Solo freelancers in Italy invoice through a partita IVA (VAT number), many of them on the regime forfettario: a flat tax of 15%, or 5% in the first years, on revenue up to €85,000. The invoices are simple and VAT-free. The risk lives elsewhere: Italy looks at who organises the work, and a continuous collaboration run to your schedule is treated as employment whatever the contract says.
Partita IVA and the regime forfettario
A freelancer registers a partita IVA with the Agenzia delle Entrate and, if eligible, opts into the forfettario. The conditions (agenziaentrate.gov.it, checked 2026-09-29):
- Revenue up to €85,000 in the previous year. Passing €100,000 ends the regime in the same year, with VAT due from the transaction that crossed the line.
- 15% substitute tax, reduced to 5% for the first five years when the person ran no business activity in the previous three years.
- Taxable income is revenue × a coefficient set by activity: 67% for most sectors including IT (ATECO 62–63), 78% for professional, scientific and technical activities (ATECO 69–75) (Allegato 4, L. 190/2014, checked 2026-09-29). INPS contributions are deducted before the tax.
- Exclusions include anyone who worked as an employee on more than €35,000 in the previous year (the 2025 and 2026 threshold, fiscoetasse.com, checked 2026-09-29), and anyone billing mainly an employer from the previous two tax years.
Forfettari charge no VAT and are not subject to ritenuta d’acconto (agenziaentrate.gov.it, checked 2026-09-29). Since 1 January 2024 all of them must issue e-invoices through the SdI exchange system (Circolare 32/E, checked 2026-09-29). For a foreign client, the XML goes to SdI with recipient code XXXXXXX and the client receives a copy (agenziaentrate.gov.it, checked 2026-09-29). VAT-free invoices above €77.47 carry a €2 stamp duty.
INPS gestione separata
A freelancer outside the regulated professions that run their own pension funds pays social security to the INPS gestione separata. For 2026 the rate is 26.07% for professionals with a partita IVA and no other coverage (25% pension plus 1.07% for other benefits), or 24% for those already covered elsewhere or retired, on income from a floor of €18,808 up to a ceiling of €122,295 (INPS Circolare 8/2026; fiscoetasse.com, checked 2026-09-29). The professional pays it all, through the F24 form. The client pays nothing, unlike a co.co.co., covered below.
Requalification risk: etero-organizzazione and collaborazioni coordinate
Italy has two tests, and both turn on organisation rather than labels.
Etero-organizzazione. Article 2 of Legislative Decree 81/2015 applies the rules of employment to collaborations that are mainly personal, continuous, and carried out in a way the client organises, including through digital platforms (checked 2026-09-29). Exceptions include work in regulated professions that require registration with a professional order. The trigger is not a written instruction; it is you setting how, when and with whom the work gets done.
Collaborazioni coordinate e continuative (co.co.co.). Article 409 of the Civil Procedure Code recognises a coordinated collaboration as self-employed when the collaborator organises the work on their own within coordination terms agreed by both parties (brocardi.it, checked 2026-09-29). A co.co.co. is a distinct contract: the client registers it and pays the gestione separata contribution, two-thirds at its own cost and one-third withheld from the collaborator (INPS Circolare 12/2020, checked 2026-09-29). A partita IVA invoice avoids that, only while the work stays genuinely independent.
The profile that fails: one client, fixed hours, your tools and accounts, a manager assigning daily tasks, a monthly fee regardless of output, or a former employee doing the same job. The profile that holds: deliverables, own schedule, own equipment, other clients.
Contract and IP
- A written services agreement with the partita IVA, scoped to deliverables, rate and currency, with the coordination terms agreed rather than imposed.
- IP assignment in writing. Under the Copyright Law (L. 633/1941), the transfer of economic rights must be proven in writing (Art. 110), and moral rights are inalienable (Art. 22). The rule that gives the employer software and databases by default (Art. 12-bis) covers employees, not contractors (checked 2026-09-29). Assign economic rights explicitly.
- Independence markers: own tools, own schedule, freedom to serve other clients.
Taxes and paperwork
The contractor’s side. File the annual return, pay the substitute tax and INPS, and issue every invoice through SdI.
The client’s side. A business abroad pays no Italian VAT on B2B services, which Article 7-ter of DPR 633/1972 taxes where the customer is established; EU clients self-account under the reverse charge and should check the partita IVA in VIES. A foreign client without a permanent establishment is not an Italian withholding agent (ecnews.it, checked 2026-09-29). US payers collect a W-8BEN and file no 1099; the US–Italy tax convention in force since 16 December 2009 (state.gov, checked 2026-09-29) matters only for work done in the US. Keep the contract, invoice copies and proof of payment.
How to pay contractors in Italy
| Method | What the contractor sees | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| SEPA / SEPA Instant (EUR) | EUR on an Italian IBAN | Same price as a domestic transfer; instant in under 10 seconds |
| Wise | EUR at the mid-market rate | USD 9.87 to send USD 1,000 by bank transfer (wise.com, checked 2026-09-29) |
| Payout platform | EUR to the IBAN, with contract and documents | Per-payout or per-seat pricing |
Rails, fees, the invoice checks and a ranked list of platforms are on our Italy contractor payouts page.
Platforms that cover Italian contractors
The major platforms in our rating list Italy in their coverage, among them Deel, Remote, Multiplier, Oyster, Wise and 4dev.com. Full field: contractor management rating and contractor payouts rating.
Contractor of Record in Italy
Because requalification turns on how the work is organised, a Contractor of Record that signs with the contractor and checks the working pattern reduces misclassification risk. 4dev acts as Contractor of Record — the contracting party for each contractor — which reduces reclassification risk. With any provider, read the liability clause in the COR agreement, not the product name. Where the relationship is really employment, use an EOR. Compare providers in our COR rating.