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🇮🇹IVA 22%

Italy IVA & E-Invoicing Guide for Businesses (2026)

IVA 22%, mandatory FatturaPA e-invoicing via SDI, and Partita IVA — the complete guide

Last updated: 30 April 2026 · Written by the Hisabi team

TL;DR — the key facts

  • Standard IVA (Imposta sul Valore Aggiunto) rate is 22%; reduced rates of 10%, 5%, and 4% apply to specific goods.
  • Italy has the most advanced e-invoicing mandate in Europe. All B2B and B2C domestic invoices must be issued through the Sistema di Interscambio (SDI) in FatturaPA XML format.
  • Every invoice must include your Partita IVA (11-digit VAT number) and be transmitted via SDI before it is legally valid.
  • Italy's cross-border e-invoicing (esterometro) was abolished from 2022 — cross-border invoices must also go via SDI.

What you need to know

Italytax & invoicing — covered

IVA

Italy IVA at 22%

Italy's standard IVA rate is 22%. Reduced rates: 10% for food, pharmaceutical products, passenger transport, and hotel accommodation; 5% for social services and some food products; 4% for basic foodstuffs, books, and newspapers.

  • Standard rate: 22% — reduced rates: 10%, 5%, 4%
  • Regime forfettario (flat-rate scheme): annual revenue ≤ €85,000, pay flat substitute tax instead of IVA — no IVA charged
  • Quarterly IVA returns (liquidazioni periodiche); annual IVA declaration (dichiarazione IVA) by 30 April
  • Mandatory quarterly LIPE reporting (Liquidazioni Periodiche IVA)
E-Invoicing

SDI & FatturaPA — Europe's Most Advanced Mandate

Italy mandated B2B and B2G e-invoicing via the Sistema di Interscambio (SDI) from 2019. Every domestic invoice must be issued in FatturaPA XML format and transmitted through SDI. The SDI validates, timestamps, and delivers the invoice to the buyer.

  • Mandatory for all B2B and B2C domestic invoices since January 2019
  • Format: FatturaPA XML — transmitted via SDI (government clearance model)
  • SDI assigns a progressive number and delivery timestamp — invoice is legally valid only after SDI acceptance
  • Cross-border invoices: must also be transmitted via SDI (esterometro abolished from July 2022)
  • Penalties for non-compliance: 90%–180% of the IVA due on the transaction
Invoicing

FatturaPA Mandatory Fields

FatturaPA XML invoices must include all mandatory fields. The SDI rejects invoices with missing or incorrect data — a rejection means the invoice has no legal effect.

  • Supplier and buyer Partita IVA (11 digits) or Codice Fiscale
  • Buyer's Codice Destinatario (7-character SDI recipient code) or PEC address
  • Progressive invoice number and date
  • Description, quantity, unit price, IVA rate, and IVA amount
  • SDI transmission timestamp (assigned automatically by SDI)

Timeline

Key compliance dates

  1. January 2019

    B2B and B2G e-invoicing via SDI mandatory for all Italian businesses.

  2. July 2022

    Cross-border invoice reporting via SDI mandatory (esterometro abolished).

  3. Ongoing

    SDI continues to expand — Italy shares anonymised e-invoice data with the EU for VAT gap analysis.

IVA and invoicing compliance

Frequently asked questions — Italy

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Standard rate is 22%. Reduced rate of 10% applies to food (not luxury), pharmaceutical products, passenger transport, and hotel accommodation. Rate of 5% applies to some social services and certain food products. Super-reduced rate of 4% applies to basic foodstuffs, books, newspapers, and subscriptions.

SDI (Sistema di Interscambio) is Italy's government e-invoicing hub — all domestic invoices must pass through it. FatturaPA is the XML format those invoices must use. You send your FatturaPA invoice to the SDI, which validates it, assigns a receipt timestamp, and delivers it to the buyer. The invoice only has legal effect after SDI acceptance.

Yes, for all domestic B2B, B2G, and B2C invoices above €77.47. Only businesses under the Regime Forfettario flat-rate scheme below €85,000 revenue were exempt, but this exemption was removed from January 2024 — even flat-rate taxpayers must now use SDI.

Partita IVA is Italy's VAT identification number — an 11-digit numeric code assigned upon VAT registration. It must appear on all invoices, contracts, and official communications. Non-resident businesses trading in Italy must also obtain an Italian Partita IVA.

Issuing an invoice outside of SDI or issuing an incorrect e-invoice can attract penalties of 90%–180% of the IVA amount on the transaction. The invoice is also legally void until correctly submitted through SDI.

Hisabi handles this for you

IVA-compliant invoices, automatically

Hisabi generates invoices with the correct tax fields, Partita IVA display, and currency for Italy. Start free — no credit card required.

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AI-powered invoicing for freelancers and SMEs worldwide — any country, any currency, any tax system. VAT/GST/sales-tax line items, tax-ID fields, bilingual EN+AR PDFs, and a secure client portal. GDPR & UAE PDPL compliant. Built by TechNova Solution FZCO.

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