Short answer: the ISEE is a single number, issued free by INPS, that measures your household’s income and assets and decides how much help you get with university fees, benefits and bills. You get it by filing a DSU (a self-declaration) online with SPID, CIE or CNS, or free at a CAF. A 2026 ISEE uses 2024 income and assets, and it expires on December 31. Students: there’s a separate university version, covered below.
The ISEE (Indicatore della Situazione Economica Equivalente) is the number Italy uses to measure a household’s economic situation. It decides who gets reduced university fees, social bonuses, help with utility bills, lower nursery fees and the size of benefits such as the Assegno Unico. This guide explains how it works in 2026, what documents you need and how to file, checked against the Ministry of Labour ISEE page and INPS in October 2026.
Updated October 2026 · Puglia Everyday research
How the ISEE works
The ISEE combines a household’s income and assets and divides the result by an equivalence scale that grows with the number of people in the household, with extra weight for children and members with a disability. The lower the number, the more help you qualify for.
To get it, you file a Dichiarazione Sostitutiva Unica (DSU), a self-declaration of the household’s composition, income and assets. INPS then calculates the ISEE and issues the certificate (attestazione). You can file the pre-filled DSU on the INPS website yourself, with SPID, CIE or CNS, or ask a CAF (Centro di Assistenza Fiscale, tax assistance center) to do it for free.
Which year counts
An ordinary ISEE is valid until 31 December of the year it is issued, and a new DSU can be filed from 1 January. It looks two years back: an ISEE for 2026 uses income and assets for 2024, with bank balances as at 31 December 2024 and the average balance over that year.
If the household’s situation has changed sharply since then, for example a lost job or a big drop in income, an ISEE corrente (current ISEE) can use more recent figures.
January is the busy month. The line at the CAF in our town in the first weeks of the year is mostly people renewing their ISEE before the Assegno Unico deadline, and the staff hand out a printed checklist at the door. Filing in late autumn for the following January is not possible, but booking your CAF appointment in December is.
What changed in 2026
From 1 January 2026, a more generous calculation applies to some benefits only: the Assegno di Inclusione, the Supporto per la Formazione e il Lavoro, the Assegno Unico, the nursery bonus and the new-baby bonus (INPS announcement, January 2026). For these, the value of the main home is excluded up to €91,500, or €120,000 in the comuni that are capitals of metropolitan cities, which in Puglia means Bari, plus €2,500 for each child after the first. The weighting for children in the equivalence scale was also raised.
Italian government bonds, postal savings bonds and postal savings books are excluded from assets up to €50,000 per household. The pre-filled DSU applies this automatically; if you fill in the DSU yourself, you must apply it.
Key finding: Puglia Everyday research found that a 2026 ISEE uses 2024 income and assets and expires on 31 December, and for the Assegno Unico and four other benefits the main home is now excluded up to €91,500, or €120,000 in Bari, plus €2,500 for each child after the first (October 2026).
Cite this: Puglia Everyday research, “Italy’s ISEE in 2026: what it is, what counts and when to renew”, October 2026, pugliaeveryday.com/family/detailed-guide-to-the-isee-indicatore-della-situazione-economica-equivalente/ · Download the data (CSV)
| Item | 2026 rule |
|---|---|
| Reference year | 2024 income and assets; balances at 31 December 2024 and 2024 average balance |
| Valid until | 31 December 2026; new DSU from 1 January |
| Main home excluded (Assegno Unico, Assegno di Inclusione, SFL, nursery bonus, new-baby bonus) | up to €91,500; €120,000 in metropolitan-city capitals (Bari); +€2,500 per child after the first |
| Government and postal bonds excluded | up to €50,000 per household |
| University: student counts as independent | 2+ years outside the family home and earned income of at least €9,000 a year for 2+ years |
| Assegno Unico DSU deadlines | by 28 February to avoid the minimum from March; by 30 June to recover arrears |
ISEE for university students
Universities use their own version, the ISEE per le prestazioni per il diritto allo studio universitario, to set fees and grants. As a rule, you count as part of your parents’ household. According to the Ministry of University FAQ, you count as independent only if you have lived outside the family home for at least two years, in housing not owned by a family member, and have declared earned income of at least €9,000 a year for at least two years.
If your family lives abroad and has no Italian income, most universities ask instead for an ISEE parificato (equivalent ISEE), prepared from translated and legalized foreign documents by a CAF that has an agreement with the university. Check your university’s fees page for its deadline and partner CAFs.
Documents to gather
People and identity
- the household composition on the day you file, as registered at the anagrafe;
- a valid identity document for the person filing;
- the tessera sanitaria (health card) or codice fiscale of every household member;
- for non-EU citizens, a valid residence permit, needed for some benefits.
Home
- if you rent, the registered lease and its registration details, because rent paid reduces the household’s income in the calculation;
- if you own property, in Italy or abroad, the cadastral details and values as at 31 December of the reference year;
- the outstanding mortgage balance on that date, which is deducted from the property’s value.
Savings and investments
- for every bank account, deposit and investment, the balance at 31 December and the average annual balance, which the bank can provide on request;
- for accounts and assets held abroad, the foreign bank’s identification details;
- for business owners, the net assets from the latest accounts.
Income
- the tax return (730 or Redditi) for the reference year, or the CU (Certificazione Unica) from your employer or pension provider if you did not file one;
- income not subject to IRPEF, such as some benefits, grants and income taxed abroad;
- any maintenance paid or received under a separation or divorce ruling.
Vehicles and special situations
- the number plate of every car, motorbike of 500cc or more, and boat owned by household members;
- disability certificates for any household member, which lower the ISEE;
- for a university ISEE, the student’s details and, where needed, the income of a parent who lives elsewhere.
The checklist below dates from 2024. The categories are unchanged, but every reference year has moved on by two, so read each date accordingly.
Benefits that use the ISEE
- reduced university tuition and student grants;
- social bonuses on electricity, gas and water bills, applied automatically when the ISEE is below the threshold;
- lower fees at public nurseries and help with school costs;
- the Assegno Unico per i figli, where the ISEE sets the monthly amount;
- health-care exemptions and social housing.
One of the most common reasons to get an ISEE is the monthly allowance; we explain how to claim the assegno unico without an ISEE too.
Many local services that ask for an ISEE are run through your Ambito Territoriale Sociale (local social services district).
Common mistakes
The most frequent ones are leaving out a household member registered at the same address, getting the reference year wrong for balances, forgetting accounts abroad, and missing the average balance. INPS cross-checks the DSU with the tax and banking data it holds, and differences show up as omissioni o difformità on the certificate, which can block a benefit until corrected. Use the pre-filled DSU where you can, because most of the figures come straight from those databases.
For the Assegno Unico, file the DSU by 28 February to avoid being paid the minimum amount from March, and by 30 June at the latest to recover arrears.
Quick answers from our research
Which year counts for a 2026 ISEE?
2024 income and assets, with bank balances at 31 December 2024 and the average balance over that year.
When does an ISEE expire?
On 31 December of the year it is issued. A new DSU can be filed from 1 January.
When should I file for the Assegno Unico?
By 28 February to avoid being paid the minimum from March, and by 30 June at the latest to recover arrears.
Part of our tax guide: Taxes in Italy for foreigners, every guide we publish on Italian taxes, with a section for Americans, in one place.
