Frequently asked questions: Side income and fees

The ritenuta d’acconto is an advance payment on your income tax (IRPEF). The client withholds it from your fee when paying you and pays it to the State itself. It applies to fees for self-employed work, even if that work is only occasional; in 2026 the rate is 20%. As a rule it is calculated on the whole fee. The only amounts left out are social security contributions that the law places on the client and expenses you paid in the name and on behalf of the client.

Worked example: fee €1,000.00, ritenuta 20% = €200.00, amount transferred to you €800.00. The client pays the €200.00 to the State using form F24 and certifies it to you in the Certificazione Unica (see the question on the client’s obligations). If your occasional fees for the year exceed €5,000 in total, an INPS contribution is added, one third of which you bear (see the question on €5,000 a year).

Who has to withhold it? The withholding agents (sostituti d’imposta) listed in the law: companies and entities, business owners, self-employed professionals and condominiums. Exception: business owners and professionals under the regime forfettario do not have to withhold tax on fees (art. 1(69) Law 190/2014). In that case you receive the whole fee; the client states your tax code and the amount in their own tax return. A private individual who hires you as a private individual is not a withholding agent: they withhold nothing and you receive the whole fee. For clients abroad without a base in Italy there is no express official statement; if in doubt, clarify this with the client or a tax adviser.

Credit: as the ritenuta is only an advance payment, you enter the whole fee and the ritenuta withheld in your tax return; the ritenuta is credited against your income tax (see the question on the tax return).

→ To the fee note tool

Sources: D.P.R. 600/1973, art. 25 (normattiva) · D.P.R. 600/1973, art. 23 (normattiva) · Legge 190/2014, art. 1, c. 69 (normattiva) · Agenzia delle Entrate – F24 Ritenute su reddito di lavoro autonomo: Che cos’è · Agenzia delle Entrate – F24 Ritenute lavoro autonomo: Aliquote · Agenzia delle Entrate – F24 Ritenute lavoro autonomo: Importi su cui si applica la ritenuta

If you do occasional self-employed work without a VAT number, you do not issue an invoice (fattura) but a fee note (often called “ricevuta per prestazione occasionale”, “nota di pagamento” or “notula”). There is no express official requirement as to its content, wording or numbering. Usual and useful details are: name, address and tax code (codice fiscale) of you and the client, date, description of the work, amount and your bank details (IBAN). A client who withholds tax needs your personal details and tax code for the Certificazione Unica anyway.

No VAT: for self-employed work, VAT only applies if the activity is carried on habitually (art. 5 DPR 633/1972). Occasional work does not meet this condition, so the note is issued without VAT. A wording such as “Operazione fuori campo IVA ai sensi dell’art. 5 DPR 633/1972” is common but not mandatory.

Ritenuta d’acconto: if the client is a company, an entity, a business owner or self-employed professional (not under the regime forfettario) or a condominium, they withhold 20%; the note then usually shows the fee, the ritenuta and the amount to be transferred (see the question on the ritenuta d’acconto). If the client is a private individual or a business owner or professional under the regime forfettario, there is no ritenuta. Here too there is no mandatory wording; a common one is “Ritenuta d’acconto 20% ai sensi dell’art. 25 DPR 600/1973”.

Stamp duty: if the note exceeds €77.47, stamp duty (imposta di bollo) of €2.00 is due – already on the note itself, not only on a later receipt. You pay it by affixing a revenue stamp (contrassegno, “marca da bollo”) to the note. The duty is owed by the issuer, i.e. you; the client is jointly liable. You may charge the €2.00 to the client on top of your fee. It is not expressly regulated whether the €77.47 threshold refers to the amount before or after the ritenuta, or whether ritenuta must be withheld on €2.00 charged on (for workers under the regime forfettario who charge on stamp duty, the Agenzia has stated that it forms part of their fee; there is no express statement on the ritenuta for occasional work); if in doubt, clarify this with the client or a tax adviser.

A worked example with an INPS contribution: see the question on €5,000 a year.

With the AlpFinanz “Fee note for occasional work” tool you can create the note in your browser.

→ To the fee note tool

Sources: Agenzia delle Entrate – Risposta a interpello n. 324/2021 · D.P.R. 633/1972, art. 5 (normattiva) · D.P.R. 600/1973, art. 23 (normattiva) · Legge 190/2014, art. 1, c. 69 (normattiva) · Agenzia delle Entrate – Risposta a interpello n. 21/2020 (Tariffa, art. 13, DPR 642/1972) · Agenzia delle Entrate – Risoluzione n. 444/E del 18.11.2008 · Agenzia delle Entrate – Risposta a interpello n. 428 del 12.8.2022 · Agenzia delle Entrate – Guide “L’imposta di bollo sulle fatture elettroniche” (June 2026; €2 amount)

You need a VAT number (Partita IVA) as soon as you carry on a self-employed activity habitually – even if it is not your only activity (art. 5 DPR 633/1972). According to the Agenzia delle Entrate, habitual means with regularity, system and repetition, regardless of the amount earned. Whether this applies is assessed case by case on the actual facts; it cannot be clarified through a ruling request (interpello) to the Agenzia. If you only work occasionally, you do not need a Partita IVA and you issue a fee note (see the question on the fee note). If you work habitually, you need a Partita IVA, for example under the regime forfettario (see the Regime forfettario section).

No fixed limit: in 2026 there is no statutory amount or number of days up to which occasional self-employed work is certain to remain “occasional”. The €5,000 a year often mentioned only concerns INPS contributions (see the question on €5,000 a year), not the question of the Partita IVA. A limit of 30 days with the same client does not exist in current law; the earlier rule it is usually traced back to (art. 61 D.Lgs. 276/2003) was repealed in 2015.

Registered professions: according to the Agenzia delle Entrate, for anyone registered in a professional register (albo), income from that profession is never occasional income for income tax purposes but self-employment income (art. 53 TUIR) – even for a single or very small job. Whether a Partita IVA is needed is assessed separately, based on whether the activity is habitual. Registered professionals should best clarify this with their professional body or a tax adviser.

Not to be confused with PrestO and Libretto Famiglia: these are separate forms of occasional work handled through the INPS platform (art. 54-bis D.L. 50/2017). They have fixed annual limits, including at most €5,000 per worker from all users combined, €10,000 per user for all workers combined, €2,500 per worker with the same user; in addition, work for the same user may not exceed 280 hours in the calendar year. These limits do not apply to occasional self-employed work with a fee note.

→ To the fee note tool

Sources: D.P.R. 633/1972, art. 5 (normattiva) · Agenzia delle Entrate – Risposta a interpello n. 266/2025 · Agenzia delle Entrate – Risposta a interpello n. 63/2024 · D.L. 269/2003, art. 44, c. 2 (normattiva) · D.Lgs. 276/2003, art. 61 (repealed by D.Lgs. 81/2015) (normattiva) · D.L. 50/2017, art. 54-bis (PrestO, Libretto Famiglia) (normattiva)

Income from occasional self-employed work is classed as miscellaneous income (redditi diversi, art. 67 TUIR). What is taxed is the difference between the fees received in the year and the costs specifically related to this activity (art. 71 TUIR). So what counts is when you received the money.

Modello 730: the 730 may be used for this income, because it does not require a Partita IVA. It goes in Quadro D, line D5, with code 2: column 2 the gross fee received in the previous year, column 3 the related costs and column 4 the ritenuta d’acconto withheld. Costs may not exceed the respective income; for each item of income you keep and retain a list of the costs. In the client’s Certificazione Unica this income is marked with reason code (causale) “M” (or “M2” or “O”).

Modello Redditi PF: here the fees go in Quadro RL, line RL15, column 2 – even if the work was carried out abroad. Costs may only be deducted if they are specifically related to this income; the ritenuta withheld goes in line RL20. Which form suits you depends on your other income (see the question on 730 or Redditi in the Taxes in South Tyrol section).

Special cases: if a private individual (or a client under the regime forfettario) paid you, no ritenuta was withheld, and from a private individual you also receive no Certificazione Unica. The fee is still taxable and goes in line D5 or RL15 in the same way (the ritenuta column or line stays empty). The Redditi PF instructions expressly mention work carried out abroad as well; for clients abroad, neither set of instructions contains any special rule. If tax was withheld abroad, it is best to have the credit and the choice of form checked by a tax adviser or a CAF. If you bore one third of the INPS contribution because you exceeded €5,000, a deduction as a compulsory contribution may be possible (730 line E21, Redditi PF line RP21); occasional work, however, is not expressly mentioned there.

Sources: D.P.R. 917/1986 (TUIR), art. 67, c. 1, lett. l (normattiva) · D.P.R. 917/1986 (TUIR), art. 71, c. 2 (normattiva) · Agenzia delle Entrate – Instructions Modello 730/2026 (Quadro D, line D5; line E21) · Agenzia delle Entrate – Instructions Redditi PF 2026, Fascicolo 2 (Quadro RL, lines RL15 and RL20) · Agenzia delle Entrate – Instructions Certificazione Unica 2026

Up to €5,000 in a calendar year, occasional self-employed work is not subject to INPS contributions. Above that, you must register with the INPS Gestione separata, and contributions are due on the part above €5,000. The threshold applies to all occasional fees received in the calendar year, from all clients combined. It only concerns INPS; it does not decide whether you need a Partita IVA (see the question on the Partita IVA).

Rates 2026: 33.72% if you have no other compulsory pension cover and do not receive a pension; 24% if you already receive a pension or are insured under another compulsory scheme. The basis is the gross fee less expenses charged to the client. You bear one third of the contribution, the client two thirds.

Example: in 2026 you receive a total of €6,000.00 from occasional work and the rate is 33.72%. €1,000.00 is subject to contributions; the contribution is €337.20, of which you bear €112.40 and the client €224.80.

Procedure: you tell your clients whether or not you have exceeded the threshold. The client withholds your third from the fee and pays the whole contribution to INPS using form F24 by the 16th of the month following payment of the fee.

It is not expressly regulated how the contributions are paid if the client is a private individual or is based abroad, nor whether your third reduces the basis for the ritenuta d’acconto. If in doubt, clarify this with INPS, the client or a tax adviser.

→ To the fee note tool

Sources: D.L. 269/2003, art. 44, c. 2 (normattiva) · Legge 335/1995, art. 2, c. 27 (normattiva) · INPS – Circolare n. 8 of 3.2.2026 · INPS – Circolare n. 103 of 6.7.2004 · INPS – Messaggio n. 2535 of 6.7.2023, Annex 1 · Agenzia delle Entrate – Instructions Certificazione Unica 2026

That depends on who hires you. Companies, entities, business owners, self-employed professionals and condominiums are withholding agents (sostituti d’imposta) and mainly have these obligations. Business owners and professionals under the regime forfettario, however, do not have to withhold tax on fees (art. 1(69) Law 190/2014); instead they state the worker’s tax code and the amount in their own tax return. Those of them who operate as business owners must still give prior notice to the labour inspectorate.

Withholding and paying the ritenuta: when paying, the client withholds 20% of the fee and pays it by the 16th of the following month using form F24 (tax code 1040); anyone with a Partita IVA must file the F24 electronically.

Certificazione Unica: by 16 March of the following year the client gives the certificate (CU) to the worker and sends it to the Agenzia delle Entrate.

Prior notice to the labour inspectorate: clients operating as business owners must notify the competent labour inspectorate electronically before the work starts (art. 14 D.Lgs. 81/2008), in South Tyrol too via the Ministry of Labour’s online service servizi.lavoro.gov.it; otherwise a penalty of €500 to €2,500 per worker applies. According to the Ispettorato, those not affected include public administrations, professional practices not organised as a business, non-profit amateur sports associations and clubs (ASD/SSD), third-sector bodies with exclusively non-commercial activities, and services of a purely intellectual nature (e.g. proofreading, graphic design, talks, teaching).

INPS above €5,000: if the worker has reported exceeding the threshold, the client pays the contribution on the part above it (bearing two thirds and withholding one third from the fee) by the 16th of the following month using F24 and reports the fee to INPS via UniEmens; in the Certificazione Unica the client states the exemption amount used (see the question on €5,000 a year).

Stamp duty: the €2.00 on a note above €77.47 is owed by the worker; the client, however, is jointly liable.

Private individuals hiring as private individuals are not withholding agents: they withhold no ritenuta, issue no CU and do not have to notify the Ispettorato. How INPS contributions are paid if the worker is above €5,000 is not expressly regulated for this case; if in doubt, ask INPS.

Sources: D.P.R. 600/1973, art. 23 (normattiva) · D.P.R. 600/1973, art. 25 (normattiva) · Legge 190/2014, art. 1, c. 69 (normattiva) · Agenzia delle Entrate – F24 Ritenute su reddito di lavoro autonomo: Che cos’è · Agenzia delle Entrate – Risoluzione n. 123/E of 28.12.2016 (confirms tax code 1040 for withholding on self-employment income) · Agenzia delle Entrate – Instructions Certificazione Unica 2026 · D.Lgs. 81/2008, art. 14, c. 1 (normattiva) · Ministero del Lavoro / Ispettorato Nazionale del Lavoro – Nota prot. 109 of 27.1.2022 (FAQ) · Autonomous Province of Bolzano – Labour: notification of occasional self-employed workers · Ispettorato Nazionale del Lavoro – Nota prot. 393 of 1.3.2022 (FAQ) · INPS – Circolare n. 8 of 3.2.2026 · Agenzia delle Entrate – Risoluzione n. 444/E of 18.11.2008 · Agenzia delle Entrate – Risposta a interpello n. 428 of 12.8.2022