The Italian payroll calendar and filings
What happens each month, and once a year, when you employ someone in Italy.
Italy payroll at a glance
| Currency | Euro (EUR) |
| Tax year | 1 January – 31 December |
| Pay frequency | Monthly, plus 13th (and sometimes 14th) month |
| Employer cost on top of gross pay | About 35–40% including severance accrual |
| Taxes and contributions paid | Monthly, by the 16th of the following month (F24) |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1), CEST in summer |
How Italian payroll works
Payroll runs monthly. Each month the employer calculates gross pay under the employee's collective agreement, withholds the employee's taxes and contributions, adds the employer's own contributions, pays the employee and pays the authorities.
Before the first payslip, the employer must be set up with three bodies:
- INPS, the national social security institute: pensions, unemployment, sickness and maternity.
- INAIL, the workplace injury insurer.
- Agenzia delle Entrate, the tax agency, for income tax withholding.
The hire itself is reported to the labor authorities electronically the day before work starts.
With our Employer of Record service all of these registrations are already in place: we are the employer, so your hire can start without you registering anything in Italy.
The monthly payroll calendar
Each pay period is one calendar month. A typical month looks like this:
- Mid-monthCut-off for the month's variables: overtime, absences, bonuses, new hires and leavers.
- Third weekPayroll is calculated and the payslips are checked.
- End of monthNet pay is transferred; some employers pay in the first days of the next month, as the contract or CCNL allows. Payslips go out, usually digitally.
- 16th of next monthWithheld taxes, INPS and INAIL contributions are paid with the F24, and the UniEmens report is filed.
Your invoice follows the same calendar, so the cost you see each month matches that month's payroll.
How we run each payroll month
- Collect changesHours, leave, overtime, new hires and leavers, salary and benefit changes, approved by you.
- CalculateGross pay, contributions, taxes and net pay under the CCNL and the law.
- CheckComparison with the previous month; anomalies explained before anything is paid.
- PayNet salaries by bank transfer, payslips to employees.
- FileF24, UniEmens and the LUL update.
- ReportSummary and invoice to your finance team.
Monthly and yearly filings
| Filing | What it is | When |
|---|---|---|
| Payslip (cedolino) | Monthly statement of gross pay, deductions and net pay | Every month |
| F24 | Single payment form for withheld taxes, social security and surcharges | By the 16th of the following month |
| LUL (Libro Unico del Lavoro) | The official payroll and attendance register | Updated every month |
| UniEmens | Monthly report of pay and contributions to INPS | Every month |
| Certificazione Unica (CU) | Annual certificate of income, tax and contributions; the employee uses it for their tax return | By 16 March |
| Modello 770 | Annual withholding agent return | By 31 October |
| INAIL self-assessment | Annual premium calculation | By 16 February |