The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), in its reply no. 5/04717 before the Finance Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, has expressed its view on the compatibility between the tax regime for inpatriate workers and the so-called de minimis threshold provided for under EU legislation on “minor” State aid. The MEF has formally clarified that the relief available to self-employed workers is applicable only in compliance with the aforementioned de minimis limit.
Article 5 of Legislative Decree no. 209/2023, which governs the new regime for inpatriate workers, expressly makes the application of the benefit for self-employed professionals conditional upon compliance with the limits set out in EU Regulation no. 1407/2013. Under this Regulation, the total amount of de minimis aid granted by a State to a single undertaking may not exceed €200,000 over a period of three financial years. This limit has been increased to €300,000 by EU Regulation 2831/2023.
The clarification issued by the MEF originated from a question raised by members of Parliament, who asked whether it was necessary—possibly through interpretative legislation—to specify that the de minimis ceiling applies to the tax relief for inpatriate workers if the European Commission were to expressly classify such relief as State aid.
The MEF reiterated that the inpatriate regime does fall within the scope of State aid in relation to self-employed workers. According to the Ministry, “the legislator’s decision to bring these temporary tax relief regimes within the scope of the «de minimis» rules appears consistent with their nature, considering that self-employed workers are configured as persons carrying out an economic activity akin to that of enterprises.”
From a practical standpoint, therefore, a self-employed worker benefiting from the inpatriate regime must not only comply with the maximum eligible income threshold of €600,000 per year—applicable to all workers under the regime—but must also respect the €300,000 ceiling over any three-year period as established by the relevant regulations. Compliance with the ceiling must be assessed on a rolling basis rather than a fixed one; that is, “for each new grant of «de minimis» aid, the total amount of «de minimis» aid granted in the previous three years must be taken into account.”
It should be recalled that in 2023 the MEF had already addressed the issue under the previous inpatriate regime set out in Article 16 of Legislative Decree no. 147/2015, having already held that tax relief measures granted to workers starting an economic activity fall within the scope of the EU rules on State aid.
In light of this important clarification, it is necessary to understand the practical consequences for a self-employed worker in the event of exceeding the ceiling (i.e. surpassing the €300,000 limit). In particular, whether exceeding the ceiling results in the complete loss of the benefit, or whether the consequence is merely that the inpatriate regime cannot be applied to the portion of income exceeding the de minimis threshold.
In the past, two different approaches had emerged regarding the consequences of exceeding the limit.
The first, more restrictive, held that if the ceiling is exceeded, no relief whatsoever can be granted, including on the portion of income below the threshold (see CNDCEC-FNC document, 20.09.2018).
The second approach, by contrast, considered that the taxpayer could, up until the granting of the aid, renounce previously received aid or request a reduction in the financing amount (see Court of Justice of the EU, Case C-608/19, on State aid).
The Italian Revenue Agency, in the instructions to the 2024 Personal Income Tax Return (for tax year 2023), appeared to acknowledge entitlement to the benefit even in the case of a so-called “declared” excess. In relation to the box “Inpatriate/Counter-Expatriate Income,” the instructions stated that column 3 should indicate “any portion of income that the taxpayer intends to exclude from the relief and subject entirely to taxation, in order to keep the amount of aid actually enjoyed within the applicable «de minimis» limit.”
This clarification is also found in the instructions to the 2025 Personal Income Tax Return (for tax year 2024). It therefore appears clear that a “declared” excess does not in itself lead to the complete loss of the benefit.
The matter is different, however, where the worker has made an error in determining their income, for example failing to calculate the de minimis limit on a rolling basis. In such a case—having failed to complete the relevant section of the tax return allowing the declaration of the excess—the worker risks losing the benefit entirely. This is compounded by the impossibility of making use of the voluntary disclosure mechanism (ravvedimento operoso), since this situation is excluded from the National Register of State Aid. According to the Register, “the impossibility of recording the aid due to the exceeding of the total amount that may be granted for the relevant type of «de minimis» aid results in the unlawful enjoyment of the aid.”
