Itemised Expense Reimbursements and the Flat-Rate Regime: the Regional Directorates' Rulings and the Issues Still Unresolved
Introduction
The reform of self-employment income, implemented by Legislative Decree no. 192 of 13 December 2024, has changed the tax treatment of the expense reimbursements that professionals charge to their clients. For professionals under the ordinary regime the rules are now settled, whereas the question remains open as to whether they also apply to those who adopt the flat-rate regime. The issue has gained prominence following certain ruling replies issued by Regional Directorates of the Italian Revenue Agency, which should, however, be read with caution as they do not appear to have been published.
To understand their scope, one must start from the ordinary regime. Until 2024, the reimbursement charged to the client constituted a fee, but the professional could deduct the corresponding expense, with a neutral effect on income. From 2025, art. 54, para. 2, letter b) of the TUIR (Consolidated Income Tax Act) provides that sums received as reimbursement of expenses incurred in performing an engagement and charged to the client on an itemised basis do not form part of income. Correspondingly, art. 54-ter, para. 1 makes those same expenses non-deductible. The effect on income therefore remains neutral, but the reimbursement no longer passes through fees. As emerges from the explanatory report referred to in ruling reply no. 270/2025, this also avoids the application of withholding tax on sums that do not increase the professional's income.
The exclusion applies, however, only if the expenses are genuinely charged on an itemised basis. According to the same ruling reply no. 270/2025, the expenses must actually have been incurred in connection with the engagement, shown on the invoice separately from the fee and supported by appropriate documentation. For this reason, mileage reimbursements, determined on the basis of a set rate, remain taxable and subject to withholding tax. In addition, art. 54, para. 2-bis lays down payment traceability requirements for certain travel expenses.
The picture is different for flat-rate taxpayers, and it is in this context that the interpretative issue arises. The flat-rate regime does not allow the itemised deduction of costs: taxable income is determined by applying a profitability coefficient to the fees received, pursuant to art. 1, para. 64 of Law no. 190/2014. It follows that, where the reimbursement is classified as a fee, it forms part of the base to which the coefficient is applied, even though it represents the mere repayment of an expense advanced on the client's behalf. The question therefore arises whether, from 2025, the exclusion laid down in art. 54 of the TUIR also applies to flat-rate taxpayers.
Two opposing readings have emerged on this point, both starting from the same wording. Para. 64 of Law no. 190/2014 refers to “revenues or fees received”, without defining what a fee is and without referring to art. 54 of the TUIR. From this, the first reading infers that the amendment to art. 54 does not apply to flat-rate taxpayers, further observing that the technical report to Legislative Decree no. 192/2024 does not quantify any financial effects for these taxpayers, whereas excluding reimbursements would reduce the tax base. The second reading, by contrast, draws on the very same lack of an autonomous definition: since Law no. 190/2014 does not specify what constitutes a fee, that notion should be derived from the general rules on self-employment income and, if these exclude itemised reimbursements, the exclusion would apply regardless of the regime adopted. It should be noted that this is an interpretative argument and not a cross-reference provided for by the law.
Against this background, specialist articles have appeared reporting two recent ruling replies from Regional Directorates, both in favour of the second reading. The first, from the Lombardy Regional Directorate, does not appear to have been published and is known only indirectly: it reportedly excluded itemised reimbursements from the flat-rate taxpayer's fees and from the base to which the coefficient is applied. The second, no. 907-239/2026 from the Veneto Regional Directorate, is reported by Informazione Fiscale. According to that account, the Agency reportedly confirmed that itemised reimbursements do not form part of fees received and are also disregarded for the purposes of the EUR 85,000 and EUR 100,000 thresholds, provided that the expenses are documented and charged on the invoice on an itemised basis, separately from the fee, whereas a generic or lump-sum amount would remain a taxable fee.
The weight of these rulings nevertheless remains limited. They are regional replies, issued on specific cases, whose official text is not available and which are known only through third-party accounts. Moreover, to date the Agency has not taken an express position at central level, and it therefore cannot be ruled out that the emerging approach may fail to consolidate or may be revised.
In conclusion, the position favourable to flat-rate taxpayers appears tenable, but not yet reliable as a firm operational criterion.
