Italian VAT number for creators: forfettario explained
When a creator in Italy needs a partita IVA, how the forfettario flat tax works (€85,000 cap, 15% or 5%), INPS contributions and a worked example you can adapt.
This guide is for orientation, not tax advice. It is aimed at creators who live or work in Italy, including foreign freelancers who have moved here and are searching for how a partita IVA and the regime forfettario work. Rules change, and your case may have elements we cannot see: before opening a VAT number or invoicing your first collaboration, talk to an Italian accountant (commercialista). The figures we give come from official sources where indicated; where we could not verify them, we say so.
If you are still working out how to earn from content, start with how creators make money: this article covers what happens after the money starts to arrive.
Does a creator need a partita IVA in Italy?
In Italy the obligation to have a VAT number depends on whether the activity is habitual and organized, not on the amount received. If you produce content continuously and invoice collaborations regularly, you normally need one. Truly occasional fees follow different rules.
An unofficial informational source, Fiscomania, stresses exactly this point: how you work matters, not how much you make, and the choice also affects which social-security scheme you fall under (Fiscomania). When your fees become recurring, ask an accountant whether to open a VAT number and under which regime.
How does the forfettario regime work?
Under the forfettario regime you charge no VAT on invoices and pay a 15% substitute tax on taxable income, obtained by applying a profitability coefficient tied to your ATECO code to your revenue. For a new activity, under certain conditions, the rate is 5% for the first five years.
The main rules, according to the Italian Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate, ruling no. 149/2025 and circular 32/E of 2023):
- Revenue cap. €85,000 a year. If you exceed €85,000 but stay under €100,000, you remain in the regime in the year you exceed it and leave from the following year. Exceeding €100,000 means immediate exit, with VAT due on the transactions that cross the limit (ruling 149/2025).
- Substitute tax. 15%, replacing IRPEF and regional and municipal surcharges. The 5% applies to new activities in the first five years, with conditions to check (circular 32/E of 2023).
- Labour costs. One requirement is a cap of €20,000 gross a year on spending for occasional work, employees and collaborators (circular 32/E): it is not a cap on expenses in general.
- Simplifications. You charge no VAT on invoices and your fees are not subject to withholding tax, under paragraphs 58 and 67 of law 190/2014 as cited in ruling 149/2025. Requirements such as Italian residency (with EU/EEA exceptions) remain.
- Euro of revenue: the cap to stay in
- 85,000
- Euro: above this you leave immediately
- 100,000
- % substitute tax
- 15
- % in the first 5 years of a new activity (conditions)
- 5
Other thresholds some guides report, such as the employment-income limit that excludes you from the regime, we could not verify on an official page and we do not cite them: ask your accountant.
What this guide does not cover
There are requirements we cannot verify for you here. The regime requires Italian residency (with exceptions for people resident in other EU or EEA states who earn most of their income in Italy), as ruling 149/2025 recalls. There is also a limit on the previous year's employment and similar income: for 2025 the threshold above which you are excluded was raised from €30,000 to €35,000, and the 2026 budget law extends the same limit to 2026, as the Chamber of Deputies' dossier on the text reports (paragraph 27) (Camera dei deputati). A dossier is a working document: check the statute and its exceptions, for example when the employment has ended.
We also do not cover local taxes, stamp duty on invoices, social-security reliefs or the ordinary regime. If you have a salaried job, collaborations with foreign companies or income from other sources, the picture changes: bring your accountant the complete list of everything you earn.
Which ATECO code should you pick?
The ATECO code describes your activity and determines the profitability coefficient used to calculate taxable income. In the official ATECO 2025 structure published by ISTAT the code 73.11.03 exists and is called “Attività di influencer marketing” (ISTAT, “Struttura ATECO 2025” file). An informational source adds that it was created on 1 January 2025 and became operational on 1 April 2025 (Fiscomania). For the coefficient the rule is official: in the Revenue Agency's instructions to the 2026 income-tax return, until new coefficients based on ATECO 2025 are approved, taxable income is calculated with the coefficient in Annex 4 of law 190/2014 identified by the corresponding ATECO 2007 code (art. 1, legislative decree 81/2025) (Agenzia delle Entrate). The table printed in the same instructions (Annex 2 of law 145/2018) applies 78% to ATECO 2007 divisions 64-66, 69-75, 85 and 86-88, including division 73. ISTAT's official correspondence between ATECO 2025 and ATECO 2022 links 73.11.03 (“Attività di influencer marketing”) to 73.11.02 (“Conduzione di campagne di marketing e altri servizi pubblicitari”), a code in the same division (ISTAT, 2026 correspondence table). So 78% is the coefficient that applies to this code, unless your activity falls under a different code: choose with your accountant.
What does a worked example look like?
As an illustration, €30,000 of revenue with a 78% coefficient gives €23,400 of taxable income, a substitute tax of at most €3,510 at 15% or €1,170 at 5%, and about €6,100 of INPS contributions. The real coefficient depends on your ATECO code.
A purely illustrative example: €30,000 of revenue in a year and, a 78% profitability coefficient. Taxable income is €23,400. At 15% the substitute tax is at most €3,510; at 5% it is €1,170. INPS contributions come separately.
Illustrative calculation by the editors, with rates from Agenzia delle Entrate and INPS (circular 8/2026). Not an estimate for your case.
See the data as a table
| Item | Euro |
|---|---|
| Revenue | 30,000 |
| Taxable income | 23,400 |
| INPS contributions | 6,100 |
| Tax at 15% | 3,510 |
| Tax at 5% | 1,170 |
What this example leaves out: deducting contributions from taxable income (which lowers the tax), any advance payments, the fact that a minimum contribution applies even at low revenue, and your real coefficient. For contributions, INPS gives a 2026 overall rate of 26.07% for Gestione Separata professionals with no other coverage, and 24% for people already retired or enrolled in other compulsory schemes (INPS). Which scheme applies depends on the activity: ask your accountant.
How do you invoice collaborations?
Under the forfettario regime the invoice carries no VAT and refers to the regime. Invoices above a certain amount need a revenue stamp, and for collaborations with foreign brands the rules on VAT and e-invoicing differ. These are details your accountant sets up once.
In practice, always keep three things together: a written contract or agreement, the invoice, and proof of payment. If a brand pays you in products rather than money, ask how it is treated: that is a case where improvising costs you.
For what you give up when you sign with a brand (exclusivity, duration, usage rights), see Rights over your content. To work out what to charge, read media kit and rates.
What should you do now?
Before opening a VAT number, log what you earn, talk to an accountant with your expected figures, choose the ATECO code and regime with them, track revenue against the thresholds during the year and set aside part of every payment for tax and contributions. Five practical steps, in that order.
- Log what you earn. Even before opening a VAT number, keep a sheet with dates, amounts and brands.
- Talk to an accountant before your first significant fee, with your expected figures.
- Choose the ATECO code and the regime with them, not from an online guide.
- Track revenue during the year against the thresholds, especially if you are growing fast.
- Set aside a share of every payment for tax and contributions.
If you also sell a course or a membership, that revenue counts toward the thresholds too: keep it in mind when you run the numbers with the course profit calculator.
Which questions should you ask your accountant?
Take your expected figures for the next twelve months and seven questions to your accountant: whether to open now, which ATECO code, whether you qualify for the forfettario regime and the 5% rate, which social-security scheme, how to invoice abroad, how to treat fees in products and what to do near €85,000.
Before the first meeting write down what you earn and expect to earn over the next twelve months, from which sources (brands, platforms, courses) and whether you have other income. Then bring these questions:
- Should I open a VAT number now or wait?
- Which ATECO code describes my activity best, and what coefficient does it carry?
- Do I qualify for the forfettario regime, and can I use the 5% rate?
- Which social-security scheme should I join and how much would I pay?
- How do I invoice foreign brands and platforms?
- How do I treat fees paid in products or services?
- What do I do if I am approaching the €85,000 threshold?
What are the common mistakes?
The common mistakes are five: opening without simulating contributions, choosing the ATECO code by eye, forgetting income from foreign platforms, not setting money aside and not keeping contracts. All are avoided with a full simulation and a professional who knows creators' work.
- Opening without a simulation. With taxable income alone you don't see contributions: run a full calculation.
- Choosing the ATECO code by eye. It changes coefficient and contributions.
- Forgetting income from foreign platforms. It counts toward the threshold like any other.
- Not setting money aside. Part of every payment is already tax and contributions.
- Not keeping contracts. You need them for content rights and for checks: read content rights.
For what to charge brands, start from media kit and rates.
Key terms. The forfettario regime is Italy's flat-rate tax regime for small self-employed activities. A partita IVA is the Italian VAT number that identifies a self-employed activity. An ATECO code is the code that classifies an economic activity.
How we checked this. We found the €85,000 and €100,000 limits in ruling 149/2025 and circular 32/E. We found the 78% coefficient for division 73 in the Revenue Agency's 2026 return instructions. We ran the arithmetic of the example ourselves. Contact: hi@heytea.app. Editorial note: we fact-check every figure against the sources listed below and correct mistakes openly.
Frequently asked questions
When does a creator in Italy need a partita IVA (VAT number)?
In Italy the obligation depends on whether the activity is habitual and organized, not on the amount earned. If you publish continuously, have brand collaborations and invoice regularly, you usually need one. Truly occasional fees follow different rules. Get an accountant's view on your own case before you are paid.
How does the forfettario regime work for a creator?
Under the forfettario regime you charge no VAT on invoices and pay a 15% substitute tax on taxable income, calculated by applying a profitability coefficient tied to your ATECO activity code to your revenue. For new activities, under certain conditions, the rate is 5% for the first five years. The revenue cap is €85,000 a year.
How much tax do you pay under the forfettario regime?
You pay the substitute tax on forfettario taxable income, not on revenue: with a 78% coefficient and €30,000 revenue, taxable income is €23,400 and the maximum tax at 15% is about €3,510, before deducting contributions. INPS contributions come on top. Your real coefficient depends on your ATECO code, so the example is illustrative.
What happens if I go over €85,000 of revenue?
If you exceed €85,000 but stay under €100,000, you remain in the forfettario regime until the end of that year and leave from the next one. If you exceed €100,000 during the year, you leave immediately. After leaving, ordinary rules apply, with VAT on invoices and progressive IRPEF income tax. Track revenue during the year.
Is there an ATECO code for influencers?
Yes: ISTAT's official ATECO 2025 structure includes code 73.11.03, “Attività di influencer marketing”, in use since 1 April 2025. ISTAT's correspondence table derives it from ATECO 2022 code 73.11.02 (running marketing campaigns), in division 73, to which the Revenue Agency's official table gives a 78% coefficient. The right code for your activity should still be chosen with your accountant.
Sources
- Agenzia delle Entrate, circular no. 32/E of 5 December 2023 on the forfettario regime. agenziaentrate.gov.it
- Agenzia delle Entrate, ruling no. 149/2025 (2025 interpello): €85,000 and €100,000 limits, VAT and withholding. agenziaentrate.gov.it
- INPS, circular no. 8 of 3 February 2026 on 2026 Gestione Separata contribution rates (26.07% for professionals not insured elsewhere, 24% for pensioners or those insured elsewhere). inps.it \1- ISTAT, “ATECO 2025-ATECO 2022 two-way correspondence table”, 2026 update (73.11.03 corresponds to 73.11.02). istat.it \1- Agenzia delle Entrate, instructions to the 2026 personal income-tax return, booklet 3 (updated 13 April 2026): profitability coefficients and ATECO 2025. agenziaentrate.gov.it
- Fiscomania, on content creators' contributions and the ATECO 73.11.03 code. An informational, non-official source; read on 16 October 2026. fiscomania.com