Freelance in Italy - in English & without the guesswork

Regime Forfettario is Italy's flat-rate scheme for freelancers earning up to €85,000 a year: you pay a reduced 15% tax (just 5% for your first five years, if you qualify), skip VAT on your invoices, and get a fixed expense deduction instead of tracking real costs.

Regime Semplificato applies once you cross that €85,000 threshold, or if you're excluded from Forfettario for other reasons — like having too much income tied to a former employer. Under Semplificato, you pay progressive income tax on your actual profit, charge and reclaim VAT like a standard business, and can deduct real expenses such as rent, tools, or staff. It comes with more bookkeeping (regular VAT returns, for instance), but it also unlocks things Forfettario doesn't allow, including the Impatriati tax relief scheme.

In short: Forfettario is simpler and cheaper at a small scale; Semplificato scales with you as your business grows.

Simplified vs Flat-Rate Regime: Which one suits you best? · What is the Flat rate scheme in Italy (Forfettario regime)? · What is the Simplified Regime in Italy (Regime Semplificato)?

It depends on your citizenship rather than a fixed rule. If you're an EU/EEA citizen, you don't need a visa at all, so you can register your Partita IVA whenever you're ready to invoice. If you're a non-EU citizen, you'll generally need a residence permit that allows you to work in Italy first — a permesso di soggiorno for work, freelance activity, or self-employment — since that permit is one of the required registration documents. In practice, that means most non-EU expats sort out their visa or permit before opening the VAT number, not after. If you're unsure which visa fits your situation, it's worth confirming with an immigration lawyer, since Xolo handles the tax side rather than immigration itself. Once your permit is in hand, the rest of the VAT registration is quick.

What documents are needed to open the VAT number?

No — Impatriati and Regime Forfettario can't be used together. Impatriati is only compatible with the Simplified (Semplificato) or Ordinary (Ordinario) regimes, so if you want to claim it, Forfettario is off the table even if your income would otherwise qualify you for the flat-rate scheme. This catches a lot of expats out, because Forfettario looks like the simpler, cheaper option at first — but if you're eligible for Impatriati, the tax relief on your Italian-sourced income usually outweighs what Forfettario would have saved you. Impatriati itself requires moving your tax residence to Italy, committing to stay at least four years, and not having been an Italian tax resident in the two years before. It's worth running the numbers both ways before deciding which regime to register under.

Can I combine the Impatriati regime with Forfettario? · What is Impatriati tax relief, and who can apply?

Xolo can help with the Partita IVA and everything tax-related that comes with it, but it doesn't handle visa or immigration applications — including the Digital Nomad Visa or a freelance visa. Your subscription covers registering your VAT number, choosing between Forfettario and Semplificato, invoicing, bookkeeping, tax returns, and ongoing support from a dedicated consultant, all in English.

What it doesn't include is applying for your visa or residence permit — that's a separate process handled through Italian immigration authorities or an immigration lawyer. A few additional services exist outside the core subscription (late filings, VAT modifications, and similar), but these are still tax and admin services, not immigration support. Short version: get your visa sorted first, and Xolo takes over from the moment you're ready to open your VAT number.

What is included in the Xolo subscription? · What additional services can be executed by Xolo?

Once you submit your details through Xolo's platform, opening your VAT number with the Agenzia delle Entrate typically takes just 1–2 working days.

If your activity also requires Chamber of Commerce registration — for example, if you're setting up a sole proprietorship rather than registering purely as a freelancer — that adds roughly a week on top, since timing depends on how quickly that specific Chamber processes applications.

All told, most people are fully registered within 1–2 weeks from start to finish. Xolo notifies you as soon as everything is confirmed, so there's no need to check in manually. There's no cost or commitment to start the process, and a Xolo expert is available if questions come up along the way.

How does the VAT registration process work with Xolo? · How does opening a VAT number with Xolo work?

If your revenue passes €85,000 during a year on Regime Forfettario, you'll need to switch to Regime Semplificato starting the following tax year — the flat-rate benefits stay in place for the rest of the current year, and the change applies from the following January 1st. But if you go further and cross €100,000 in the same year, the switch is immediate: from the invoice that pushes you over the limit, you're required to operate under Semplificato right away, lose the flat-rate treatment retroactively for that year, and become subject to standard VAT and progressive IRPEF taxation. Because of that second threshold, it's worth watching your revenue as you approach €85,000 rather than waiting until you're already over it. Xolo can help you monitor this and manage the transition when it happens.

Can I switch from the Flat rate to Simplified Regime?

Yes — you don't need Italian citizenship to open a Partita IVA, and Xolo works with non-Italian residents regularly. What you do need is an Italian address; if you haven't settled into permanent housing yet, a temporary or even virtual address can work in the meantime. Whether you count as an Italian tax resident depends on spending more than 183 days a year in the country — under that, you're not a tax resident, and you'd only file Italian returns on income earned from Italian sources rather than your worldwide income.

If you're not planning to be Italy-based at all, Xolo Go or Xolo Leap are a better fit than a Partita IVA. Your profession matters, too: Xolo supports most freelance, craft, and commercial businesses, with a few exceptions (e.g., e-commerce, hair salons).

Can non-Italian residents use Xolo? · Who can register for VAT with Xolo?

No — you don't need to speak Italian to use Xolo. The platform, onboarding, and support are all available in English, and your dedicated consultant can guide you through registration, invoicing, and tax deadlines without you needing to navigate Italian bureaucracy yourself. That said, some official correspondence from Italian authorities — like the Agenzia delle Entrate — may still arrive in Italian from time to time; part of Xolo's job is interpreting and handling that on your behalf. This is one of the main reasons expats choose Xolo over a traditional commercialista who may only operate in Italian. If anything ever needs clarifying, you can ask your consultant in plain English rather than translating it yourself.

Yes, and for most destinations it's straightforward. If you're invoicing clients elsewhere in the EU, registering with VIES lets you issue invoices without charging Italian VAT — the tax obligation shifts to your client's country instead — and you can request VIES registration later even if you didn't set it up initially. For clients outside the EU, Xolo generally accepts invoices from any country, with one exception: a short list of restricted jurisdictions (currently including countries like Russia, Iran, and North Korea) where sales invoices can't be issued, in line with international sanctions. That list is reviewed periodically, so it's worth double-checking if you're invoicing somewhere unusual. Outside those restricted countries, there's no extra step needed to bill international clients through Xolo.

VIES: what is it and why is it important? · Does Xolo accept sales income invoices from any country?

You'll need an email address, an Italian phone number, and a valid ID or passport, plus your Codice Fiscale (Italian tax code) — non-EU citizens will also need a work-related residence permit. If you're registering as a sole trader rather than a pure freelancer, you'll additionally need a certified email address (PEC) and a digital signature (P7M) for signing documents electronically; Xolo can help set both up if you don't have them yet. Once your documents are in, identity verification is quick — just a working camera and your physical ID on hand (not a photo of it) for a roughly 5-minute check. If anything doesn't go through cleanly, the Xolo team follows up by email to sort it out. From there, the platform walks you through the rest of registration step by step.

What do I need to sign up for Xolo? · What documents are needed to open the VAT number? · What is the process for identity verification?