Italy freelancer tax calculator: regime forfettario

How the flat-rate regime works

• Taxable share: instead of deducting real costs, a fixed share of your revenue is treated as income, from 40% for trade, hotels and restaurants to 86% for construction and real estate. Consultants, designers, translators and other professionals (ATECO 69 to 75) use 78%; software developers and IT services (ATECO 62) fall under the 67% group. The coefficient still follows the ATECO 2007 code, even though new codes have been used since 2025.
• INPS: professionals without their own pension fund pay 26.07% of that income to the Gestione Separata, up to €122,295. Craft businesses and traders pay a fixed €4,521.36 (artigiani) or €4,611.64 (commercianti) a year on a minimum income of €18,808, even if they earn less, plus 24% or 24.48% above it and one point more above €56,224. They can ask for a 35% reduction, which also lowers their future pension.
• Substitute tax: 15% of the income after INPS, or 5% for the first 5 years of a new activity. It replaces IRPEF and the regional and municipal surcharges.
• No VAT: you do not charge VAT on your invoices, and you cannot reclaim VAT on purchases.

Example: a craft business on €40,000 pays €6,439 of INPS, or €4,188 with the 35% reduction, and keeps €30,506 or €32,420 a year.

Moving to Italy as a freelancer

• Open a partita IVA with the Agenzia delle Entrate when you start, choosing the ATECO code that matches your work; it sets your taxable share.
• Register with INPS: the Gestione Separata for most professionals, or the Artigiani or Commercianti scheme through the business register.
• The flat tax and INPS are paid in June (balance and first advance) and November (second advance), so the first year's bill can include advances for the next.
• Coming from abroad does not change your eligibility, but you cannot combine the flat-rate regime with the impatriati regime.

What changes in 2027

From 1 January 2027 the regime moves into Italy's new income tax code (D.Lgs. 117/2026), with the same 15% and 5% rates and revenue limits. The higher €35,000 limit for employment income was extended only to 2026; unless the 2027 Budget extends it again, it goes back to €30,000. We will update the calculator once the 2027 rules and INPS rates are published.

Assumptions

• An individual resident in Italy with no other income, under the regime forfettario for the whole of 2026.
• INPS contributions are deducted in the same year; in practice the amount paid in the year is deducted, so the first years can differ.
• Artigiani and commercianti figures are for a business owner first insured from 1996, with no family helpers; the 35% reduction is not applied to the €7.44 maternity contribution. Professionals with their own pension fund (cassa) are not covered.

Frequently asked questions

How much tax does a freelancer pay in Italy under the flat-rate regime?

On €40,000 of professional fees in 2026, a freelancer in the regime forfettario pays €8,134 to the INPS Gestione Separata and €3,460 of 15% substitute tax, keeping €28,406 a year (€2,367 a month). With the 5% start-up rate the tax falls to €1,153. An employee on a €40,000 RAL in Milan keeps €27,960.

Who can use the regime forfettario?

Individuals whose revenue in the previous year was no more than €85,000. If you go above €100,000 during the year you leave the regime at once. You cannot use it if you earned more than €35,000 from employment or a pension in the previous year, or if you mainly invoice your current employer or one you had in the last two years.

When does the 5% rate apply?

For the first 5 years of a genuinely new activity: you must not have run a business or profession in the previous three years, the new activity must not simply continue a previous job (apart from a compulsory traineeship), and if you take over a business its revenue in the previous year must be within the limit.

Can I deduct my expenses?

No. Your taxable income is a fixed share of your revenue that depends on your activity (78% for most professionals), and only INPS contributions are deducted from it. If your real costs are much higher than the regime assumes, the ordinary regime can be cheaper.

Can I combine the flat-rate regime with the impatriati regime?

No. For the earlier impatriati regime the Agenzia delle Entrate ruled that you cannot (circolare 33/E of 2020), because flat-rate income is not part of your IRPEF income, and it has published nothing different for the regime that started in 2024. You can leave the flat-rate regime and use the impatriati regime instead if it saves more.