The Italian Government Gazette has officially published Law n. 131/2025, designed to recognize and promote mountainous territories. This was effective from September 20, 2025, and article 26 provides measures that facilitate remote work in mountainous municipalities.
For 2026 and 2027, enterprises that promote remote work as an ordinary method of carrying out work duties are exempt from making social security contributions on the part of the employer. This is up to a maximum amount of 8,000 euros annually, which is adjusted and monthly applied. This exemption applies to each permanent employee under the age of 41 at the time of the law’s enactment, providing their duties remotely in a mountainous municipality, as described in Article 2, paragraph 2 of the law, with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants. They must also transfer their primary residence and steady domicile from a non-mountainous municipality to the same mountainous municipality. For the years after 2027, this exemption is reduced to 50% for 2028 and 2029 and 20% for 2030.
Excluded from the measure are premiums and contributions due to the National Institute for Insurance Against Accidents at Work, and the pension benefit calculation rate remains unchanged. Further details regarding the criteria and methods for granting this remote work facilitation will be outlined in a later decree, taking into account spending limits and relevant monitoring mechanisms.
Article 25 of the law offers a tax concession to mountain businesses run by young people. For small and micro enterprises and cooperatives that have started a new business in the mountainous municipalities and whose owners, associates, or shareholders are under the age of 41, a tax credit is granted. This is applicable upfront and for the succeeding two fiscal periods, equal to the difference between the tax calculated by applying the regular rates to the income generated by the new business in these municipalities, and the tax calculated by applying a 15% rate to the same income, up to a total of 100,000 euros.
The specific case of mountainous municipalities with a population of fewer than 5,000 inhabitants, where one of the historical linguistic minorities as per Law n. 482/1999, resides, and comprises at least 15% of the residents, is governed by paragraph 2 of Article 25.
A total of 20 million euros annually will be allocated for these tax credits, starting from 2025.
