Tax Observatory › Direct taxes and returns › Two-year preventive agreement 2026-2027: the deadline moves to 31 October, and renewals follow new rules

Two-year preventive agreement 2026-2027: the deadline moves to 31 October, and renewals follow new rules

For the 2026-2027 period the 30 September deadline does not apply: the law has moved it to 31 October, which falls on a Saturday. Meanwhile, Legislative Decree 148/2026 has changed the rules for those who renew and has opened a voluntary disclosure for the years 2020 to 2023, at the price of an extension of the assessment time limits.

For the 2026-2027 period, the deadline for joining the two-year preventive agreement (concordato preventivo biennale, CPB) is not 30 September. Article 7-bis(3) of Decree-Law No. 38 of 27 March 2026, inserted by conversion Law No. 88 of 22 May 2026, has deferred it to 31 October 2026. That day is a Saturday and 1 November is a Sunday and a public holiday: under the general rule on tax formalities, the deadline moves to Monday 2 November 2026, the same deadline as the income tax return. Those who joined for the 2024-2025 period and are now renewing will also find a partly different regime: Legislative Decree No. 148 of 7 August 2026 grants them wider benefits, exempts them from the increase in advance payments and offers them a voluntary disclosure for the years 2020 to 2023, in exchange for an extension of the assessment time limits.

Why the 30 September date does not apply this year

The ordinary deadline is laid down in Article 9(3) of Legislative Decree No. 13 of 12 February 2024: taxpayers accept the proposal by 30 September or, if their tax period does not coincide with the calendar year, by the last day of the ninth month after its end. The guides published in the spring gave that date, which was correct at the time.

The conversion of Decree-Law No. 38/2026 has superseded it for the 2026-2027 period only: the deadline is 31 October 2026 or, for taxpayers with a non-calendar financial year, the last day of the tenth month after the end of the tax period. According to the Revenue Agency, an acceptance already submitted can also be revoked by the same date. Since 31 October 2026 is a Saturday, Article 7(1)(h) and (2)(l) of Decree-Law No. 70 of 13 May 2011 applies: formalities and payments due to the tax authorities, including purely electronic ones, that fall due on a Saturday or a public holiday are postponed to the next working day. The Italian Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) expressly states 2 November for the income tax return; for acceptance of the agreement, its dedicated page gives the statutory deadline of 31 October. The 2 November date follows from the general rule, and it is prudent not to wait for it: filing by Friday 30 October removes any doubt.

The CPB form is filed together with the income tax return and the ISA form, or separately, with only the cover page of the Redditi return. According to the form instructions, a new acceptance replaces the previous one without any need to revoke it.

Who can join, and why the requirements now carry more weight

The agreement is reserved for those who carry on a business, an art or a profession and apply the synthetic tax reliability indices (indici sintetici di affidabilità fiscale, ISA) (Article 10(1)). Taxpayers under the flat-rate regime (regime forfetario) no longer have access: the chapter of the decree that admitted them, on an experimental basis and for 2024 only, was repealed by Legislative Decree No. 81 of 12 June 2025 with effect from 1 January 2025. Those who enter the flat-rate regime in 2026 are excluded (Article 11(1)(b-ter)); those who enter it in 2027 cause the agreement to terminate from that year (Article 21(1)(b-bis)).

In addition, for the 2025 tax period there must be no definitively established debts for taxes administered by the Revenue Agency or for social security contributions. Taxpayers are nevertheless admitted if, by the acceptance deadline, those debts are paid off so that the remaining balance, including interest and penalties, falls below the threshold of EUR 5,000. Suspended debts and debts under an instalment plan do not count unless the benefit is lost (Article 10(2)).

The grounds for exclusion are listed in Article 11: among others, failure to file the return for one of the three previous tax periods; convictions for tax offences and for certain company-law and money-laundering offences; exempt or excluded income exceeding 40 per cent of business or professional income; joining the flat-rate regime in the first year of the period; mergers, demergers and contributions of a business or a business unit in the first year; and, in partnerships and associations, an increase in the number of partners or members.

What is new for the 2026-2027 period is the consequence of a mistake. Up to the previous period, the absence of the requirements or a ground for exclusion caused the agreement to lapse (Article 22(1)(d), now repealed). From the 2026-2027 period, the new paragraph 2-bis of Article 10 and paragraph 1-bis of Article 11, introduced by Article 28 of Legislative Decree 148/2026, provide that acceptance without the requirements, or despite a ground for exclusion, «is without effect». The law does not provide for a specific procedure: the defect will presumably emerge during an audit, through an assessment of actual income that can be appealed in the ordinary way. Some questions remain open, however, pending clarification: whether the lapse rule also applies in this case, so that tax on the agreed income remains due where it exceeds actual income; what happens to any substitute tax already paid; and, for those who renew, whether the voluntary disclosure for the years 2020 to 2023, which presupposes a valid renewal, is also lost. The requirements must therefore be checked, and documented, before joining.

For professionals who also work through a professional association, a professional company (società tra professionisti) or a law firm company (società tra avvocati), the grounds for exclusion linked to the failure to join together now apply only if the entity carries on an activity falling under the same synthetic index applied by the professional.

How far the proposal can rise

The Revenue Agency’s proposal is not unlimited. Article 9(3-bis) sets a cap: the proposed income may not exceed the income declared for 2025, adjusted under Articles 15 and 16, increased by 10 per cent for those with an ISA score of 10, by 15 per cent for a score from 9 to less than 10 and by 25 per cent for a score from 8 to less than 9. Article 7-bis(1) of Decree-Law No. 38/2026 has added two bands: 30 per cent for scores from 6 to less than 8 and 35 per cent for scores from 1 to less than 6. The limit also applies to the proposal for regional production tax (IRAP) purposes (paragraph 3-quater). The calculation methodology for the period is the one approved by the Ministry of Economy and Finance decree of 11 May 2026.

The cap does not apply where the proposal, so limited, would fall below the sector reference values of the methodology (paragraph 3-ter). In other words, those who declare very low income compared with their sector find no protection in the cap.

On the part of the agreed income that exceeds the income declared for 2025, taxpayers may opt for a substitute tax replacing income taxes and surcharges (Article 20-bis): 10 per cent with an ISA score of at least 8, 12 per cent from 6 to less than 8, 15 per cent below 6. The reduced rates cover an excess of up to EUR 85,000; above that threshold, the portion in excess is taxed at the rate of the highest IRPEF band, currently 43 per cent (Article 11(1)(c) of the Consolidated Income Tax Act, TUIR), or at the IRES rate of 24 per cent (Article 77 of the TUIR). For those who renew, the comparison is made with the actual income declared for 2025.

The social security cost must also be factored in. The agreed income is also the basis for compulsory social security contributions (Article 19(1)), which are paid on the whole agreed income and do not benefit from the substitute tax; they may be paid on actual income only if that is higher. For artisans, traders and those enrolled in the separate management scheme of INPS (gestione separata), the contribution cost of the excess is often greater than the substitute tax. For members of professional pension funds, the fund’s rules should be checked.

Renewals: what changes from the 2026-2027 period

At the end of the period, the Revenue Agency makes a new proposal to those who still meet the requirements (Article 14(1)), and acceptance follows the same deadline. According to the Revenue Agency, a renewal concerns those who join for the immediately following period, and therefore those who have completed the 2024-2025 period. For those who renew, Article 28 of Legislative Decree 148/2026 has introduced four differences, applicable from the 2026-2027 period.

The first concerns the reward benefits. The new paragraph 1-bis of Article 14 grants exemption from the certificate of compliance (visto di conformità) for offsetting VAT credits of up to EUR 100,000 a year and credits for direct taxes and IRAP of up to EUR 70,000 a year, exemption from the certificate or from the guarantee for VAT refunds of up to EUR 100,000 a year, and a two-year reduction of the assessment time limits laid down in Article 43(1) of Presidential Decree 600/1973 for business and self-employment income and in Article 57(1) of Presidential Decree 633/1972. For those who join without renewing, the ordinary limits of the ISA reward regime are lower: EUR 70,000 for VAT, EUR 50,000 for direct taxes and IRAP, EUR 70,000 for refunds and a reduction of at least one year (Article 9-bis(11) of Decree-Law No. 50/2017). The reduction applies to the agreed periods: for 2026 the ordinary time limit, which would expire on 31 December 2032, becomes 31 December 2030; for 2027 it moves from 31 December 2033 to 31 December 2031. The other benefits of the reward regime, such as exclusion from the rules on non-operating companies (società di comodo), remain available to all participants (Article 19(3)).

The second concerns instalments. For the 2026-2027 period, those who renew and pay the taxes relating to the 2026 and 2027 tax periods in instalments under Article 20 of Legislative Decree No. 241 of 9 July 1997 do not owe instalment interest (Article 14(1-ter)). The exemption covers taxes, not contributions, and does not extend to the balance for 2025; it remains to be clarified what happens to the instalments of the first 2026 advance payment made before the renewal.

The third concerns advance payments. Those joining for the first time who calculate the advance payment using the historical method pay an increase equal to 10 per cent of the difference between agreed income and the previous year’s income, and 3 per cent for IRAP, by the deadline for the second advance instalment: this year, Monday 30 November 2026 (Article 20(2) and (3)). On renewal, the increase is not due (Article 20(3-bis)). According to the Revenue Agency, those who do not renew straight away, for example by skipping 2026 and joining for the 2027-2028 period, do not benefit from this exemption.

The fourth concerns partners. In partnerships and associations, an increase in the number of partners or members remains a ground for exclusion and for termination, but on renewal it is disregarded if the incoming partner or member, in the previous year, received employment or similar income, or earned business or self-employment income of no more than EUR 35,000 in total (Articles 11(1)(b-quater) and 21(1)(b-ter)). The exact scope of this threshold awaits confirmation in administrative practice.

The voluntary disclosure for the years 2020 to 2023

Article 29 of Legislative Decree 148/2026 opens, only for ISA taxpayers who renew their acceptance for the 2026-2027 period within the statutory deadline, a voluntary disclosure (ravvedimento) for the years 2020 to 2023. A substitute tax is paid on the difference between the business or self-employment income declared as at 12 August 2026, when the decree entered into force, and the same income increased by a percentage that depends on the ISA score for the year: 5 per cent with a score of 10, 10 per cent from 8 to less than 10, 20 per cent from 6 to less than 8, 30 per cent from 4 to less than 6, 40 per cent from 3 to less than 4 and 50 per cent below 3. The same increase applies to the value of production for IRAP purposes.

For 2022 and 2023 the rate is 10 per cent with a score of at least 8, 12 per cent from 6 to less than 8 and 15 per cent below 6; for IRAP it is 3.9 per cent. For 2020 and 2021 the substitute taxes are reduced by 30 per cent. For each year, the substitute income tax may not be less than EUR 1,000. An example: for 2023, with declared business income of EUR 60,000 and an ISA score of 7, the increase is 20 per cent, that is EUR 12,000, and the substitute tax at 12 per cent is EUR 1,440; with the same figures for 2021 it would be EUR 1,008. With modest income the minimum prevails: with income of EUR 20,000 and a score of 9, the calculated tax would be EUR 200, but EUR 1,000 is paid.

Special rules apply to those who had revenue or fees of up to EUR 5,164,569 and did not determine their income on a flat-rate basis, for the years in which they had declared a ground for exclusion from the ISA linked to the pandemic, a period of abnormal operation of the business, or the exercise of two or more activities not covered by the same index, with revenue from activities other than the main one exceeding 30 per cent of the total. In these cases the increase is 25 per cent, the rate 12.5 per cent and IRAP 3.9 per cent; in the first two cases, the pandemic and abnormal operation of the business, the taxes so calculated are reduced by 30 per cent for each year (paragraphs 7, 8 and 9).

Payment is made in a lump sum between 1 January and 15 March 2027, or in up to ten monthly instalments with interest at the statutory rate from 16 March 2027. For each year, the disclosure is completed only once all instalments have been paid; paying an instalment other than the first by the due date of the following one does not cause the benefit to be lost. In partnerships and tax-transparent companies the tax may be paid by the company on behalf of the partners. The disclosure is not completed if the first payment is made after notification of a tax audit report (processo verbale di constatazione), a draft assessment or a recovery notice for non-existent credits. The deadlines and procedures for notifying the option are left to a decision of the Director of the Revenue Agency (paragraph 18), which, at the date of this article, does not appear to have been issued.

In return, for the years covered by the disclosure the Revenue Agency can no longer adjust business or self-employment income through the assessments under Article 39 of Presidential Decree 600/1973 and Article 54(2), second sentence, of Presidential Decree 633/1972, except in the cases listed in paragraph 13: lapse of the 2026-2027 agreement, precautionary measures or committal for trial for certain tax, company-law or money-laundering offences, failure to complete the disclosure, and a false declaration of one of the grounds that give access to the special rules. The protection covers only those adjustments and falls away if the 2026-2027 agreement lapses. The law rules out a refund of the substitute tax where the instalment benefit is lost and in cases of precautionary measures or committal for trial (paragraphs 11 and 14); for lapse of the agreement it says nothing, and it has not been clarified whether the amounts paid can be set off against the additional taxes assessed.

The price is an extension. For the years covered by the disclosure, the assessment time limits are extended to 31 December 2029, by way of derogation from the Taxpayers’ Rights Charter (Statuto dei diritti del contribuente), and the extension applies to every assessment of those years, not only to the barred ones. For all ISA taxpayers who renew, even if they do not opt for the disclosure, the assessment time limits that would expire on 31 December 2026 are extended to 31 December 2027 (paragraph 17): as a rule, those for the 2020 tax period, or for 2018 if no return was filed. Those who renew therefore give the tax authorities an extra year for those years in any event.

There is also a coordination problem. Those who renew now joined for 2024-2025 and were therefore already able to use the voluntary disclosure for the years 2018 to 2022 under Article 2-quater of Decree-Law No. 113 of 9 August 2024. For the years covered at that time, adjustments are already barred, and for those from 2018 to 2021 the time limits have already been extended to 31 December 2027. Disclosing them a second time, as a rule, adds no protection, even though the two bars depend on different agreements, the 2024-2025 one and the 2026-2027 one, and it moves the time limits to 31 December 2029. The new provision does not regulate the relationship between the two schemes: pending clarification, the 2026 disclosure should be considered above all for 2023 and for the years 2020 to 2022 not previously covered. The cost of the extension also varies from year to year: for 2023 the ordinary time limit is already 31 December 2029, for 2022 the extension adds one year and for 2021 two; for 2020, whose time limit is in any case extended to 31 December 2027 for those who renew, it adds a further two. Where the ISA reward reduction of the time limits had accrued for 2022 or 2023, the cost rises accordingly.

Amending returns and lapse: the new rules

The new paragraph 3-bis of Article 19 allows errors or omissions concerning revenue, fees or other data declared or reported for the proposal to be corrected by means of the amending return provided for in Article 2(8) of Presidential Decree 322/1998. The agreed income and value of production are recalculated on the corrected data, including upwards, and the penalties, including the one under Article 8 of Legislative Decree No. 471 of 18 December 1997, can be settled through voluntary disclosure (ravvedimento operoso). Previously, an amending return of this kind could cause the agreement to lapse.

The rules on lapse in Article 22 have also been rewritten from the 2026-2027 period. The agreement ceases to have effect for both years when an assessment reveals undeclared income or non-existent or non-deductible costs amounting to more than 30 per cent of declared revenue or fees; when an assessment of the tax period preceding the two-year period reveals errors or omissions in the data reported such that the recalculated income exceeds the agreed income by at least 30 per cent; when other violations that are not minor have been committed; and when the sums requested following automated checks are not paid within sixty days. Certain violations are disregarded if the taxpayer has regularised them before they were detected and before any on-site visit, inspection or audit began (paragraph 3). In the event of lapse, taxes and contributions on the agreed income remain due if it exceeds actual income.

In practice: what to do by 2 November

The first step is to establish one’s position: first acceptance, renewal at the end of the 2024-2025 period, or a 2025-2026 period still in progress, in which case no new proposal is accepted. Next, the requirements are checked against the 2025 figures and the documents that prove them: an extract from the online tax account (cassetto fiscale) and a statement of outstanding debts with the collection agent and with INPS, together with receipts for the payments made to bring the balance below EUR 5,000. As for the grounds for exclusion, particular attention should be paid to partnerships and professional associations, where an increase in the number of partners or members in 2026 may be enough to trigger exclusion, subject to the exception provided for renewals.

The proposal must then be compared with the income reasonably expected for 2026 and 2027, taking into account the substitute tax on the excess, contributions and the cap linked to the ISA score. Those who renew must weigh the reward benefits against the one-year extension of the assessment time limits expiring at the end of 2026. Only the renewal must be decided by 2 November, as it is the precondition for the disclosure; the option for the disclosure covering the years 2020 to 2023 will be notified in accordance with the Revenue Agency’s decision, and the substitute tax will be paid in a lump sum between 1 January and 15 March 2027, or in instalments. Assessing it requires the ISA scores for those years and a summary of any disclosure already made in 2024-2025.

Finally, timing. If the return for 2025 has not yet been filed, an incorrect ISA figure is corrected before filing. If it has already been filed, a corrective return (dichiarazione correttiva nei termini) can be submitted until the filing deadline and the recalculated proposal accepted: the corrective return carries no penalties for the return itself (penalties on any underpayments already due remain, but can be settled through voluntary disclosure), and the new acceptance replaces the previous one. After that date, the amending return under Article 19(3-bis) remains available, with the agreed income recalculated and the penalties settled through voluntary disclosure. Waiting until the last day leaves little room to pay off debts above the threshold. The filing receipt, a copy of the CPB form and the statement showing how the proposal was calculated should all be kept.

A caveat for 2027

From 1 January 2027 the rules on the two-year preventive agreement move into the consolidated act on tax formalities and assessment (testo unico degli adempimenti e dell’accertamento), approved by Legislative Decree No. 141 of 5 August 2026 (Articles 89 et seq.), which from the same date repeals the corresponding provisions of Legislative Decree No. 13/2024. The 2026 amendments have been carried over into the consolidated act by Article 28(2) and, for the voluntary disclosure, by Article 29(20) of Legislative Decree 148/2026, which inserts Article 365-bis. The wording, however, does not match in every respect: in the consolidated act the reduction of the time limits for those who renew is not confined to business and self-employment income, and the extension to 31 December 2027 lacks the words «expiring on 31 December 2026». Clarification will be needed on these points; in the meantime, for the choices to be made in 2026, the reference is the text currently in force. Payment of the disclosure, which falls in 2027, will instead take place under the consolidated act: Article 35(2) of Legislative Decree 148/2026 makes paragraphs 1 to 17 of Article 29 effective only until the date from which the consolidated act applies.

Frequently asked questions

I joined the agreement for the 2025-2026 period: do I need to do anything by 2 November?

Not to accept a new proposal: the 2025-2026 period is still in progress and includes the 2026 tax period. The previous rules continue to apply to that period, because the amendments made by Legislative Decree No. 148/2026 apply from the 2026-2027 period, and the new disclosure for the years 2020 to 2023 does not concern it. The question of renewal, under the new rules, will arise for the 2027-2028 period. The exception is a professional who is a member of a professional association, a professional company or a law firm company: if the entity reaches the end of its period and does not renew for 2026-2027, the individual agreement may also terminate from 2026 (Article 21(1)(b-quinquies)); in the reverse case, with the entity in the 2025-2026 period and the partner or member reaching the end of their own period without renewing, the entity’s agreement terminates (letter b-sexies). The safeguard for an entity whose activity falls under a different synthetic index applies from the 2026-2027 period, and it has not been clarified whether it extends to the individual 2025-2026 period: pending clarification, it is advisable for the entity to renew.

What happens if I join without meeting the requirements?

From the 2026-2027 period, acceptance is without effect: the benefits are not available and the Revenue Agency may assess actual income within the ordinary time limits. It has not yet been clarified whether, in that case, tax on the agreed income remains due where it exceeds actual income, nor whether those who renew also lose the disclosure for the years 2020 to 2023. Debts and grounds for exclusion should be checked before filing, and extracts and receipts kept.

Is the disclosure for the years 2020 to 2023 compulsory for those who renew?

No: it is optional, can be exercised year by year, and is chosen after the renewal, in accordance with the decision the Revenue Agency has yet to issue. The extension to 31 December 2027 of the assessment time limits that would expire at the end of 2026, by contrast, applies to all ISA taxpayers who renew, even if they do not opt for the disclosure.

Sources

Legislative Decree No. 13 of 12 February 2024, Articles 9, 10, 11, 14, 19, 20, 20-bis, 21 and 22, text in force on 11 September 2026 (Normattiva)

Decree-Law No. 38 of 27 March 2026, converted with amendments by Law No. 88 of 22 May 2026, Article 7-bis (Normattiva)

Legislative Decree No. 148 of 7 August 2026, Articles 28, 29 and 35 (Official Journal No. 185 of 11 August 2026, Ordinary Supplement No. 30; republished with notes in Official Journal No. 205 of 4 September 2026, Ordinary Supplement No. 33)

Legislative Decree No. 81 of 12 June 2025, Article 7; Decree-Law No. 113 of 9 August 2024, Article 2-quater; Decree-Law No. 50 of 24 April 2017, Article 9-bis(11)

Decree-Law No. 70 of 13 May 2011, Article 7(1)(h) and (2)(l); Presidential Decree No. 322 of 22 July 1998, Article 2

Presidential Decree No. 600 of 29 September 1973, Articles 39 and 43; Presidential Decree No. 633 of 26 October 1972, Articles 54 and 57; Legislative Decree No. 241 of 9 July 1997, Article 20; Legislative Decree No. 471 of 18 December 1997, Article 8; TUIR, Articles 11 and 77; Law No. 212 of 27 July 2000, Article 3(3)

Legislative Decree No. 141 of 5 August 2026 (consolidated act on tax formalities and assessment), Articles 89 et seq., 365-bis, 367 and 368

Ministerial Decree of 11 May 2026 (Official Journal No. 115 of 20 May 2026, Ordinary Supplement No. 20); decision of the Director of the Revenue Agency Prot. No. 71684 of 27 February 2026 and instructions for the CPB 2026-2027 form

Revenue Agency, section «Concordato preventivo biennale – Contribuenti ISA 2026», Circular No. 4/E of 6 July 2026 and answers to frequently asked questions of 25 September 2025 and 3 June 2026