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Occasional work or a habitual activity: where the line falls
The module’s worked examples, then cases to attempt before revealing their solution · 4 sections · 367 words · 4 min
Worked example
The photographer at a friend's wedding
Irene works at a bank and loves photography. Two friends ask her to shoot their wedding and pay her 600 euros. She has no website, takes no other bookings and looks for none. It is a one-off: the fee is miscellaneous income, reported in her return alongside her salary.
Worked example
The consultant with a professional profile
Marco runs an online profile offering IT consultancy at hourly rates and for a year has been serving four small firms every month. He has earned 4,000 euros. The amount is small, but regularity, promotion and returning clients point to a habitual activity: occasional receipts are not the right form.
Worked example
The teacher running a summer course
Sonia teaches at a secondary school and each summer runs a two-week writing course for a cultural association, which pays her 1,500 euros. It has happened two summers running, with nothing else during the year. This is a borderline case: she should record why it stays episodic and reassess if it becomes steady.
Practical case
Chiara and the three translated manuals
Chiara, a student with no other income, translated three manuals for two companies in 2025, under separate assignments and without promoting her services in any way. She was paid 4,200 euros gross, with no costs to document, and the companies withheld tax on the full amount. How much was withheld, what net IRPEF does she owe for 2025, and what should she do?
Hint: Work out the withholding on the gross amount, then the gross tax at the first-bracket rate; compare it with the credit for occasional self-employment, which depends on total income.
Show the solution
Withholding: 4,200 × 20 % = 840 euros, paid over by the companies. Total income is 4,200 euros, all in the first bracket, so gross tax is 4,200 × 23 % = 966 euros. Total income does not exceed 5,500 euros, so the article 13(5) credit is 1,265 euros, more than the gross tax, which falls to zero. Net IRPEF is nil and the 840 euros withheld become a credit. Chiara should file a 730 in 2026, even without a withholding agent, to get them refunded.
Answer: 840 euros withheld, no net IRPEF, 840 euros to reclaim through form 730
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