Plenty of expats arrive in Italy with a laptop and a client list rather than an Italian employer. For them, self-employment is not a plan B but the main plan, and the Italian system, famously heavy, has one lighter lane: the regime forfettario. Here is how to freelance in Italy, from the first form to the yearly contributions.
How do you freelance in Italy: opening a partita IVA
The partita IVA is your VAT number and the formal start of your activity. You must open it within 30 days of starting work. The route depends on what you do:
- Liberal professions (consultant, designer, translator, freelancer): file form AA9/12 with the Agenzia delle Entrate. You can send it by certified e-mail (PEC), submit it in person by appointment, post it by registered mail with a copy of your ID, or file online in your personal area.
- Artisans and traders (individual enterprises): use the ComUnica, a single online filing that informs the business register, the Agenzia delle Entrate, INPS, INAIL (work accident insurance) and, if needed, the SUAP (the commune's one-stop shop for business).
You also choose an ATECO code, which classifies your activity and decides your profitability coefficient under the flat-rate regime. You need a codice fiscale first (how to get it), a PEC e-mail address (compulsory for registered businesses), and for the ComUnica a digital signature. Many freelancers hire a commercialista (accountant) for the first year, which the law does not require.
Which regime suits you to freelance in Italy: the forfettario?
The forfettario is the default regime for small self-employed workers. In 2026:
- revenue of the previous year up to €85,000;
- spending on staff and collaborators up to €20,000;
- no employment income or pension above €35,000 in the previous year (the usual €30,000 threshold was raised to €35,000 for 2025 and 2026), unless that job ended;
- you do not mainly work for your current employer or one from the previous two years (or a company of its group), and you do not control a company in a related activity.
The tax is a single 15% substitute tax on a notional profit: your revenue multiplied by the coefficient of your activity, minus the social contributions you paid. It replaces IRPEF and local surcharges, and you do not charge VAT. For new activities, the rate is 5% for the first five years if you had no self-employment in the previous three years and the new activity does not simply continue former employment.
If your revenue passes €85,000 you move to the normal regime the following year. Above €100,000 you leave at once and must charge VAT from the transaction that crosses the line. Ticking the forfettario box is the natural option; forgetting the box on your opening form can cost a fine of €250 to €2,000.
Whether the forfettario suits you depends on details: coefficients, a previous employer, a spouse's company, income from outside Italy. If you want to test your situation against these conditions, and see which contributions apply, Moovy, Hello Expat's AI assistant, can walk you through the official rules before you file. A commercialista should confirm the final choice.
How much will you pay to INPS?
Contributions are separate from tax. For 2026:
- Professionals without their own fund (Gestione separata): 26.07% of income, or 24% if you already have other compulsory cover or a pension, on income up to €122,295. To earn a full year of pension credit you need income of at least €18,808.
- Artisans (24%) and traders (24.48%): with a minimum on income of €18,808, so a minimum yearly contribution of €4,521.36 for artisans and €4,611.64 for traders, even if you earn less. In the forfettario you can request a 35% reduction from INPS.
- Professions with an order (architects, lawyers, doctors): each has its own fund, which your professional order will name.
If you stay insured in your home country (posted work, activity in several countries, form A1), you do not pay twice: EU rules apply, also with Switzerland and the EEA. For the UK, the trade agreement's social-security protocol applies, with a single legislation at a time.
Do you have to invoice electronically?
Yes, to Italian customers, through the Sistema di Interscambio (SdI), including under the forfettario. For a foreign client the electronic invoice is optional, and healthcare services to private individuals must not go through the SdI. The Agenzia delle Entrate offers a free service to create, send and archive them. Choose your tool before your first invoice.
What happens with annual tax filing?
Each year you file the Redditi PF return (the forfettario has its own section, quadro LM) and pay tax and INPS contributions at the dates for instalments and balance. Dates and the broader residence rules are covered in taxes in Italy for new residents.
What are the traps?
- Passing €100,000 in the year. You lose the regime at once.
- Working mostly for a former employer. That can close the forfettario to you. In two rulings on specific cases (173/2019 and 50/2024), the Agenzia accepted the forfettario for someone who had worked abroad for a foreign employer and then invoiced that employer from Italy: have your own case confirmed.
- Owning a related company. Controlling an SRL in a connected activity excludes you too.
- Forgetting the minimum INPS for artisans and traders. It applies from year one.
- Believing an old web page. Some pages are outdated, as with e-invoicing.
- Choosing a company too early. If you consider an SRL, remember that it needs a notary and an accountant.
If you will be an employee instead, see working in Italy; if you are moving for a job that may qualify for a tax break, read about Italy's impatriati regime.
Should you freelance in Italy as an individual or set up a company?
Most freelancers start as individuals. A company becomes relevant when you take partners, want limited liability, or hit the limits of the flat-rate regime. The most common form is the SRL (società a responsabilità limitata, like a limited company), created by a notarial deed. The capital is €10,000 in principle, but the law allows as little as €1 if it is paid in full in cash; if it is below €10,000, one fifth of profits must go to a reserve until reserve and capital together reach €10,000. The SRL semplificata (SRLS) is reserved for individuals, with standard statutes you cannot change and a capital between €1 and €9,999.99. Its deed is still signed before a notary, but the deed and register entry are exempt from stamp duty and secretariat fees, and no notary fee is due, according to decree-law 1/2012.
Practical points: the company registers with the business register and opens its VAT number in a single ComUnica filing; it needs a PEC and a digital signature; and the chamber of commerce charges an annual fee that varies by chamber (in Rome in 2026, €120 a year for a company with turnover up to €100,000). Remember the trap in the flat-rate rules: controlling an SRL with an activity related to your own can shut you out of the forfettario. Get an accountant's opinion before you form a company just to save tax.
What should you prepare before you start?
A short pre-launch list prevents most first-year errors:
- Residence. If you live in Italy, make sure your registration is in order (residence in Italy); your tax residence follows the 183-day rule.
- Documents. Codice fiscale, ID, PEC address, digital signature if you file a ComUnica, and an ATECO code chosen with an accountant.
- Authorisations. Some activities need a SCIA (activity start declaration) at the SUAP of the Comune, or professional registration.
- Pension fund. Know which fund you belong to: Gestione separata, artisans, traders or your professional order's fund.
- Calendar. The dates for instalments and balance of tax and contributions, and the annual Redditi PF filing.
- Cash buffer. Contributions and tax are due in lumps, often before the client has paid.
What if you live in another country but work in Italy?
Residents of the EU or EEA who do not live in Italy can use the forfettario only if at least 75% of their income is earned in Italy and information exchange exists with their country. Non-residents from outside the EU or EEA, including Switzerland and the UK, generally need a tax representative to open a VAT number, filed at the office of the representative's tax domicile with a guarantee. If you are planning to move to Italy anyway, use the normal route as a resident. In every case, make sure you are not paying social contributions in two countries: the A1 certificate exists for that.
Before you open your partita IVA, have an Italian commercialista check your regime, your pension fund and your first-year calendar against your own situation.