Omnibus Decree: dependent family members, carry-forward of losses, enhanced tax derivation principle and IRAP for the Third Sector

A correction concerning deductions for dependent family members, a clarification on the carry-forward of losses in the event of a change of control of a holding company, a further step towards alignment between financial statements and tax rules, as well as an important clarification regarding IRAP for Third Sector Entities: the “Omnibus” decree (Legislative Decree No. 148/2026) also addresses these areas, which have received less media attention than company car fringe benefits or the biennial preventive agreement, but which nonetheless have significant practical implications.

Dependent family members: the cohabitation requirement is removed

Article 1 remedies an unintended effect resulting from the rewriting of paragraph 4-ter of Article 12 of the TUIR (Italian Consolidated Income Tax Code), introduced by Legislative Decree No. 192/2025. This provision identifies the “family members” relevant for tax purposes by referring to the list contained in Article 433 of the Italian Civil Code (spouse, children, parents, sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, parents-in-law, brothers and sisters).

The corrective measure now distinguishes, within the same list, between spouses and children — who are always considered family members, without the need for cohabitation or maintenance payments, including for the purposes of tax dependency under paragraph 2 — and the remaining categories, for which cohabitation or maintenance payments (not ordered by a judicial authority) remain necessary when referring specifically to family members who are tax dependants.

The amendment, retroactive to the tax period underway on 20 December 2025, restores the range of eligible beneficiaries already provided for under the rules in force as of 31 December 2024.

Carry-forward of losses: clarification on the scope of indirect transfers

Legislative Decree No. 192/2024 rewrote Article 84, paragraph 3, of the TUIR: when the majority of voting rights in the ordinary shareholders’ meeting of the entity carrying forward tax losses is transferred to third parties and, at the same time, its main business activity is changed, the carry-forward of losses becomes subject to the “vitality test”.

It remained unclear whether this restriction also applied when the change of control concerned not the company holding the losses, but its parent company.

Article 7, through an authentic interpretation provision, clarifies that the transfer is also relevant when it concerns the shares of a company that controls, even indirectly, the entity carrying forward the losses.

Enhanced tax derivation principle: a further step towards alignment between financial statements and taxation

Article 5 intervenes on the enhanced tax derivation principle, further reducing discrepancies between accounting values and tax values in business income taxation.

For bonds classified as current assets, the tax limitation on the deductibility of write-downs is removed, with deductibility now aligned with the financial statement results. For bonds recorded among financial fixed assets, however, capital losses become deductible only if realised through an onerous transfer or compensation, while mere valuation fluctuations remain irrelevant for tax purposes.

An exception applies to the rules governing stock option costs and similar instruments: in this case, the decree confirms a derogation from the enhanced tax derivation principle, allowing the deduction of negative components not according to the accounting recognition criterion, but at the time the instruments are delivered or the liability is extinguished, in proportion to the options actually exercised.

Finally, for IAS/IFRS adopters, the deduction rules for goodwill and indefinite-life intangible assets are revised: the deduction remains spread over eighteen financial years, but it is now generally linked to the recognition of an impairment loss in the income statement.

IRAP and the Third Sector: a dual-track approach to protect entities

Article 30 introduces the new Article 82-bis into the Third Sector Code (Legislative Decree No. 117/2017): for Third Sector Entities other than social enterprises, the tax classification of activities for IRAP purposes is determined according to the TUIR, rather than according to the commercial/non-commercial criteria set out in Article 79 of the Third Sector Code, which continue to apply for income tax purposes.

This dual-track approach protects entities that, by applying the new criteria linked to the National Single Register of the Third Sector, could otherwise face unintended consequences in relation to IRAP.

The amendment applies from the tax period following the one underway on 31 December 2025, meaning from 2026 for entities whose tax year coincides with the calendar year.

Tax & Legal Research Hub

Centro Studi e Pianificazione Fiscale

Responsabile

Dott. Valerio Locatelli

Coordinatore

Dott. Giancarlo Marengo