The regime forfettario is how most freelancers and sole traders in Italy start out: one flat tax, no VAT on invoices, light paperwork. It also generates the same handful of questions every time someone opens a partita IVA (VAT number). Here are the rules for 2026 and straight answers to those questions.
This guide answers the general questions about the forfettario regime for freelancers and sole traders. If you let rooms or apartments to holiday guests, jump to forfettario if you rent on Airbnb; for invoices, see e-invoicing for partita IVA holders.
Checked against the Agenzia delle Entrate’s pages and the 2026 budget law in October 2026, with our own figures for five cases at €85,000. It is general information, not tax advice.
The regime at a glance
- Revenue limit. Revenue or fees in the previous year must not exceed €85,000 (Agenzia delle Entrate). Go over €85,000 and you leave the regime from the following year; go over €100,000 during the year and you leave it at once, charging VAT from the invoice that crosses the line.
- Taxable income. Not your actual profit, but revenue multiplied by the profitability coefficient (coefficiente di redditività) for your ATECO code, from 40% for accommodation and food service to 78% for most professions and 86% for construction and real estate.
- Tax rate. A single substitute tax of 15% replaces IRPEF, the regional and municipal surcharges and IRAP. A genuinely new activity pays 5% for its first five years if it meets the conditions (Law 190/2014, art. 1(65)). INPS contributions are due on top.
- VAT and invoices. No VAT charged and none reclaimed. Electronic invoicing has been compulsory for all forfettari since 1 January 2024, and invoices over €77.47 carry a €2 marca da bollo.
- Other limits. Spending on employees and collaborators must stay within €20,000, and income from employment or a pension in the previous year must not exceed €35,000 (the higher limit confirmed for 2026 by the Agenzia delle Entrate).
The Agenzia’s forfettario page lists the full conditions and exclusions, such as holding a controlling stake in a company whose work is linked to yours.
Who keeps what of €85,000
We ran €85,000 of revenue ($95,141 at the ECB rate of 23 October 2026), the top of the forfettario range, through five consultants with no business expenses: an Italian or any non-American in Lecce on the ordinary regime and on the forfettario, an American self-employed in the US, and an American living in Lecce on each Italian regime.
Cite this: Puglia Everyday research, “Who keeps what of €85,000”, October 2026, https://www.pugliaeveryday.com/business/self-employment-questions-about-forfettario-partita-iva/ · Download the data (CSV)
Finding: at €85,000 the forfettario leaves an Italian or any non-American consultant on forfettario €60,364, against €41,362 on the ordinary regime: €19,002 more. An American in Lecce keeps €63,500 on the forfettario, close to the €66,343 of staying in the US, and €46,687 on the ordinary regime, because the American pays US self-employment tax (about 14.1% of revenue) instead of gestione separata (26.07%). Puglia Everyday analysis.
The first pie applies to anyone who is not American, whether Italian, British or any other nationality. Most countries tax by residence, the UK included: once you have moved here and are no longer UK resident under the Statutory Residence Test (HMRC RDR3), HMRC does not tax your foreign income, so you pay only Italian tax on what you earn here. Under the UK–EU social security coordination rules, you also pay INPS like any Italian resident, unless you were posted here temporarily by a home employer with a certificate of coverage. Income still coming from home can still be taxed there: UK rent, for example, and UK government service pensions, which the UK–Italy tax treaty (article 19) leaves to the UK unless you are an Italian national living in Italy. The US is the exception, because it taxes its citizens wherever they live, which is why Americans get their own pies.
| €85,000 revenue | Italian or any non-American, ordinary | Italian or any non-American, forfettario | American in the US | American in Lecce, ordinary | American in Lecce, forfettario |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRPEF | €19,221 | – | – | €23,586 | – |
| Puglia regional surcharge | €1,615 | – | – | €1,953 | – |
| Lecce municipal surcharge | €642 | – | – | €764 | – |
| Forfettario 15% substitute tax | – | €7,352 | – | – | €8,143 |
| INPS gestione separata (26.07%) | €22,160 | €17,284 | – | – | – |
| US federal income tax | – | – | €6,647 | €0 after credit | €1,347 after credit |
| US Social Security & Medicare (self-employment tax) | – | – | €9,734 / €2,276 | €9,734 / €2,276 | €9,734 / €2,276 |
| Left over | €41,362 | €60,364 | €66,343 | €46,687 | €63,500 |
How we calculated it
- Italian or any non-American, ordinary regime. INPS gestione separata is 26.07% of €85,000 = €22,160, deducted from income. IRPEF on €62,840 (23% to €28,000, 33% to €50,000, 43% above) = €19,221; Puglia surcharge €1,615; Lecce surcharge €642. Left over €41,362.
- Italian or any non-American, forfettario. Taxable income is revenue × the 78% coefficient = €66,300. Gestione separata is charged on that: 26.07% = €17,284, and is deductible, leaving €49,016. The 15% substitute tax is €7,352 (€2,451 at the 5% start-up rate); no surcharges. Left over €60,364.
- American in the US. $95,141 of profit. Self-employment tax is 15.3% of 92.35% of net earnings: Social Security 12.4% (below the $184,500 wage base) = €9,734 and Medicare 2.9% = €2,276. Half of it is deductible, then the $16,100 standard deduction and the 20% QBI deduction apply; federal tax at 2026 rates = €6,647. Left over €66,343.
- American in Lecce, ordinary regime. Under the US-Italy totalization agreement, the American pays the same US self-employment tax (€12,010) instead of gestione separata, and we deduct it from Italian income (TUIR art. 10(1)(e), ruling 5/2026). IRPEF €23,586 and surcharges €2,717 exceed the US income tax, so after the foreign tax credit no US income tax remains (no QBI on foreign business income). Left over €46,687.
- American in Lecce, forfettario. 15% of (€66,300 − €12,010 of self-employment tax) = €8,143. US income tax on the full profit (no QBI) is €9,490; after crediting the €8,143, €1,347 remains. Left over €63,500.
If you are American
Self-employed US citizens in Italy pay US Social Security and Medicare through self-employment tax, not INPS: the US-Italy agreement assigns them to the US system only, and the tax counts toward US benefits. Neither the foreign earned income exclusion nor the foreign tax credit reduces it (IRS Publication 54). Ask the SSA for a certificate of coverage to show INPS.
Two caveats. We deducted the US self-employment tax in Italy on the basis of ruling 5/2026, which concerned an employee; there is no ruling specific to US self-employment tax. And we found no IRS ruling on whether the 15% forfettario substitute tax is a creditable foreign income tax (Publication 514 sets the tests). It replaces IRPEF and the surcharges, but if the IRS refused the credit, the American on the forfettario would keep €55,357. Check both with a preparer. See also our guides to US taxes for Americans living in Puglia, the impatriati regime (which does not combine with the forfettario), the 7% tax for retirees and our hub on taxes in Italy for foreigners, which has a section for Americans.
Can I have two forfettario regimes for two businesses?
No. An individual has one VAT number, and the regime applies to that person, not to each activity. You can, however, carry on more than one activity under the same VAT number and stay in the forfettario regime, as long as you meet the conditions.
Can I have two VAT numbers?
No, not as an individual. Each person has a single VAT number for all their self-employed and business activity. A separate business can have its own VAT number only if it is a separate legal entity, such as an SRL or an association, and then it is that entity’s number, taxed under its own rules.
Can I run two different activities under one VAT number?
Yes. You register each activity with its own ATECO code, one as the main activity and the others as secondary. In the forfettario regime, each activity’s revenue is multiplied by its own coefficient, so keep the revenue for each one separate. The €85,000 limit applies to the total.
A translator who also lets a holiday apartment as a business, for example, applies 78% to translation fees and 40% to letting revenue, and adds the two results.
If I change what I do, do I need a new VAT number?
Usually not. You notify the Agenzia delle Entrate of the new or changed ATECO code within 30 days of starting the new activity: individuals use form AA9/12, companies and other entities form AA7/10, online or at an office. Your commercialista can file it for you. Check whether the new activity also needs a registration with the Chamber of Commerce, the comune or a different INPS scheme.
Does the forfettario regime end after five years?
No. The regime has no time limit: you can stay in it for as long as you meet the conditions. What ends after five years is the reduced 5% rate for start-ups, after which the rate becomes 15%.
Closing and reopening to get the 5% rate again does not work. It is available only if you did not carry on a business, artistic or professional activity in the previous three years, and if the new activity is not simply a continuation of earlier work, including work done as an employee.
Weighing self-employment against a job offer? Here is how a fixed-term employment contract works.
Common mistakes
- Letting revenue drift past €85,000 without noticing, or past €100,000 mid-year.
- Choosing an ATECO code that does not match the work, with the wrong coefficient and sometimes the wrong INPS scheme.
- Treating no VAT as no bookkeeping: invoices, receipts and INPS payments still need to be kept in order.
If you host holiday guests, see the hosting section above. For anything that depends on your own figures, talk to a commercialista before you file.