In response to numerous requests for clarification, the National Institute of Italian Journalists’ Pension Fund (INPGI) has provided clarification on the treatment of expense reimbursements for freelance journalists. This comes in the light of the legislative decree 192/2024, which changed the tax treatment of such items for professionals from January 1, 2025.
The main novelty concerns the non-relevance for income tax purposes of so-called “at the foot of the list” expense reimbursements, i.e. those documented and invoiced directly to the client for the performance of an assignment (transportation, meals, equipment rental, etc.). Until December 31, 2024, such items contributed to determining the amount of compensation. The primary goal of the legislator was thus to simplify tax obligations, extending the same exemption from the taxable base for personal income tax (IRPEF), already provided for employees, to the expense reimbursements invoiced by freelancers to their clients.
However, even if reimbursements no longer fall within the IRPEF calculation, they continue to be subject to VAT. This is because the legislation has not been changed: reimbursed expenses are not considered “advanced on behalf of and in the name of the client” and must be invoiced with Value Added Tax.
The social security aspect remains unchanged. In fact, the expense reimbursements were already “neutral” for the purpose of calculating the individual social security contribution (12 or 14% depending on income), which – as is known – is calculated on the amount of income subject to IRPEF.
The situation remains unchanged also for the calculation of the additional social security contribution (4% for INPGI) – determined on gross turnover, which, as already stated, continues to include – as in the past – also the sums subject to analytical reimbursement of expenses by the client.
In the comment press release, INPGI highlights that for those professionals in the flat-rate regime, the issue is more complicated: in this regime, there is no declaration of VAT. This raises doubts about how expense reimbursements should be treated and what the impact on taxes and contributions is. For now, an official clarification from the Revenue Agency is awaited.
