Italian annual VAT return (Iva and Iva base forms)
Every holder of an Italian VAT number (partita Iva) carrying on a business, artistic or professional activity files an annual VAT return, online only. The Iva/2026 form, for tax year 2025, is filed between 1 February and 30 April 2026; the deadline moves forward to 28 February (2 March in 2026, because the 28th is a Saturday) for those who use it to report the fourth-quarter settlement data. Those who meet the conditions may use the simplified Iva base form.
Up to date for 2026 — verified on September 24, 2026Official procedure, no printed formGuide: about 60 min
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Deadlines
- From 1 February to 30 April 2026
- Online filing of the Iva/2026 or Iva base/2026 form (tax year 2025)
- 2 March 2026
- Earlier deadline (28 February, a Saturday) for those reporting the fourth-quarter 2025 periodic settlement data in the return
- 16 March of the following year
- Payment of the fourth quarter for ordinary quarterly filers, as part of the annual adjustment, unless the longer deadlines for income-tax return payments are used
Documents to prepare
- VAT registers for the tax year (invoices issued or receipts, and purchases)
- Results of the periodic settlements and payments made
- Any VAT credit from the previous year and how it was used
- The options exercised during the year (quarterly settlement, cash-accounting VAT)
- Access to the Agenzia's online services (Entratel or Fisconline) or an authorised intermediary
No form is attached to this procedure: the link leads to the official page that describes it.
What this page gives you
The guide above and the link to the official site. ActioFin does not produce any document for this page: whatever you fill in or file is done on the official medium.
Who this applies to
- Every VAT-number holder carrying on a business, artistic or professional activity
- Exempt, among others: taxpayers who applied the flat-rate regime (regime forfetario) for the whole year, those under the « nuovi minimi » advantage regime, and those who recorded only exempt transactions (unless they also made taxable or intra-EU transactions or reverse-charge purchases)
- Also exempt: exempted farmers, sole traders who leased out their only business and carry on no other VAT-relevant activity, and the other categories listed by the Agenzia
- The Iva base form is reserved for those who applied the general VAT rules, with no cross-border transactions, no VAT-free purchases under the plafond, no extraordinary transactions and no missed periodic payments to report in section VQ
Worked example
Marco Rinaldi, a plumber in Verona, files his Iva/2026 return
In 2025 Marco, a sole trader applying the general VAT rules, had a turnover of 150,000 euros, all in Italy, with no special regimes, no plafond purchases and all periodic payments made: he may use the Iva base form. Instead of sending the fourth-quarter 2025 periodic settlements report separately, he includes its data in the return: he must therefore file it by Monday 2 March 2026 rather than by 30 April. His sister Sara, a consultant under the flat-rate regime for the whole of 2025, files no VAT return at all.
How to fill it in, step by step
- Check that you are not among the exempt taxpayers, in particular if you were under the flat-rate regime for the whole year or recorded only exempt transactions.
- Choose the form: Iva base if you applied the general rules, with no cross-border transactions, plafond, extraordinary transactions or missed periodic payments; otherwise the ordinary Iva form.
- Take the year's data from your VAT registers and periodic settlements, including any final credit or debt.
- Decide whether to report the fourth-quarter settlement data in the return: if you do, the deadline moves forward to the end of February.
- Notify the options exercised: cash-accounting VAT in section VO of the return for the first year of application, quarterly settlement in the first annual return filed after the choice.
- Complete the form with the Agenzia's compilation software, check it with the control procedure and send it online only, yourself or through an authorised intermediary.
Good to know
- VAT options are notified in the return: quarterly settlement in the first annual return after the choice, cash-accounting VAT in section VO of the return for the first year of application.
- The Iva base form cannot be used, among others, by non-residents with a permanent establishment or tax representative, by those required to use the F24 Elementi identificativi and by companies that took part in group VAT settlement.
- Anyone who filed favourable supplementary returns in 2025, with a credit to report in the return for the year of filing, must use the ordinary form.
- For the adjustment of deductions on a change of regime (line VF70), the Agenzia refers to the instructions in the appendix to the IVA 2025 form, because repeal of the rule was postponed to 1 January 2027.
- The exemption for those who recorded only exempt transactions is lost if they also made taxable transactions, intra-EU transactions or purchases on which the buyer owes the VAT.
Common mistakes
- Assuming you are exempt as a flat-rate taxpayer when the flat-rate regime did not cover the whole tax year.
- Using the Iva base form after making cross-border transactions or plafond purchases.
- Reporting the fourth quarter in the return and filing it in April: in that case the deadline is the end of February.
- Forgetting to notify in the return the option for cash-accounting VAT (section VO) or for quarterly settlement.
Frequently asked questions
When is the 2026 VAT return due?
Between 1 February and 30 April 2026, online only. By 2 March 2026 (28 February being a Saturday) if it carries the fourth-quarter 2025 settlement data.
Does a flat-rate taxpayer file a VAT return?
No, if the flat-rate regime applied for the whole tax year: such taxpayers are among the exempt categories listed by the Agenzia.
What is the Iva base form?
A simplified alternative to the traditional form, with the same deadlines and filing method. It may be used by those who applied the general VAT rules and made no cross-border transactions, plafond purchases or extraordinary transactions.
Where is the cash-accounting VAT option notified?
In section VO of the VAT return for the first year of application; revocation is notified the same way.
Go further
Compute the related amounts
Understand this form: the related course
Related forms
- Italian periodic VAT settlements report (LIPE)
- Paying periodic Italian VAT (Iva) with the F24
- Opting for Italian cash-accounting VAT (article 32-bis)
- Italian declaration of intent: buying VAT-free as a habitual exporter
- Italian Intrastat summary lists: who files them, monthly or quarterly
- IVA TR form: refund or offset of an Italian quarterly VAT credit
Official sources
- Agenzia delle Entrate — VAT 2026: what it is (updated 16 March 2026) — September 24, 2026
- Agenzia delle Entrate — VAT 2026: taxpayers exempt from the VAT return — September 24, 2026
- Agenzia delle Entrate — Iva base 2026: what it is (updated 12 February 2026) — September 24, 2026
- Agenzia delle Entrate — Periodic VAT payment: how and when to pay — September 24, 2026
- Agenzia delle Entrate — Cash-accounting VAT option: how the option is exercised — September 24, 2026
Guide and document provided for information purposes only; they do not constitute personalised legal or tax advice. Check the recipient organisation's requirements and consult a professional if needed.