According to the Revenue, the relief with respect to Irpef rates, provided for by the 2026 Budget Law and limited to the current year, has its effects on "extra" allowances and compensation recognized to public workers with non-managerial positions and income thresholds not exceeding 50 thousand euros per year.
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From one-off ancillary treatments to fixed and continuous allowances: as established by article 1 paragraph 237 of Law 199/2025, the preferential taxation of 15% is applied for one year in place of the ordinary Irpef and the regional and municipal additional taxes. However, the measure remains optional for the worker who can renounce by means of a written declaration and demonstrate that he wishes to remain in the previous regime, provided that ordinary taxation is more advantageous.
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The law established the income requirements for access to the tax benefit on ancillary treatments without, however, specifying the reference tax year. In the request, the withholding agent proposed to consider the threshold reached in 2026 valid based on projections and leaving open the possibility of applying any future adjustments. An approach de facto accepted by the Revenue Agency which, in the absence of regulatory indications to the contrary, confirms the calculation on the current year's income as this is what the provision "insists" on.
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On a practical level, employers who act as withholding agents can admit to the 15% tax regime all items attributable to the ancillary treatments recognized this year as long as their sum does not exceed 800 euros. Always in the same tax period, the beneficiary must remain under the threshold of 50 thousand euros as income from employment. Any changes to the income situation will require a final adjustment.
Taking a practical example, a public employee who receives allowances of 600 euros in 2026 and has an income not exceeding 50 thousand euros will obtain a substitute tax on the entire amount.
While if the treatments exceed 1,200 euros while remaining within the income limits, the 15% regime will only be applied on an amount of 800 euros, leaving the remaining amount to ordinary taxation.
Some categories of public sector workers are excluded from the rule, starting with personnel employed by the police forces or the armed forces, who are already recipients of a specific favorable tax regime. While for employees of companies and entities of the National Health Service (SSN) the 15% subsidized regime is in addition to other measures introduced by previous measures.
As regards the private sector, the latest budget introduced a tax benefit for workers with an income not exceeding 40 thousand euros. The 15% preferential tax rate is provided for increases and allowances for night work, holidays, weekly rest days and shift allowances paid in 2026, within the overall annual limit of 1,500 euros.
Labor Consultants Foundation has calculated the application of the tax at 15% on ancillary payments of 1,500 euros, the maximum foreseen by the law. Savings range from a minimum of 80 euros for a gross annual income of 12 thousand euros to a maximum of 690 for those who receive a gross income of 40 thousand euros.
Regarding the scope of application of the substitute taxes, in recent months the Revenue Agency has clarified that the benefits cannot be implemented when the employer does not adopt any national collective agreement. On the contrary, these measures apply in full to workers falling under the new regime, to expatriates, teachers and researchers who transfer their tax residence to Italy after a period abroad. In these cases, the additional sums and allowances must be taxed with the substitute tax on the entire amount, without considering further reductions provided for by the individual concessions.
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