Partita IVA in Italy 2026: how to open one

Running a business in Italy for an immigrant begins not with choosing a nice name but with three questions: which form of activity (ditta individuale, srl, or a representative office), how to open a Partita IVA, and which tax regime to choose. This guide, according to the community and open official materials, gives a general map: business forms, the self-employed person's tax number, the forfettario and ordinario regimes, pension-fund contributions, and choosing an accountant (commercialista). This is not legal or tax advice. All the rates, limits, and deadlines change, so verify the current value on agenziaentrate.gov.it and inps.it.

What is the Partita IVA and how do you open one?

The Partita IVA is the tax number of a self-employed person or entrepreneur; without it you cannot legally issue invoices in Italy. You open it through the Agenzia delle Entrate, in practice almost always via a commercialista: you need a codice fiscale, residenza, an ATECO activity code and a choice of regime (forfettario or ordinario). A non-EU foreigner also needs a residence permit that allows self-employment - for example lavoro autonomo; the number is usually opened after the plastic card is received.

Which business forms are available to an immigrant in Italy?

For a non-European immigrant, almost all independent business forms fall under the "autonomous work" (lavoro autonomo) residence-permit category. The legal basis is article 26 of the Consolidated Immigration Act. Within this category there are several different paths:

• Libera professione (a freelance profession, freelancing) - you provide services as a specialist: developer, designer, consultant, translator, and similar.
• Impresa individuale (also ditta individuale, sole proprietorship) - entrepreneurial activity in your own name, without a separate legal entity.
• Ufficio di rappresentanza (representative office of a foreign company) - opening a representative office with the appointment of a director. This path stands apart: it gives a residence permit to the director and goes outside the annual quotas under a separate norm (article 27 of the Consolidated Immigration Act).

The fundamental fork is that most categories of autonomous work fall under annual quotas (the decree on migrant flows, decreto flussi). Without an active decree, a visa under this motive simply is not issued, and the quotas allocated to this category are limited and are exhausted quickly. A representative office with a director is a notable exception, because it does not depend on quotas.

If you are still choosing between autonomous work and another ground, start with the route matcher and a comparison of lavoro autonomo and the digital nomad. Having a residence permit in itself does not always mean the right to any activity - verify the right of a specific type of permesso to do business on interno.gov.it and portaleimmigrazione.it.

People often ask whether to open an SRL right away "to look more solid." At the start, for one person, this is usually extra costs and reporting. A ditta individuale or a freelance profession is simpler, cheaper, and covers a freelancer's needs. It makes sense to establish a company when partners, employees, and real turnover appear, not for the sake of status.

What do you need to open a Partita IVA?

For any form of autonomous work a Partita IVA is mandatory - it is the taxpayer number for the self-employed and entrepreneurs. It is usually opened after receiving the plastic residence-permit card. Formally it can be done earlier, with confirmation of submission for the permesso, but in practice this path is harder.

To open a Partita IVA, you will need:

1. Codice fiscale (tax code) - the basic identifier needed for almost everything. About it and about registration - in the material on codice fiscale and residenza.
2. Residenza (registration) - official registration at the place of residence.
3. The ATECO activity code - it determines which activity your business belongs to.
4. An accountant (commercialista) - in practice opening almost always goes through them.
5. Choice of tax regime - forfettario or ordinario (more on this below).

Technically, registration goes through the single Comunicazione Unica form: it simultaneously creates records at the tax service, the pension fund, and, if this applies to your activity, at the chamber of commerce (Camera di Commercio). For many purely digital fields (for example, designing information systems) registration with the chamber of commerce is often not required by law - but for the residence-permit renewal it is better to prepare in advance a clear explanation of why it is absent.

The most important thing at the start is to calmly choose the activity code. This is not a formality: the code drags along the tax regime and the size of contributions. I did not rush, discussed a couple of options with the accountant, and only then submitted. Changing it later is harder than choosing it carefully the first time.

Two nuances that save money and nerves already at this step:

• The ATECO code sets not only the regime but also the profitability coefficient. According to the community, digital fields (development, designing information systems) have a noticeably lower tax-base coefficient than some other types of activity - that is, the tax is calculated on a smaller share of the turnover. The specific percentage is tied to the code, so the code is chosen thoughtfully and the current value is verified.
• A commercialista and just an "accountant" are not the same thing. According to the community, a full-fledged commercialista is entered in the professional register (albo) and can represent you before the tax office, whereas an ordinary bookkeeper keeps the records but has no legal weight before the fisc. For complex situations this difference matters; membership in the register can be checked on the chamber's relevant site.

I did not immediately understand that the person who keeps my records and the one who can actually speak to the tax office on my behalf are different roles. When I needed to sort out a matter with the fisc, it turned out that a commercialista from the register was specifically needed. Clarify the specialist's status in advance, not when the problem arises.

The Agenzia delle Entrate personal area (cassetto fiscale, invoices, the tax return) opens with SPID or CIE - how a foreigner can get SPID is covered separately.

forfettario or ordinario: which tax regime to choose?

This is the central decision, on which the tax, the VAT, and even the future pension depend.

The reduced regime forfettario is simplified. Its key features (the figures are in the corpus, verify the current details):

• a rate of about 5 percent for the first five years for a new activity (nuova attivita), then the standard rate of about 15 percent;
• a turnover limit of around 85,000 euro per year (previously it was lower, around 65,000 euro);
• the tax is calculated not on the entire turnover but on a notional (coefficient-based) base - on average about 67 percent of the turnover;
• you cannot deduct real expenses, and you cannot reclaim VAT either;
• VAT is not charged on invoices (a note about an operation outside the VAT field is put on the invoice). This is advantageous when working with private individuals but less convenient in B2B with Italian companies, for whom input VAT matters.

The ordinary regime ordinario uses a progressive income tax (the values are in the corpus): about 23 percent up to 28,000 euro, about 35 percent on the part of income 28,001-50,000 euro, and about 43 percent above 50,000 euro. Regional (roughly 1.23-3.33 percent) and municipal (up to 0.9 percent) taxes are added to it. On the ordinary regime VAT applies: the standard rate is about 22 percent, the reduced ones about 10 and 4 percent.

It is convenient to estimate the tax on forfettario, the contributions, and the bottom line "in hand" for your case in the calculator:

A detailed breakdown of the reduced regime is in the material on forfettario and taxes.

For a long time I thought forfettario was advantageous for absolutely everyone. It turned out a lot depends on the structure of expenses: I had high real costs, and on the simplified regime you cannot deduct them. In my case the ordinary regime came out more reasonable. Calculate your own case, not the chat average.

No one warned in advance that the simplified regime hits your future pension: the contributions on it are lower, and the pension record is not counted for a full year. When I understood this, I started thinking about changing status in advance. This is not only about the tax today, it is about what will be in decades.

Two more points about the reduced regime itself, which are easy not to think about:

• The reduced rate for a new activity is a one-time window. According to the community, the lower rate is given for a limited period from the start of a new activity; if you close the Partita IVA in the middle of this term, the window is considered used up, and when opening a new business later you cannot get the reduced rate back. Do not open and close a business "on a trial basis" if you plan to use the benefit.
• Falling off the simplified regime sometimes happens not from the next year but from the current one. According to the community, with a large enough excess of turnover, switching to the ordinary regime may be required already in the same year, with a recalculation of the tax and VAT retroactively, rather than from January 1 of the next. Verify the exact thresholds and procedure currently - they change.

I closed the Partita IVA, thinking I would later calmly open it again on the same terms. It turned out you do not easily get the reduced rate for a new activity a second time - the window is one. If there is even some chance of continuing, it is better not to close the business in a rush. This mistake costs real money in subsequent years.

A third option for recent arrivals is the lavoratori impatriati benefit on top of ordinario; its comparison with the forfettario is in the article on the impatriati regime.

How dangerous is an accountant's mistake with the rate?

This is the most expensive pitfall of all. If, when opening the Partita IVA, the accountant did not mark "nuova attivita" and set the standard rate (about 15 percent) instead of the reduced one for a new activity (about 5 percent), it cannot be corrected retroactively. The higher rate will remain in subsequent years too. The difference over several years is thousands of euro.

I hired an outside accountant, trusted him, and through inattention he opened the reduced regime with the standard rate instead of the rate for a new activity. When we figured it out, it turned out the overpayment could no longer be returned and the regime could not be replayed. Doubly annoying, because the error is purely technical.

Before opening the Partita IVA, get a second independent opinion, even a paid consultation. One mistake in choosing the rate or regime costs thousands of euro over the coming years. And it is also important: the accountant solves the task from the data brought to them. Complaints about "different answers" usually come not from bad specialists but from a person having come with an incorrect understanding of their tax status.

Separately, it is worth saying about trust and control: a technical mistake is half the trouble, worse is when the money does not reach the budget at all. According to the community, there were cases when contributions and taxes looked paid on paper, but in fact did not reach the agency. So once a year it is useful to check yourself in the personal account on the agencies' sites, rather than trusting only printouts and words. If you find a discrepancy, do not blindly pay everything off at once - first figure out where the money went.

For a year I was sure the contributions were being paid: the accountant showed ready receipts. And when I climbed into the agency's personal account myself, it turned out some of the payments had never arrived there. Since then the rule is simple: trust, but once a year check directly on the official site. A paper about a payment and an actually arrived payment are not always the same thing.

How much does an accountant cost and do you need a business account?

Accounting in Italy is almost always handled through a commercialista, and its cost is worth budgeting in advance. By the community's observations (the amounts are in the corpus, verify the current details):

• online services for the self-employed on forfettario - per the community around 350-500 euro per year;
• a local "live" accountant - per the community 500-1500 euro per year, more often 600-900;
• opening the Partita IVA itself - from 0 to 200 euro.

A breakdown by type of work and what the annual fee covers is in the article on what a commercialista costs.

A Russian-speaking accountant is hard and expensive to find, so many in simple cases work with English-speaking online services for a fixed annual fee.

A separate point is the account. For activity under a Partita IVA, formally a business account is needed; a personal account officially cannot be used, although some banks turn a blind eye to this. A business account is usually more expensive to maintain. About choosing a bank - in the material on banks and money.

With opening an account there are a couple of practical catches:

• Neobanks and foreign wallets are not a universal solution. According to the community, for accepting freelance payments some neobanks require a paid business plan, and some services since 2022 treat clients with a Russian connection warily and may block accounts. Do not build the whole scheme on one such wallet - keep a backup option.
• For a business account they may ask for an extract from the register. According to the community, the bank often requires a visura from the chamber of commerce, and it is most convenient to obtain it through the entrepreneur's digital account via SPID. Without a ready digital identity and registration this step can stall, so SPID is worth arranging in advance.

For a simple case of a self-employed person on the simplified regime, online accounting for a fixed annual fee turned out to be noticeably cheaper than a private specialist and covered all my needs: invoices, reporting, payment reminders. A complex structure is another conversation, but for freelancing this was enough.

I hoped to open everything on a familiar foreign wallet - and ran into a wall: for freelance payments a paid plan is needed there, and with my connection the service was also being capricious. In the end I keep a main Italian account and a backup wallet. Advice: do not tie the acceptance of money to a single neobank.

If you are an accountant yourself and considering the move, see the separate profession profile commercialista in Italy: it is a regulated profession with mandatory albo membership.

Which taxes and contributions does the self-employed person pay, and when?

After opening the Partita IVA, your own calendar of obligations appears. The main ones (deadlines and percentages are in the corpus, verify the current details):

• The electronic invoice (fattura elettronica) is mandatory for everyone, including forfettario, and is sent through the state exchange system SDI.
• Income tax on the ordinary regime is paid in two advances - June 30 and November 30.
• Declarations: for the self-employed - the Redditi PF form (the LM module for forfettario) with a deadline of November 30; for employees - the 730 form with a deadline of September 30.
• Pension-fund contributions: for the self-employed, registration with a separate fund (Gestione Separata) is mandatory, the rate around 26 percent. These contributions give the right to state medicine and a pension. Advances are paid in November, the top-up by the year's results in June.
• Taxes and contributions are paid with the F24 form (you can do it right through a banking app).

A few subtleties about contributions and invoices that often surface after the fact:

• Gestione Separata has no mandatory minimum, while the trade funds do. According to the community, in Gestione Separata contributions go as a percentage of income with no fixed floor, whereas activities requiring registration with the chamber of commerce (artisans, traders) have mandatory minimum contributions of around a few thousand a year, even with modest turnover. Which fund you end up in depends on the activity code; verify the figures currently.
• Part of the Gestione Separata contribution can be passed on to the client. According to the community, the self-employed person has the right to add a small surcharge to the invoice (on the order of a few percent) toward the pension contribution. This is a legal mechanism, but with Italian clients it is worth discussing in advance.
• An electronic invoice cannot be issued retroactively. According to the community, the fattura elettronica is registered in the exchange system within a tight deadline after the operation; you cannot "draw it up" with a past date. Do not pile up unsent invoices.
• An overdue amount is cheaper to close yourself before an audit. According to the community, with a voluntary correction (ravvedimento) the penalty for a late payment is noticeably milder than when the tax office finds the shortfall. If you missed a deadline, do not delay - pay up with self-correction.

Many budget only for the tax and forget about the Gestione Separata contributions. And this is a substantial part of the burden, and it is precisely what gives access to medicine and a pension. Count the tax and the contributions together from day one, otherwise the money picture will be wrong.

When choosing the activity code I did not realize that some types have a fund with a mandatory minimum of contributions, and others a percentage with no floor. The difference in money with a small turnover turned out to be noticeable. Before fixing the code, ask the accountant directly which fund you will end up in and whether there is a mandatory minimum there.

Where your business lives: tax residency

If you plan to live in Italy, it is important to understand that tax residency arises when at least one criterion is met (the values are in the corpus, verify the current details): a stay of 183 or more days in the year (184 in a leap year), or the center of vital interests in Italy, or registration for more than half a year. Recently the very fact of a residence permit creates a presumption of residency, and the burden of proving otherwise lies on the applicant.

A separate difficulty for Russians: the agreement on the avoidance of double taxation between Russia and Italy effectively does not work as of recently (it is suspended but not denounced). This complicates the taxation of Russian income, and the schemes "I live in Italy, I pay taxes there" stop working the way they used to.

I tried to run a business online as if from abroad and pay taxes in another country, while staying in Italy. In the end additional charges came: physical presence is tracked, and formal registration somewhere else does not save you from it. It is better to build the structure honestly for Italy right away.

Regular inflows to accounts like Revolut with an Italian IBAN sooner or later lead to the bank's question about the origin of funds and a letter from the tax office. I thought this was a "quiet" channel, and it turned out the opposite. If you live and work in Italy, count on being seen here.

What will they ask when renewing the residence permit for autonomous work?

You cannot renew the residence permit under the autonomous-work motive without an open Partita IVA and paid taxes. At submission they usually require a tax declaration, confirmation of the Partita IVA registration, and, where applicable, a certificate of registration with the chamber of commerce and in the professional registers.

The minimum income for renewal under this motive is tied to the assegno sociale: the 2026 benchmark is around 7,100 euro a year, and for some categories the community describes a multiple of that, so the bar moves with the indexation of the allowance - verify what is current and see the breakdown in the article on the assegno sociale for foreigners. The financial parameters for the entry itself are separately determined by the chamber of commerce, individually for the type of activity. More on confirming income - in the material on income for the permesso and in the step-by-step lavoro autonomo route.

Two points about "pauses" and closing the business, important specifically for status:

• A year without income does not annul the residence permit instantly, but it hits the renewal. According to the community, there is no continuous monitoring of income - they look mainly at renewal, and that is when the absence of a declaration and earnings becomes a problem. The permesso itself does not burn out the same day, but by the next submission the income picture needs to be straightened out.
• Closing the Partita IVA does not zero out the contributions for the year. According to the community, even after closing the business the fund may bill contributions for the already worked period of that year. Build this into your budget and do not count on closing to instantly stop all accruals.

At the renewal I confirmed income with a Russian declaration as well and explained to the questura that I had only just opened the Partita IVA and had not yet re-registered the contracts. They accepted it, but I understood it was a one-time thing: for the next year an Italian declaration and paid taxes are already needed. Prepare the transition in advance.

I closed the Partita IVA mid-year and thought the contributions would end there. But the fund still billed for the already worked months. No one warned in advance that closing the business does not cancel accruals for the current year. Keep a small reserve for this final bill.

Related articles

• Lavoro autonomo: steps, Nulla Osta, and income thresholds - the step-by-step path to the D visa.
• Forfettario and taxes in Italy - the regime, rates, contributions.
• Income for the permesso - how to confirm income at renewal.
• Codice fiscale and residenza - the first steps after the move.
• Banks and money in Italy - accounts, the business account, transfers.
• Lavoro autonomo or the digital nomad - a comparison of grounds.
• The myth about Partita IVA before the visa - when you really need to open it.
• Impatriati regime: who qualifies - the relocation benefit next to forfettario and ordinario.
• How a foreigner gets SPID - logging into the Agenzia delle Entrate and INPS accounts.

Official sources

• Taxes, codice fiscale, Partita IVA, regimes: agenziaentrate.gov.it
• Social contributions and Gestione Separata: inps.it
• Italian Ministry of the Interior and immigration: interno.gov.it, portaleimmigrazione.it
• D visas and document lists: vistoperitalia.esteri.it
• Questuras and the permesso: questure.poliziadistato.it

This is not legal or tax advice. The guide reflects generalized community experience and open official materials; verify the current value on the agencies' sites before each decision.

Frequently asked questions

Which form of business should an immigrant in Italy choose?

According to the community, most often people start with a ditta individuale (sole proprietorship) or libera professione (freelance profession), because it is simpler and cheaper than a company. An SRL makes sense when partners, employees, and real turnover appear, while a representative office of a foreign company (ufficio di rappresentanza) goes through a separate residence-permit ground for the director. Choose the form to fit your activity with an accountant; this is not legal advice.

When can you open a Partita IVA after the move?

According to the community, the Partita IVA is usually opened after receiving the plastic residence-permit card. Formally it is possible earlier, with confirmation of submission for the permesso, but in practice it is harder, and banks and counterparties treat it more cautiously. Verify the exact sequence on agenziaentrate.gov.it and with your accountant; this is not legal advice.

Why is it important to check the 5 percent rate when opening a Partita IVA?

According to the community, this is one of the most expensive pitfalls: if the accountant at registration did not mark nuova attivita and set the standard rate instead of the reduced one for a new activity, it cannot be changed retroactively, and the higher rate will remain in subsequent years too. Before opening, it is worth getting a second independent opinion; this is not legal advice.

When do you become a tax resident of Italy?

According to the community, tax residency arises with a long enough stay in the year, or when the center of vital interests is in Italy, or with long-term registration - one criterion is enough. Recently the very fact of a residence permit creates a presumption of residency, and the burden of proving otherwise falls on the applicant. Verify the exact thresholds and year on agenziaentrate.gov.it; this is not legal advice.

Is an electronic invoice mandatory on the reduced regime?

According to the community, yes: the electronic invoice (fattura elettronica) is mandatory for everyone, including the regime forfettario, and is sent through the state exchange system SDI. Check the current requirements on agenziaentrate.gov.it; this is not legal advice.

Do INPS contributions have a mandatory minimum?

According to the community, it depends on the fund. In Gestione Separata, where many freelancers end up, contributions go as a percentage of income with no fixed floor. But activities requiring registration with the chamber of commerce (artisans, traders) have mandatory minimum contributions of around a few thousand a year even with modest turnover. Which fund you end up in is determined by the activity code. Verify the figures and procedure on inps.it; this is not legal advice.

Do contributions stop accruing immediately after closing the Partita IVA?

According to the community, no: even after closing the business, the fund may bill contributions for the already worked period of the current year, so closing does not stop accruals instantly. Build this final bill into your budget. Verify the exact procedure on inps.it and with an accountant; this is not legal advice.

Related materials - Guides

• Guides to living in and moving to Italy
• Immigration in Parma: questura, timelines
• School in Italy for foreign kids: enrollment
• Income for the D visa and permit renewal

Next stepItalian residence route matcherFive questions show the best-fit permit: lavoro autonomo, digital nomad, residenza elettiva or family.

Documents for this topic

• Guide to Doing Business in Italy for Investors (ITA, 2018, in Russian)
• Nulla osta provvisorio for self-employed (Questura di Milano, art. 26 D.lgs 286/98)
• nulla osta provvisorio per lavoro autonomo - Questura di Como