Corporate Tax Filing in Italy for Foreign-Owned Companies

We prepare the returns, the accounts and the XBRL file, and keep the calendar. The company itself, or a person on the closed list of Art. 3(3) D.P.R. 322/1998 (as in force in 2026), transmits the return. The directors, or a Section A or B Albo member they appoint, make the deposit (Art. 31 L. 340/2000).

A qualified signature from an EU provider is recognised in every Member State (Art. 25 Regulation (EU) 910/2014). The Milan chamber's device needs an identity check and an Italian tax code; SPID needs an Italian identity card, which a foreign citizen obtains only with a residence permit. For a non-EU signature and the Agenzia's own access, the point is open.

Our fees are quoted on request once the scope is known: the accounts format, whether a control body exists, which returns the company files, the payroll data behind the CU and the 770, and whether a transfer-pricing file is held. The state's own charges are separate and are listed on this page with their source and year.

A return up to 90 days late is valid, with penalties; later it is omitted: 120% of the tax, minimum EUR 250 (Art. 2(7) D.P.R. 322/1998; Art. 1 D.Lgs. 471/1997, to 31 December 2026). A late Register filing fines the officer EUR 103 to EUR 1,032, a third within 30 days, a third more for undeposited accounts (Art. 2630 c.c.).

Books not kept or not preserved as required are fined EUR 1,000 to EUR 8,000 (Art. 9 D.Lgs. 471/1997, valid to 31 December 2026). A late return is still valid within 90 days, with penalties, and errors are corrected by amending return within the assessment terms. We rebuild the records; the company or an authorised intermediary then files and corrects.

Only if it must draw up consolidated accounts, controls an audited company, or exceeds one of EUR 4,000,000 of assets, EUR 4,000,000 of revenue or 20 employees for two consecutive years (Art. 2477 c.c., not amended by D.Lgs. 47/2026). The audit itself is carried out by a registered revisore legale, a service we do not sell.

It files on two tracks. The annual accounts are approved by the members and deposited at the Register of Companies. The returns go online to the Agenzia delle Entrate (Art. 3 D.P.R. 322/1998): the Redditi SC, the IRAP return, the annual VAT return and, for a company that withholds tax, the Modello 770 and the Certificazione Unica.

The legal representative signs it; failing that, whoever administers the company even de facto, or a contractual representative. An unsigned return is null, but the defect is cured if the person signs within 30 days of the Agenzia's invitation (Art. 1(4) D.P.R. 322/1998, as in force in 2026).

The directors are the officers who must make the filing and who answer for a late one (Art. 2630 c.c.). Registered members of Sections A and B of the Albo dei dottori commercialisti e degli esperti contabili, holding a digital signature and appointed by the legal representatives, may transmit the deposit for the company (Art. 31 L. 340/2000).

The members approve the annual accounts within 120 days of the year end; the deed may allow up to 180 days where the company draws up consolidated accounts or its structure and object require it. The deposit at the Register follows within 30 days of approval, in XBRL with a digital signature (Arts. 2364, 2478-bis c.c.; Registro Imprese).

The last day of the tenth month after year end (Art. 2 D.P.R. 322/1998, as in force in 2026). For a calendar-year company that is 2 November 2026, because 31 October 2026 falls on a Saturday (Agenzia delle Entrate). The Modello 770 term is 31 October; whether the Saturday rule moves it in 2026 is not confirmed.

The books charge is EUR 309.87, or EUR 516.46 above EUR 516,456.90 of capital, by 16 March (Agenzia delle Entrate). The deposit costs EUR 65 stamp duty plus a EUR 60 secretarial fee plus the OIC contribution (Romagna chamber, 2026), so no total is given. The annual chamber fee runs on turnover; no state fee is sourced for the return.

IRES is 24% (Agenzia delle Entrate) and IRAP's ordinary rate 3.9% (IRAP 2026 instructions); sector and regional rates are not stated. Dividends to a non-resident bear a final 26% withholding (Art. 3 D.L. 66/2014), reported in the company's Modello 770; an EU or EEA parent company, resident and taxed there, pays a lower rate on request.

An S.r.l. within the abbreviated-accounts limits reports under the Civil Code rules with the OIC standards, not IFRS and not US GAAP. The IFRS decree reaches other companies only where they are not entitled to abbreviated accounts (Art. 2 D.Lgs. 38/2005). A reconciliation to the group's reporting pack is a separate deliverable, planned with the parent's finance team.

The law reserves these acts: transmitting a client's return (the Art. 3(3) D.P.R. 322/1998 list), transmitting the accounts deposit (Sections A and B of the Albo), the statutory audit (revisori legali) and payroll formalities the employer does not run itself (enrolled consulenti del lavoro and other listed professionals, Art. 1 L. 12/1979). The company keeps its books through its directors.