VAT (IVA) invoice rules in Italy

In Italy an invoice must show your Partita IVA, itemised lines, and VAT (IVA) separately at the applicable rate — 4%, 5%, 10%, 22%, with 22% applying to most work. "Fattura", transmitted as a structured XML file to SdI with a recipient code (codice destinatario) or the customer's certified email address.

The Italy rule people miss

Italy has required electronic invoicing through the Sistema di Interscambio for domestic transactions since 2019 — a PDF emailed to the client does not satisfy the obligation on its own. The invoice is transmitted to SdI, which delivers it to the customer.

When VAT (IVA) registration becomes compulsory

The regime forfettario caps at €85,000 of revenue and charges a flat substitute tax instead of IVA. Invoices issued under it carry no IVA but do require a marca da bollo — a €2 duty stamp — once the invoice exceeds €77.47.

Assessed on a rolling twelve months in most systems, not your financial year — which is the detail that catches people out.

Which VAT (IVA) rate applies to what

10% covers much food, hospitality and building renovation; 5% applies to some social services and selected foods; 4% is reserved for basic necessities, books and some first-home purchases.

Bands are defined by what you supply, not by who buys it.

How often you file in Italy

Periodic settlements are monthly or quarterly, with quarterly LIPE communications and an annual return. The structural point is the Sistema di Interscambio: a domestic invoice must be transmitted through SdI in XML. An invoice emailed straight to the customer as a PDF has not legally been issued, however good it looks.

A worked VAT (IVA) example

Invoice €4,100 with a 5% discount shown on the document:

• Net before discount: €4,100
• Discount at 5%: −€205
• Taxable value: €3,895
• VAT (IVA) at 22%: €856.9
• Total due: €4,751.9

The discounted value is what gets taxed — discounts, deposits and advance payments covers where that stops being obvious.

Correcting an invoice in Italy

A nota di credito is transmitted through SdI exactly as an invoice is, referencing the original. Because the electronic transmission is what makes it exist, a credit note agreed by email and never sent to SdI leaves the original VAT still declared and still owed.

Invoicing outside Italy

Cross-border invoices are reported through the same SdI channel using the "esterometro" data flow, so a sale to a foreign customer still generates a filing obligation even when no Italian IVA is charged.

Charging tax to a client in another country covers the general shape.

Record keeping in Italy

Ten years, and the electronic copies must be kept in a conservazione sostitutiva archive that meets the legal preservation standard. What to hand your accountant at year end.

The universal fields — number, both parties, dates, lines, tax separately, total — apply on top of the local rules above. Rates change: checked to mid-2026, a starting point rather than tax advice; verify against the Agenzia delle Entrate.

Set your country once in EstimateBill and the tax is labelled correctly on every invoice after that — GST and GSTIN in India, VAT in the UK, Sales Tax and EIN in the US, across 58 countries.