registered in the business register with the designation “craft business”; the Chamber of Commerce checks the requirements and forwards the data to INPS (Gestione artigiani) for social security purposes. Professionals without their own professional fund, on the other hand, register themselves online with INPS in the Gestione separata. For the contribution reduction for business owners under the regime forfettario, see the question on social security contributions.

Sources: DPR 633/1972, art. 35 (normattiva) · D.L. 7/2007, art. 9 (Comunicazione unica) (normattiva) · INPS – Iscrizione Gestione commercianti · INPS – Iscrizione Gestione artigiani · INPS – Iscrizione liberi professionisti (Gestione separata) · Chamber of Commerce of Bolzano – Crafts · Provincial Law No. 1/2008 (Crafts Act), Art. 6 (Lexbrowser)

First, the revenue you received during the year is multiplied by the profitability coefficient for your activity. The coefficients are set out in an annex to the law and range from 40% to 86% depending on the group of activities; until further notice, the ATECO 2007 code of your activity is decisive (for example, many professional activities have a coefficient of 78%, IT services 67%). From this flat-rate income you deduct the compulsory social security contributions paid during the year; any unused remainder can be deducted from total income. On the result you pay 15% substitute tax. For a newly started activity, the rate is 5% for the first year and the four following years if, in the three years before, you did not carry on any artistic, professional or business activity (not even as a partner or in a family business), the new activity is not merely a continuation of a previous employed or self-employed activity (compulsory traineeship excepted) and – if you take over someone else’s activity – its revenue in the previous year did not exceed €85,000.

Worked example (for illustration only): €40,000 fees × 78% = €31,200; minus €5,000 compulsory contributions paid = €26,200; 15% of this = €3,930 substitute tax.

Sources: Legge 190/2014, art. 1, c. 64–65 e allegato 4 (normattiva) · D.Lgs. 81/2025, art. 1 (coefficienti ATECO 2007) (normattiva) · Agenzia delle Entrate – Regime forfetario

Not individually: income is determined exclusively on a flat-rate basis using the profitability coefficient; your actual business expenses play no part in this. With a coefficient of 78%, for example, 22% of revenue is treated as costs on a flat-rate basis – regardless of how high your actual costs are. However, the social security contributions that are required by law and actually paid are deductible; any unused remainder can be deducted from total income. You also cannot deduct the VAT on your purchases as input VAT.

Sources: Legge 190/2014, art. 1, c. 58 e 64 (normattiva)

Under the regime forfettario, receipt of payment is what counts (cash basis, principio di cassa): the decisive factor is the revenue actually received during the year (ricavi o compensi percepiti), not the invoice date. This applies equally to professionals and to business owners. An invoice from December that is not paid until January therefore counts towards the revenue of the new year. For forfettari, the amounts received also count for the limits of the regime: according to the Agenzia delle Entrate, what matters is the payment, not the issuing of the invoice. Anyone who was not previously under the regime forfettario and kept ordinary accounts, on the other hand, checks the entry limit under different rules. Likewise, you deduct social security contributions in the year in which you actually pay them (contributi versati). When switching between the forfettario and the ordinary regime, there are transitional rules so that revenue is neither taxed twice nor left untaxed.

Sources: Legge 190/2014, art. 1, c. 64 e 71–72 (normattiva) · Agenzia delle Entrate – Circolare 32/E del 5.12.2023

Under the regime forfettario, too, you are subject to compulsory social security contributions; which fund is responsible depends on the activity. Craftspeople and traders are as a rule insured with the INPS Gestione artigiani or commercianti respectively. Professionals for whom a dedicated professional fund is responsible (e.g. lawyers, engineers, doctors) pay into that fund; all other professionals pay into the INPS Gestione separata. A reduced contribution scheme exists only for business owners (craftspeople and traders): the contributions are reduced by 35%. The reduction is available only on application to INPS: if you are already active, you must apply by 28 February for it to apply in the same year (otherwise from the following year); if you are just starting out, you should apply as soon as possible after registering with INPS. Once granted, the reduction continues as long as the requirements are met and you do not waive it; if you leave the reduced scheme or waive it, you cannot claim it again later. Please note: if the reduced contribution is lower than the full contribution on the statutory minimum income, proportionally fewer months are credited towards your pension. The actual contribution rates change every year – the current INPS circulars are authoritative.

Sources: Legge 190/2014, art. 1, c. 76–84 (normattiva) · Legge 335/1995, art. 2, c. 29 (normattiva) · INPS – Circolare n. 14 del 9.2.2026

As a forfettario, you do not show VAT on invoices for domestic transactions. Instead, the invoice contains a reference to the legal basis; the Agenzia delle Entrate gives the wording “Operazione effettuata in regime forfettario ai sensi dell’articolo 1, commi da 54 a 89, della Legge n. 190/2014 e successive modificazioni” for this. Professionals also add a note that no withholding tax (ritenuta d’acconto) is withheld, because forfettari are exempt from it. Since 1 January 2024, in principle all forfettari must issue their domestic invoices electronically via the Sistema di Interscambio (SdI); the exception is invoices for health services whose data are reported to the Sistema Tessera Sanitaria – these may not be issued via the SdI. If the invoice amount exceeds €77.47, a stamp duty of €2 is payable because no VAT is shown; on an electronic invoice it is indicated in the “Bollo virtuale” field and paid quarterly to the Agenzia delle Entrate (by direct debit from your account via the “Fatture e Corrispettivi” portal or with form F24).

Sources: Agenzia delle Entrate – Fattura elettronica per i forfettari · D.L. 36/2022, art. 18 (normattiva) · Agenzia delle Entrate – Imposta di bollo sulle fatture elettroniche

For transactions with other countries, too, you do not charge Italian VAT as a forfettario; however, special rules apply in some cases. If you sell goods to a business in another EU country, this does not count as an intra-Community supply: the invoice contains no VAT and bears a note stating that it is not an intra-Community supply within the meaning of Art. 41(2-bis) of D.L. 331/1993 (non costituisce cessione intracomunitaria); registration in VIES and Intrastat returns are not required for this. Services to businesses abroad are as a rule not taxable in Italy (Art. 7-ter DPR 633/1972; special rules apply to some services, e.g. those connected with immovable property): you issue the invoice without VAT. If the customer is a business in another EU country, according to the Agenzia delle Entrate you must also be registered in VIES and submit the Intrastat return for the services supplied. Exports of goods to non-EU countries are subject to the general export rules; however, forfettari may not use VAT-free purchasing with an export allowance (plafond). If you yourself buy services from EU businesses (or goods from the EU above the statutory threshold), you must register in VIES, supplement the invoice received with Italian VAT (integrazione) and pay this tax yourself without deducting input VAT – for such purchases under the reverse charge (inversione contabile), in each case by the 16th of the second month following the end of the calendar quarter. Transactions with foreign customers and suppliers must also be reported to the Agenzia delle Entrate via the SdI (esterometro) – with some exceptions, for example where there is an electronic invoice via the SdI or a customs declaration.

Sources: Legge 190/2014, art. 1, c. 58 (normattiva) · DPR 633/1972, art. 7-ter (normattiva) · D.L. 331/1993, art. 41 (normattiva) · D.Lgs. 127/2015, art. 1, c. 3-bis (normattiva) · Agenzia delle Entrate – Circolare 10/E del 4.4.2016 · Agenzia delle Entrate – Elenchi riepilogativi (Intrastat)

As a forfettario, you are exempt from the recording obligations and from bookkeeping: you do not have to enter either issued or received invoices in VAT registers and do not have to keep accounts (scritture contabili). You must, however, keep the documents received and issued; purchase invoices and customs documents must also be numbered. Anyone who sells to end customers, for example in retail or catering, must still document the daily takings and transmit them electronically to the Agenzia delle Entrate (certificazione e trasmissione telematica dei corrispettivi). You must still keep registers required by other, non-tax laws. The indices of tax reliability (ISA – indici sintetici di affidabilità fiscale) do not apply to forfettari. You declare your income in the annual tax return (Modello Redditi PF) in Quadro LM; in addition, you provide certain information about your activity in Quadro RS.

Sources: Legge 190/2014, art. 1, c. 59, 69, 73 (normattiva) · D.Lgs. 127/2015, art. 2 (normattiva) · Agenzia delle Entrate – Circolare 32/E del 5.12.2023 · Agenzia delle Entrate – Istruzioni Redditi PF 2026, fascicolo 3

You declare your income from the forfettario in the Modello “Redditi Persone fisiche”, in Section III of schedule LM (Quadro LM); the Modello 730 cannot be used for this income. The return is transmitted electronically (telematically), either yourself via the Agenzia delle Entrate’s services or through an authorised intermediary (e.g. a tax adviser or a CAF); the statutory deadline ends on 31 October of the following year. The substitute tax (imposta sostitutiva) is paid under the same rules as the income tax IRPEF, using payment form F24. The return gives rise to the balance for the previous year (saldo) and an advance payment (acconto) for the current year, which is normally payable in two instalments. Payment is usually made before the return is filed: under the general rule, the balance and the first instalment are due by 30 June (or within the following 30 days with a 0.40% surcharge), and the second instalment in November. This deadline can be postponed by special arrangements – in 2026, for example, 20 July applied for forfettari; the deadlines published by the Agenzia delle Entrate for the year concerned are decisive.

Sources: Legge 190/2014, art. 1, c. 64 e 69 (normattiva) · Agenzia delle Entrate – Redditi Persone fisiche 2026: quando e come presentare · DPR 322/1998, art. 2 (normattiva) · DPR 435/2001, art. 17 (normattiva) · D.L. 89/2026, art. 6 (repealed by Law 113/2026, effects preserved) (normattiva)

In principle, no: those under the forfettario do not have to withhold tax at source (ritenuta alla fonte) on payments to others – for example to professionals who work for them. For such payments, however, you must state the recipient’s tax code (codice fiscale) and the amount paid in your tax return (schedule RS of the Modello Redditi PF). There is an important exception: if you have employees or pay income treated as equivalent to employment income (redditi assimilati, e.g. remuneration from coordinated and continuous collaboration, co.co.co.), you must withhold income tax on it like any employer (sostituto d’imposta). This entails the usual obligations of a withholding agent, such as the certificate for the recipient (Certificazione Unica) and the annual return of withholding agents (Modello 770).

Sources: Legge 190/2014, art. 1, c. 69 (normattiva) · DPR 600/1973, artt. 23–24 (normattiva) · DPR 322/1998, art. 4 (normattiva)

If your revenue in a year is above €85,000 but not above €100,000, you remain in the regime forfettario for that year and switch to the ordinary regime from the following year. The same applies if another eligibility requirement ceases to be met or a ground for exclusion arises: the regime ends from the following year. If, on the other hand, your revenue exceeds €100,000, the regime forfettario ends immediately, i.e. already in the current year; VAT is then already due from the transaction with which the €100,000 limit is exceeded. Switching to the ordinary regime has many consequences (VAT, bookkeeping, transitional rules); in individual cases a tax adviser or a CAF can help.

Sources: Legge 190/2014, art. 1, c. 71 (normattiva) · Agenzia delle Entrate – Regime forfetario

Yes. Even if you meet the requirements for the forfettario, you can choose to pay VAT and income taxes under the ordinary rules (regime ordinario). You make this choice (opzione) through your actual conduct (comportamento concludente), i.e. by applying the ordinary rules from the beginning of the year or of the activity. In addition, you must report the choice in the first annual VAT return (dichiarazione annuale IVA) to be filed after the decision; failing to report it does not invalidate the choice, but may be penalised. The choice applies for at least three years; after that, it is renewed for one further year at a time for as long as you actually continue to apply the ordinary regime. Whether a switch makes sense in an individual case can be clarified by a tax adviser or a CAF.

Sources: Legge 190/2014, art. 1, c. 70 (normattiva) · DPR 442/1997, artt. 1–2 (normattiva)