INPS Contributions Under Italy's Regime Forfettario, How They Work

Which INPS scheme applies under the regime forfettario

Registering a VAT number under Italy’s regime forfettario doesn’t remove the obligation to pay social security contributions: only the destination changes, and the choice depends on the type of activity, not the tax regime. A freelancer with no trade association of their own (such as lawyers or chartered accountants, who fall outside INPS) enrolls in the Gestione Separata. A tradesperson or shopkeeper instead enrolls in the Tradespeople and Shopkeepers schemes, two distinct self-employed schemes with their own rules.

Within the Gestione Separata, the position shifts again depending on the individual’s situation. INPS, in Circular no. 8 of 3 February 2026, states that “for 2026 the rates set for self-employed workers holding a VAT position, enrolled in the Gestione Separata and not insured under other mandatory pension schemes nor retired” add up to 26.07%, the sum of a 25% pension rate, a 0.72% additional rate and a 0.35% rate for ISCRO, the extraordinary allowance for income and operating continuity. Anyone already covered by another mandatory pension scheme, or already retired, pays a lower rate: the same circular confirms it at 24% for 2026.

For tradespeople and shopkeepers the reference is instead INPS Circular no. 14 of 9 February 2026, which sets “the contribution rates funding the pension schemes … at 24% for all titleholders and collaborators,” with an additional 0.48% for shopkeepers only, funding compensation for those who close their activity without meeting the requirements for an old-age pension: the result, for 2026, is a 24% rate for tradespeople and 24.48% for shopkeepers.

Who	INPS scheme	2026 rate
Freelancer, no other cover or pension	Gestione Separata	26.07%
Freelancer, other cover or already retired	Gestione Separata	24%
Tradesperson	Tradespeople’s scheme	24%
Shopkeeper	Shopkeepers’ scheme	24.48%

The general mechanism of the regime forfettario stays the same for everyone: what changes, on the INPS side, is only the destination scheme.

How the contribution is calculated on flat-rate taxable income

In both schemes, the rate applies to the same flat-rate taxable income used for tax purposes. According to Italy’s Revenue Agency, that income comes from applying “a profitability coefficient that varies by ATECO code” to the revenue or fees collected during the year, and mandatory social security contributions “are deducted from the income determined on a flat-rate basis.” INPS Circular no. 8/2026 confirms that, for the Gestione Separata, “the contribution is applied to self-employment income … using the same criteria set for personal income tax purposes.”

Both schemes also set a reference threshold. For 2026, INPS sets an income floor of 18,808 euros: anyone with flat-rate taxable income at or below that figure still pays a contribution calculated on that threshold (for the Gestione Separata at the 24% rate, the minimum contribution comes to 4,513.92 euros a year). For tradespeople and shopkeepers, the same floor produces a minimum contribution of 4,521.36 euros for tradespeople and 4,611.64 euros for shopkeepers, maternity contribution included. Anyone above the floor pays the contribution on the full income, up to a ceiling: for 2026 it’s 122,295 euros for those with no prior contribution history in the scheme, the typical case for someone registering a new flat-rate VAT number today.

Practical example: a freelancer with no other pension cover, with flat-rate taxable income of 20,000 euros in 2026, applies the 26.07% rate directly to that figure: 20,000 × 26.07% comes to roughly 5,214 euros owed to the Gestione Separata. That’s arithmetic on a hypothetical figure, not a number published by INPS: it’s there only to show how the multiplication works.

The INPS rate shouldn’t be confused with the 15% substitute tax (or 5% in the first years of activity, under certain conditions) charged on the same flat-rate taxable income for tax purposes: it’s a separate calculation, covered in its own dedicated Recap on the costs of Italy’s regime forfettario.

The 35% contribution reduction for tradespeople and shopkeepers

Tradespeople and shopkeepers who stay under the regime forfettario have access to a specific contribution reduction, introduced by INPS Circular no. 35 of 19 February 2016 and confirmed every year since, including 2026, by Circular no. 14/2026. The 2016 circular describes it this way: “for the purposes of determining the contribution owed to the tradespeople and shopkeepers schemes … the taxable base is the flat-rate income determined for tax purposes. The change from the previous regime is that the contribution owed, both on income up to the floor and on any income above it, is reduced by 35%.”

The reduction applies only to the Tradespeople and Shopkeepers schemes: there’s no equivalent contribution benefit for freelancers enrolled in the Gestione Separata. Nor is it automatic: Circular no. 14/2026 states it applies “to those who already benefited from the tax and contribution relief scheme in 2025 and … have not formally waived it,” while anyone who opened a new activity in 2025 and wants the benefit for 2026 “must notify their enrollment by the strict deadline of 28 February 2026.” The maternity contribution, 0.62 euros a month in 2026, remains due either way.

Aspect	Without the reduction	With the 35% reduction
Calculation base	Flat-rate income	Flat-rate income
Effective rate	24% (tradespeople) / 24.48% (shopkeepers)	Cut by 35% on the full contribution
Access	Automatic	On request, by 28 February if new
Effect on the pension	Full credit	Credit reduced proportionally

The reduction applies “both on income up to the floor and on any income above it,” so it also lowers, proportionally, the amount credited toward the future pension. Smaller contributions paid today mean, for the same number of years worked, a smaller pension credit: a factor to weigh when moving from payroll employment into the self-employed labor market.

What differs between the two schemes, in summary

The two paths — the Gestione Separata for those with no trade fund of their own, the Tradespeople and Shopkeepers schemes for those in that line of work — use the same flat-rate taxable income as their calculation base. The rate, the reference thresholds and the 35% reduction change from one scheme to the other. The regime forfettario simplifies the tax calculation; the obligation to pay social security contributions stays.