The tax agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) and the tax return in Italy

The tax code (codice fiscale) is what you use in every tax transaction, and is issued free as in the registration guide.

• You are considered a tax resident of Italy if you are registered in the population register or have a home or centre of interests there for more than 183 days a year, and then you are subject to income tax on your worldwide income.
• Non-residents are subject to tax on their income from an Italian source.
• You do not need a partita IVA unless you work freelance.
• And some qualified new residents may benefit from a special tax regime for arrivals (regime impatriati) under precise conditions, so ask a reliable adviser.
• And no one is exempt from responsibility because of ignorance of the rules.

The employer withholds monthly from your salary INPS contributions (about 9 per cent) and the income tax IRPEF which is calculated in progressive brackets on annual income (about 23 per cent up to 28 thousand euros and higher for the following brackets, changing every year), in addition to regional and municipal taxes (addizionali).

• All that appears on the payslip (busta paga).
• Deductions (detrazioni) for work, family and children are applied that reduce the tax.
• And at the end of the year the employer issues the Certificazione Unica (CU) with the total of your income and withholdings, and you use it in the return.
• Read your payslip and check the numbers and ask payroll about anything unclear.
• And keep copies of the CU for years.

For employees and pensioners the modello 730 (simple) is usually filed between May and September, and it can be filed by yourself via the site with the precompilato model, that is pre-filled by the tax agency, with SPID, or through a CAF (tax assistance centre) or an accountant.

• The result of the calculation is settled in the salary (refund or deduction) within months.
• For the self-employed and some other income the Redditi PF model is filed with a longer deadline (November).
• The return is not compulsory for every employee, but it is useful to recover taxes and to calculate deductions for health, education, rent and interest expenses.
• Do not ignore your deadline since delay means fines, and a corrective return can be filed.
• And the pre-filled return must be reviewed carefully before approval.

19 per cent is deducted from many expenses (detrazioni): health, medicines, education, mortgage interest, insurance, sport for children and student rent away from the family, and at higher rates for some home repairs and energy efficiency.

• And tenants have a special deduction in some cases by income and contract.
• Invoices and health receipts (scontrini parlanti) must be kept and payment made by a traceable means (card or transfer) for some deductions.
• CAF centres (Centri di Assistenza Fiscale) of unions and associations (CGIL, CISL, UIL and ACLI) fill in the return for you for a symbolic fee or free for some groups, and issue the ISEE free.
• Avoid unlicensed providers who promise big refunds.
• And ask about the service fee in advance.

Value-added tax (IVA) is included in prices at 22 per cent for most and 10 per cent or 4 per cent for some goods such as basic foods.

• Property tax (IMU) is on the owner not the tenant, the waste charge (TARI) on the occupant, and the television fee (canone RAI) on the electricity bill.
• If you discover a mistake in your return submit a corrective return quickly, since voluntary correction (ravvedimento operoso) reduces the penalty.
• If the agency sends you a notice (avviso) reply within the deadline.
• To object to a decision apply to the tax court (Corte di Giustizia Tributaria) within sixty days.
• There is the call service Agenzia Risponde and the agency's offices by appointment.
• And beware of fake text messages that impersonate the agency.

What is the CU?