Italy VAT (IVA) 2026 — 22% Standard, Three Reduced Rates

Italy applies a 22% standard IVA rate plus three reduced tiers — 4%, 5% and 10%. Here is every rate, threshold, invoice rule and cross-border treatment you need, with worked examples and links to free tools.

2026 IVA Rates at a Glance

Last verified: 25 September 2026. Sources: EU Commission VAT rates, ECB euro reference rates and national tax authorities. Confirm with your local authority before filing.

Italy has one of the most complex IVA rate structures in the EU with four distinct tiers. Use the VAT calculator in Custom-rate mode to compute any amount, or check an Italian VAT number with the VAT validator.

What Each Reduced Rate Covers

4% Aliquota super-ridotta

• Basic food — bread, pasta, rice, milk, cheese, eggs, olive oil, sugar, flour, fresh fruit and vegetables.
• Books, newspapers and magazines — printed and digital publications, including e-books and audiobooks.
• School and office supplies — notebooks, pens, ink cartridges for educational use.
• Medical aids and prostheses — wheelchairs, hearing aids, orthopaedic devices, corrective glasses.

5% Aliquota ridotta

• Water supply — drinking water, irrigation, sanitation services.
• Animal feed — compound feed for livestock, pet food.
• Restaurant drinks — beverages sold separately from food (water, soft drinks, wine served at table).
• Social housing (edilizia residenziale pubblica) — new-build social housing construction.
• Renewable energy — solar panels, biomass installations, energy-saving works on buildings.
• Domestic care services — home cleaning, babysitting, elderly care.

10% Aliquota ridotta

• Restaurant food — meals consumed on premises (note: drinks separately are 5%).
• Accommodation — hotels, B&Bs, agriturismi, holiday rentals.
• Passenger transport — train, bus, domestic flights within Italy.
• Books and sheet music — physical books (digital books at 4%).
• Medical equipment — devices not covered under 4% (some hearing aids, mobility scooters).
• Cultural events — cinema, theatre, museum, concert admission.
• Social housing renovation — energy efficiency works on existing social housing.
• Waste collection — rifiuti urbani (municipal waste management).

Italy has the most complex reduced-rate structure in the EU. If your business mixes rates, split invoices per category. The invoice generator handles split-rate IVA automatically.

Regime Forfettario — The Italian Flat-Rate Scheme

Italy offers a flat-rate tax scheme for small businesses known as regime forfettario (Law 145/2018, modified by Decreto Legge 223/2021):

• Eligibility: annual turnover below EUR85,000 for services, consulting and professional activities, or EUR50,000 for commercial, manufacturing and other activities.
• Effect: you pay a flat tax rate of 5% for the first 5 years (15% thereafter) on 78% of revenue (for services) or 67% (for commerce). You do not charge IVA and cannot reclaim input VAT.
• Invoice impact: your invoices must NOT show IVA. Include the statement: Operazione in regime forfettario ai sensi dell'art. 1, commi 54-89, Legge n. 190/2014 — Non soggetta a IVA ai sensi dell'art. 1, comma 64, Legge n. 190/2014.
• Loss of scheme: if turnover exceeds EUR85,000 (or EUR50,000) during the year, you exit the regime from the first day of the month following the excess and become a regular IVA payer.
• Restrictions: cannot employ more than 1 employee, cannot rent commercial real estate, cannot have more than 50% of income from related parties.

Calculate your gross quote regardless of regime with the VAT calculator — use 0% in Custom mode if you are regime forfettario.

Fattura Elettronica — Mandatory Electronic Invoicing

Italy is the first EU country to mandate electronic invoicing for all domestic B2B and B2C transactions. Key rules:

• Since 1 January 2019: all businesses must issue and receive invoices electronically via the Sistema di Interscambio (SDI) platform using XML format (FatturaPA).
• Format: XML file in PDL (Partitore di Livello) format, conforming to the Italian PA (Public Administration) schema.
• Transmission: every invoice must be submitted to SDI, which validates it and forwards it to the recipient. Paper invoices between businesses are no longer legal.
• Deadlines: transmit within 12 days of the date of issue (or date of supply if different).
• Exemptions: only regime forfettario businesses, VAT-exempt businesses under Article 10 of the DPR 633/72, and foreign businesses without an Italian VAT number are exempt from mandatory fattura elettronica.

For cross-border invoices or non-SDI compatible formats, use the UBL e-invoice kit to create standards-based UBL XML files.

IVA Registration in Italy

1. Who must register: anyone carrying on business activity in Italy (which requires a partita IVA regardless of turnover), plus all non-Italian businesses making taxable supplies in Italy. Exceeding the forfettario limits moves you to ordinary IVA accounting rather than triggering first registration.
2. Where: register with the Agenzia delle Entrate using form AA9/12 (individuals and sole traders) or AA7/10 (companies and partnerships).
3. What you receive: a Partita IVA number (IT + 11 digits) and a Codice Fiscale (tax code). Apply online at entrate.it or at an Agenzia delle Entrate office.
4. Non-EU businesses: must appoint an Italian fiscal representative (rappresentante fiscale) before registering for IVA.
5. VAT groups: Italy permits VAT grouping (consolidamento fiscale) — a group of companies can register as a single VAT entity.
6. Timeline: register within 30 days of commencing taxable activity. Late registration triggers retroactive IVA assessments and penalties.

Italian Invoice Requirements

Under Articles 21 and 22 of the DPR 633/72 (Italian VAT law), every IVA invoice must contain:

1. Supplier details — full legal name, registered address, Partita IVA and Codice Fiscale.
2. Customer details — full name, address, and for B2B their Partita IVA.
3. Invoice number — unique, sequential, no gaps in the numbering series (at least two separate series per year: one for ordinary invoices, one for credit notes).
4. Invoice date — date of issue; add date of delivery or service if different.
5. Description — nature, quantity and detail of goods or services supplied.
6. Unit price excluding IVA — net price per unit, any discounts and rebates.
7. IVA rate and amount — applicable rate per line, subtotal excluding IVA per rate, total IVA, total including IVA.
8. Payment terms — due date, method of payment, and any early payment discount (sconto anticipato) or late payment penalty.
9. Ritenuta d'acconto — if withholding tax applies (common for professionals), state the gross amount, withholding percentage and net payable.
10. Special references — reverse charge reference, margin scheme reference, exemption references, regime forfettario notice if applicable.

Build a compliant Italian invoice in seconds with the invoice generator — select the correct IVA rate, add your Partita IVA, and export as PDF. For SDI submission, convert to XML using the UBL e-invoice kit.

Reverse Charge in Italy

Italy has among the most extensive reverse charge rules in the EU. Key scenarios:

• B2B services from Italy to an EU customer: you invoice at 0% IVA with a reference like: Inversione contabile — Art. 196 della Direttiva 2006/112/CE. Both your Partita IVA and the customer must appear.
• B2B services received from abroad: if a non-Italian supplier provides services to your Italian business, you self-account Italian IVA under reverse charge and report on your IVA return (quadro VF).
• Domestic construction subcontracting (Art. 17 DPR 633/72): the main contractor self-accounts IVA on payments to subcontractors — mandatory reverse charge in the construction sector.
• Specific domestic supplies: sales of mobile phones and computers over EUR150, scrap metal, gold, waste, energy, electronic components — the buyer self-accounts IVA regardless of location.
• Import of services: when a non-EU business provides services to an Italian business with no Italian fixed establishment, reverse charge applies.

Check any cross-border scenario with the reverse-charge vs OSS checker before invoicing.

OSS — Italy and the One Stop Shop

Italy participates in the EU One Stop Shop (OSS) since 1 July 2021. What this means for Italian sellers:

• B2C distance sales of goods to other EU countries — once your pan-EU cross-border turnover passes EUR10,000 per year, you must charge the destination country IVA rate and declare it through OSS.
• Registration: register for OSS via the Agenzia delle Entrate portal. You file one quarterly OSS return covering all destination countries, and Italy distributes the collected IVA to each member state.
• Below EUR10,000: you may charge Italian 22% IVA on all B2C cross-border sales (domestic simplification).
• B2B: OSS does not apply to B2B — reverse charge governs those transactions.
• Import One Stop Shop (IOSS): for goods imported from outside the EU to EU consumers valued at EUR150 or less, you can register for IOSS to collect IVA at the point of sale instead of at the border.

Run any scenario through the reverse-charge vs OSS checker to confirm the correct treatment.

Worked Examples

Worked Example — Adding 4% Super-Reduced IVA

A Bologna pharmacy sells basic medicines worth EUR200 net. The super-reduced 4% rate applies.

Gross = EUR200 x 1.04 = EUR208 · IVA = EUR8

Verify instantly with the VAT calculator — select Italy and set 4% in Custom-rate mode.

How to Use the Italian VAT Calculator

1. Select Italy from the country dropdown — the standard 22% rate auto-fills.
2. Choose mode: Add IVA (net to gross), Remove IVA (gross to net), or Custom rate (use 4%, 5% or 10% for reduced items).
3. Enter the amount and click Calculate. Net, IVA and gross appear instantly.
4. Copy or download the result for your records or to paste into an invoice.

🔒 100% Client-Side Privacy: All calculations execute locally in your browser. No financial data, amounts, or tax entries are ever stored on or transmitted to our servers.

Other Countries VAT Guides

See all rates in our EU VAT rates 2026 table, or use the VAT calculator to compute any amount.

Frequently Asked Questions

Informational purposes only — not tax advice. Rates and thresholds sourced from the Agenzia delle Entrate, DPR 633/72 and EUR-Lex. Always confirm with your commercialista or local Ufficio dell'Imposta sul Valore Aggiunto.