Frequently asked questions: VAT (IVA)

Not every transaction without VAT is the same. “Fuori campo IVA” (escluse) are transactions in which one of the basic requirements for VAT is missing – for example because the seller does not carry on a business, artistic or professional activity, because it is not a supply of goods or services, or because the transaction is not deemed to take place in Italy for VAT purposes; in that case no VAT is charged and none is paid over. “Esente” (exempt) are transactions that do fall within the scope of VAT but are expressly exempted by law – for example financing, insurance or health services. “Non imponibile” mainly concerns transactions with other countries, such as exports, intra-Community supplies and international services. According to the Agenzia delle Entrate, the VAT obligations (invoicing, entry in the VAT registers, VAT return) still apply to “esente” and “non imponibile” transactions. An important difference: if you carry out exempt transactions, in principle you may not deduct the input VAT on the purchases used for them; for “non imponibile” transactions (e.g. exports), on the other hand, the deduction is in principle permitted (with statutory exceptions).

Sources: Agenzia delle Entrate – Esclusioni ed esenzioni · DPR 633/1972, artt. 1, 8, 9, 10, 19 (normattiva)

In principle, the invoice (fattura) must be issued within 12 days of the time at which the transaction is deemed to have taken place for tax purposes. For movable goods this is as a rule delivery or dispatch, for services it is payment; if an invoice is issued or payment is (partly) made before then, that earlier time applies to the amount concerned. If the invoice date is not the day of the transaction, the invoice must also state the date of the supply or of the payment. For several supplies with a delivery note (documento di trasporto), or services that can be documented, to the same customer in the same calendar month, a summary invoice (fattura differita) may be issued by the 15th of the following month. Invoices between persons established in Italy – including invoices to private customers – must in principle be transmitted electronically via the exchange system of the Agenzia delle Entrate (Sistema di Interscambio, SdI); the invoice is deemed to have been issued when it is transmitted or made available to the customer. Private customers (consumers) can find the electronic invoice in their area of the Agenzia delle Entrate’s online services; the issuer must also make an electronic or paper copy available to them. In retail, in restaurants and hotels, and for services provided by businesses on publicly accessible business premises, on an itinerant basis or in the customer’s home, an invoice only has to be issued if the customer requests it no later than at the time of the purchase or of the service; instead, the daily takings are recorded electronically and transmitted to the Agenzia delle Entrate. This exception does not apply to professionals.

Sources: DPR 633/1972, artt. 6, 21, 22 (normattiva) · D.Lgs. 127/2015, art. 1 (normattiva)

For ordinary and extraordinary maintenance work on buildings used predominantly for private residential purposes (homes, including the common parts of the residential building), the reduced rate of 10% applies to the service provided by the firm carrying out the work. Materials and equipment qualify for 10% only if the firm carrying out the work supplies them as part of the job; materials that you buy yourself or that someone else supplies do not qualify for the reduced rate in the case of maintenance. For certain “beni significativi” (e.g. windows and doors, boilers, sanitary ware and taps, lifts, air conditioners, video intercoms, security systems), there is a limit: they qualify for 10% only up to the value of the rest of the service (total amount minus the value of these goods); the part above that is subject to 22%. Example: total amount €10,000, of which labour €4,000 and beni significativi €6,000 – the beni significativi qualify for 10% only up to €4,000, the remaining €2,000 is subject to 22%; the labour remains at 10%. For restoration, conservative rehabilitation and building renovation (restauro, risanamento conservativo, ristrutturazione), 10% applies to the work and to the goods supplied for it (except raw materials and semi-finished products), even if you buy the goods yourself. Services provided by professionals (e.g. technicians) do not qualify for the reduced rate. The type of work involved depends on its classification under building law.

Sources: Agenzia delle Entrate – Guida “Ristrutturazioni edilizie: le agevolazioni fiscali” (febbraio 2026) · Legge 488/1999, art. 7 (normattiva)

Under the reverse charge (inversione contabile), the supplier issues the invoice without VAT, and the customer calculates and owes the VAT itself. In the construction sector, this applies on the one hand to services provided by subcontractors (subappaltatori) to construction or renovation firms, to the main contractor or to other subcontractors, but not to services provided to a general contractor (contraente generale) to whom all of the work has been entrusted. On the other hand, it applies to cleaning, demolition, installation of building systems and completion work on buildings (pulizia, demolizione, installazione di impianti, completamento) – according to the Agenzia delle Entrate in all business relationships between businesses or self-employed persons, even if the customer is not active in the construction sector. The invoice bears the note “inversione contabile”; the customer adds the tax rate and the amount of tax to it. The procedure requires the customer to be subject to VAT in Italy; if you hire a tradesperson as a private individual, the reverse charge does not apply – the tradesperson issues the invoice under the normal rules. According to the Agenzia delle Entrate, supplies of goods with installation (fornitura con posa in opera) are not covered by this rule because they count as supplies of goods.

Sources: DPR 633/1972, art. 17 (normattiva) · Agenzia delle Entrate – Circolare 14/E del 27.3.2015

As a rule, no. VAT is only due on supplies of goods and services made in the course of a business, artistic or professional activity; by this the law means an activity carried on habitually (“per professione abituale”), even if not exclusively. If, as a private individual, you occasionally sell your own belongings, this requirement is not met and the sale falls outside the scope of VAT: you do not charge VAT and do not pay any over. It may be different if you buy and sell goods regularly and systematically – this may then amount to a commercial activity with VAT obligations (e.g. a VAT number). Irrespective of VAT: if you occasionally buy goods in order to resell them at a profit, you may earn income from occasional commercial activities, which must be declared in your tax return.

Sources: DPR 633/1972, artt. 1, 4, 5 (normattiva) · Agenzia delle Entrate – Istruzioni Modello 730/2026

Since 1 July 2021 the following has applied in the EU: if the seller (or someone on the seller’s behalf) sends the goods from another EU country to you in Italy, this is what is known as a distance sale (vendita a distanza intracomunitaria), and in principle Italian VAT applies – i.e. the tax rate of the country in which the consignment arrives. There is an exception for small sellers: anyone established in only one EU country whose EU-wide turnover from such cross-border sales to private customers (together with certain services) did not exceed €10,000 net in the previous year and does not exceed it in the current year may charge the VAT of their own country, unless they voluntarily opt for taxation in the country of destination. The seller accounts for the VAT, usually via the EU-wide “One-Stop Shop” (OSS) reporting procedure; you as the buyer do not have to report anything. If, on the other hand, you collect the goods yourself or hire a carrier yourself, without the seller arranging, recommending or charging for the transport, it is not a distance sale, and the VAT of the country in which the goods are handed over or in which the transport begins applies. Exceptions apply, among other things, to second-hand goods, works of art and antiques, and used vehicles that the seller sells under what is known as the margin scheme: for these, the VAT of the seller’s country continues to apply. A special rule applies to new vehicles (e.g. cars no more than 6 months after first registration or with no more than 6,000 km): if they are brought to Italy from another EU country, they must be taxed in Italy, including by private individuals – even if the seller is a private individual.

Sources: D.L. 331/1993, artt. 38 e 40 (normattiva) · EUR-Lex – Directive 2006/112/EC (VAT Directive) · Agenzia delle Entrate – Regime opzionale OSS