Italy's 2026 Tax Filing Opens: New Deduction Limits for High Earners Explained

The Italy Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) has opened its 2026 precompiled tax declaration portal for consultation, marking the start of a filing season that will require taxpayers with incomes above €75,000 to navigate new deduction caps and benefit from an expanded range of automatically loaded expenses.

Starting today, Italy-based taxpayers can log into their reserved area using SPID, CIE, or CNS digital identity credentials to review their prefilled Modello 730 or Modello Redditi PF forms. The Italian tax authority has preloaded more than 1.31 billion pieces of data drawn from employers, pharmacies, banks, energy providers, and transport operators—a record figure that underscores the government's push toward automated compliance.

Why This Matters

• New deduction ceiling: Taxpayers earning over €75,000 will face automatic limits on total deductible expenses based on household income and number of dependents, excluding healthcare costs.

• Simplified filing option: Nearly 60% of self-filers in 2025 opted for the streamlined interface; the mode returns this year with enhanced delegation features.

• Staggered deadlines: Model 730 can be submitted from May 14 through September 30; Model Redditi PF opens for edits on May 20, with submissions accepted from May 27 until November 2.

• Automatic inclusion of appliance rebates: Data on energy-efficient appliance vouchers now flow directly into declarations, preventing double-dipping on incentives.

What's Preloaded This Year

The Italian tax system continues its shift toward "declaration by confirmation." More than 1 billion healthcare receipts have been uploaded to the platform, cementing medical expenses as the largest data category. Behind that, insurers transmitted 96.5 million premium records, while employers and pension funds filed over 71 million Certificazioni Uniche (income certificates).

Three categories saw explosive growth year-over-year. Public-transport subscription data surged 700% to 2.3 million records after Italy mandated that transit agencies report passes directly to the Revenue Agency. Income from photovoltaic surplus sales, managed by Gestore dei Servizi Energetici (GSE), jumped 300% as more households monetize rooftop solar. Childcare subsidy data rose 98%, reflecting wider uptake of the bonus asili program.

For the first time, the 2026 declaration includes appliance-efficiency rebates issued by the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy. These vouchers—worth up to €100 per appliance, or €200 for households with ISEE income certification below €25,000—appear in the precompiled form to enforce the non-cumulability rule. Taxpayers who claimed the voucher cannot also deduct the same purchase under the bonus mobili ed elettrodomestici (furniture and appliance bonus) tied to home renovations.

Impact on High Earners and Families

Residents with total income exceeding €75,000 will encounter a comprehensive deduction cap automatically calculated in their declaration. The reform, introduced by the 2025 budget law, sets a ceiling on aggregate deductible expenses—premi assicurativi, school fees, energy upgrades, and more—scaled to income and the number of children under 30 years old (or over 30 if disabled) claimed as dependents. Healthcare expenses remain exempt from the cap, as do mortgage interest on primary-residence loans signed before 2025.

The practical consequence: a taxpayer earning €100,000 with no dependent children may find that only a fraction of gym memberships, private-school fees, or home-efficiency investments can be deducted, even if documentation is complete. Families with multiple young dependents benefit from higher thresholds, incentivizing larger households while curbing deductions for high-income singles or couples with adult children.

Meanwhile, parents with offspring aged over 30 who are not disabled will lose dependent deductions entirely, a tightening of eligibility that first took effect for tax year 2025. The measure aims to redirect fiscal support toward younger families and households caring for disabled members.

Simplified Mode and Trusted-Person Enhancements

The Revenue Agency estimates that 5.4 million Model 730 forms were filed directly by taxpayers in 2025, with 3.2 million—almost 60%—using the simplified interface. That option returns in 2026, presenting data in plain-language categories: casa e altre proprietà (home and other property), famiglia (family), lavoro (employment), altri redditi (other income), and spese sostenute (expenses incurred). Users confirm or adjust figures in each bucket, and the system automatically populates the corresponding fields and schedules in the official form.

A new feature extends the reach of the persona di fiducia (trusted person). Previously, a delegate could only assist with individual declarations. Now, provided both spouses grant authorization through the online portal, a trusted representative can file a joint return on behalf of a married couple. The delegate role also expands to heirs: a trusted person designated by an heir may access and manage tax filings for the deceased's estate, streamlining succession paperwork.

To activate delegation, taxpayers log into their reserved area, navigate to the authorization module, and either submit a request via certified email (PEC) or visit any Revenue Agency office in person.

Timeline and Two-Track Calendar

Italy's 2026 filing calendar splits into two tracks, a change driven by the Decreto Correttivo bis (Legislative Decree 81/2025, Article 4), which pushed the deadline for self-employment income certificates (Certificazioni Uniche Autonome) to April 30.

Model 730 (employees, pensioners, assimilated income):

• April 30: Consultation opens.

• May 14: Modification and submission begin.

• September 30: Final deadline.

Model Redditi PF (self-employed, complex income):

• May 20: Consultation and editing open.

• May 27: Submission begins.

• November 2: Final deadline (October 31 falls on a Saturday).

The staggered release ensures that freelance-income data reaches the platform before self-employed taxpayers view their declarations, reducing the need for manual corrections and follow-up filings.

What Residents Should Check

Despite the volume of preloaded information, the Italian tax agency emphasizes that verification remains the taxpayer's responsibility. Early reports from labor unions, including CGIL, highlighted errors in Certificazioni Uniche submitted by public entities, private employers, and construction funds. Misclassified employment income can trigger incorrect deduction calculations, delay refunds, or prompt compliance letters.

The Revenue Agency has issued corrective updates to affected declarations and posts alerts in users' cassetto fiscale (tax drawer) when amended certificates arrive. Before accepting or modifying a return, taxpayers should cross-check:

• Personal and family data: Ensure dependent children, spouses, and disabled family members are correctly listed with up-to-date fiscal codes.

• Income entries: Verify that all employment, pension, freelance, and investment income matches payslips, bank statements, and contract records.

• Healthcare expenses: While the platform imports Sistema Tessera Sanitaria data automatically, out-of-network providers, foreign treatments, and over-the-counter purchases not logged via health card will be missing.

• Deductible expenses: Confirm that insurance premiums, school fees, public-transport passes, energy-upgrade invoices, and appliance rebates appear and carry the correct amounts.

Taxpayers who file through a CAF (centro di assistenza fiscale) or chartered accountant benefit from a procedural simplification: they no longer need to physically deliver every healthcare receipt already captured by the Tessera Sanitaria system. Instead, they can print the summary from the dedicated portal, attach a signed declaration of accuracy, and submit that single document.

Refund Speed and Audit Risk

Filing early remains the surest path to a prompt refund. Taxpayers who submit an unmodified Model 730 by June 30 can expect IRPEF reimbursements as early as July through September, credited directly to their paycheck or pension payment. Later filers face longer processing queues, with refunds potentially sliding into late autumn or winter.

The trade-off: accepting the precompiled declaration without changes exempts the taxpayer from routine audits on those line items. Adding even a single receipt—one pharmacy bill, one gym membership—triggers standard compliance checks. The Italian tax authority cross-references additions against third-party data, bank transactions, and prior-year patterns. While this scrutiny rarely poses issues for legitimate claims, it extends the review window and can delay refunds by weeks or months.

One-Time Cancellation Window

A practical failsafe debuts this year: taxpayers who submit a Model 730 can annul it and refile from scratch until June 20 (or June 22 if the 20th falls on a Saturday). The undo function, accessible through the web application, is permitted once per tax year. After that cutoff, corrections require a formal dichiarazione integrativa (supplementary return) or modello Redditi correttivo, both of which carry administrative overhead and potential penalties if the amendment increases tax liability.

The annulment option is especially valuable for residents who discover missed deductions, receive a late-arriving Certificazione Unica, or realize they incorrectly reported foreign income or capital gains from cryptocurrency trades—a category that Italy has tightened reporting rules around in Quadro T of the Redditi PF form.

Broader Tax-Rate Context

The 2026 declaration applies the three-bracket IRPEF structure now permanent under Italy's fiscal reform:

• 23% on income up to €28,000

• 33% on income from €28,001 to €50,000 (reduced from 35% in prior years)

• 43% on income above €50,000

Workers earning up to €15,000 benefit from an increased tax credit of €1,955 (up from €1,880), while the €1,200 bonus IRPEF payment for the same income band has been made permanent. These adjustments cushion the impact of inflation on lower earners, though middle-income brackets see only modest relief.

School-expense deductions now cap at €1,000 per student (up from earlier limits), and the annual deduction for guide dogs used by visually impaired residents rises to €1,100 from €1,000.

Practical Next Steps

Log in today: Access your declaration at the Agenzia delle Entrate portal using SPID, CIE, or CNS. Review all prefilled sections in consultation mode.

Gather missing documentation: Collect receipts for expenses not automatically loaded—private healthcare, foreign income, charitable donations, or small-business deductions.

Verify dependent status: Confirm that children under 30 (or disabled dependents of any age) are correctly registered. Remove adult children over 30 who do not qualify.

Calculate the deduction cap: If your income exceeds €75,000, use the Revenue Agency's online calculator to estimate your ceiling before finalizing expenses.

Choose your filing mode: Opt for the simplified interface if your return is straightforward, or switch to the standard view for complex schedules like rental income, stock options, or foreign accounts.

Submit by June 30 for fast refunds: Target the mid-summer deadline to maximize the chance of receiving reimbursements before September.

Monitor your cassetto fiscale: Check for alerts about amended certificates or compliance requests throughout the filing window.

The 2026 precompiled declaration represents Italy's most comprehensive attempt yet to automate personal taxation, bundling transport passes, solar income, and appliance rebates into a single digital dossier. For residents earning below the deduction-cap threshold, the system delivers genuine convenience. For high earners and families navigating the new limits, careful review and early filing remain essential to avoid surprises when the final tax bill—or refund—arrives.