Modello 730 vs Modello Redditi: Who Must File and How to Do It in Rome

In a nutshell

Anyone who earned income in Italy during the year is required to report it to the tax authorities. There are two forms: Modello 730 (Italy's simplified annual tax return for employees and pensioners) and Modello Redditi Persone Fisiche (the full personal income-tax return, used by those who manage their own tax payments). Since 2024, even self-employed workers with a Partita IVA (Italian VAT number — required to invoice as a self-employed worker) — including those on the flat-rate (forfettario) regime — can use the simplified Modello 730.

At a glance

Cost	Pre-filled return filed yourself: free. CAF: €35–80. Accountant for Modello 730: €60–150. Modello Redditi PF for self-employed: €150–800.
Deadlines	Modello 730: submit by 30 September. Modello Redditi PF: by 31 October.
Where in Rome	Online at agenziaentrate.gov.it with SPID/CIE. CAF: 40+ ACLI offices, 30+ CGIL, 25+ CISL.
Documents needed	CU (single certification from employer/INPS), codice fiscale, receipts for deductible expenses.

Two forms, two situations

Modello 730 is for you if you have a sostituto d'imposta — an employer or pension authority that already withholds IRPEF (Italian personal income tax) from your payslip or pension payment. The main advantage: any refund goes straight into your next payslip between July and August, no waiting around. Likewise, if you owe tax it is deducted automatically, so you never have to file an F24 (the universal Italian payment form for taxes and contributions).

Modello Redditi Persone Fisiche is for people who handle their own payments: freelancers, Partita IVA holders on the standard regime, company shareholders, and anyone with complex foreign income. It requires paying via F24 on precise deadlines and has a more detailed structure.

Who is required to file

You must file a return if you are: a self-employed worker or Partita IVA holder (even flat-rate, even with zero revenue); an employee with more than one employer in the same year (if the combined withholdings do not cover the tax due); someone with income on top of your salary (rental income, occasional work above €5,000, capital gains); a pensioner with additional income; or a property owner renting out a home.

You are exempt if you are an employee with a single employer that correctly processed the year-end reconciliation, a pensioner with only pension income and nothing else, or anyone whose total income falls below the exemption threshold (€8,500 for employees and pensioners; €5,500 for the self-employed).

Even if you are exempt, you can still file voluntarily to claim deductions you did not receive automatically, such as medical expenses.

The pre-filled return: how it works

From 30 April each year, Agenzia delle Entrate (Italy's tax-revenue agency) makes your pre-filled return available online. It already contains the data the agency holds: the CU (income certificate) sent by your employer, medical expenses reported by pharmacies and hospitals, mortgage interest notified by your bank, university fees, insurance premiums, and any building-renovation bonuses already registered.

Log in with SPID (Italy's digital identity for accessing online public services), CIE (Italian electronic ID card), or CNS at agenziaentrate.gov.it, then go to the "Dichiarazione precompilata" section. You have three options:

• Accept as-is: if the data is correct and complete, the agency cannot run formal checks on the entries it pre-populated itself — a concrete benefit.
• Amend: add missing expenses or correct errors.
• Reject: start from scratch.

2026 deadlines

Deadline	What you need to do
16 March 2026	Employer and INPS send the CU
30 April 2026	Agenzia delle Entrate publishes the pre-filled return
30 June 2026	IRPEF balance + 1st advance payment (self-employed, via F24)
30 September 2026	Submit Modello 730 (employees, pensioners, self-employed)
31 October 2026	Submit Modello Redditi PF
30 November 2026	2nd advance payment for self-employed (via F24)

If you cannot pay by 30 June, you can pay up to 30 July with a 0.4% surcharge.

Documents you need

For employees and pensioners:

• CU (Certificazione Unica) — your employer must provide it by 16 March. If you have lost it, download it from the AdE "Cassetto Fiscale" portal using SPID.
• Your Codice Fiscale (Italian tax ID — your personal 16-character alphanumeric code, used for almost everything), plus those of your spouse and any dependant children.
• Receipts for any expenses you want to deduct.

The most common deductible expenses are: medical costs (pharmacy receipts, specialist fees, hospital co-payments, dentist — payment must be traceable, i.e. by card or bank transfer, except for NHS services); first-home mortgage interest (up to €4,000, 19% deduction); university fees (up to €3,700/year); funeral expenses (up to €1,550); life and accident insurance premiums (up to €530); and home renovation and eco-bonus credits (50% for renovations, 65% ecobonus).

For self-employed workers and Partita IVA holders, you also need: VAT registers with issued and received invoices, F24 receipts for last year's advance payments, INPS (Italy's social-security agency) contributions paid, and land-registry surveys (visure catastali) if you rent out property.

Where to get help in Rome

Do it yourself online: the agenziaentrate.gov.it portal is free and works well for straightforward situations (one employer, a handful of expenses to add).

CAF (Centri Assistenza Fiscale — free tax-assistance offices): the main networks in Rome are CAF ACLI (40+ locations), CAF CGIL (30+ locations), CAF CISL (25+ locations), and CAF UIL (20+ locations). Fees run €35–80. If you are a member of CGIL, CISL, or UIL, the basic Modello 730 is often free. To find your nearest office, use infoteam.agenziaentrate.gov.it.

Free Patronato offices (for union members — Patronato is a free union-run office that helps with social-security and immigration paperwork):

• ACLI — Via Marcantonio Colonna 46
• ITAL UIL — Via Cavour 108
• INCA CGIL — Via Buonarroti 12
• INAS CISL — Via Po 21

Accountants (Commercialisti): for complex situations — multiple income sources, rental properties, foreign income. The Rome accountants' professional body (Ordine dei Commercialisti di Roma) is at Piazzale delle Belle Arti 2 and publishes a searchable directory at odcecroma.it.

Agenzia delle Entrate: Rome's seven local offices offer free appointment-based assistance for questions about the pre-filled return and missing refunds. Freephone: 800 90 96 96.

Mistakes to avoid

1. Skipping the return because "I don't owe anything." Flat-rate freelancers with zero revenue still have to file the Modello Redditi PF. The obligation to file exists regardless of how much tax is due.
2. Paying medical expenses in cash. From 2026, medical costs must be paid by traceable means (card or bank transfer) to be deductible — the only exceptions are over-the-counter medicines and NHS hospital services.
3. Missing the advance-payment deadline. If you are self-employed and miss 30 June, penalties start immediately. You can split the balance into up to 7 instalments, with 0.33% monthly interest.

Special cases

Heirs: must file the deceased person's return by 30 September (Modello 730) or 31 October (Modello Redditi) of the year following the death.

Frontier workers: if you live in Italy and work in Switzerland, France, San Marino, or another neighbouring country, you must declare your foreign income in the Modello Redditi PF using sections RC and RW.

Foreign nationals tax-resident in Italy: spending more than 183 days a year in Italy makes you a tax resident, meaning you must declare your worldwide income — subject to any applicable double-taxation treaties. The impatriates regime (DLgs 209/2023) allows a 50% income exemption for five years for those who relocate their tax residence to Italy and meet certain conditions.

Amended return: if you realise you made an error that worked against you, you can file a corrected Modello 730 by 30 November.

Official sources

• Agenzia delle Entrate — Pre-filled return
• Agenzia delle Entrate — Modello 730
• Agenzia delle Entrate — Modello Redditi PF
• Agenzia delle Entrate — Tax calendar
• List of authorised CAF offices
• Sistema Tessera Sanitaria
• Ordine dei Commercialisti di Roma

Legal references: DPR 600/1973 artt. 1–3, DPR 917/1986 (TUIR), DPR 322/1998, DLgs 175/2014, DLgs 1/2024, DLgs 209/2023.