Tax Observatory › Tax and returns › Farm businesses in the Po Delta: IAP status, agricultural companies and IMU on land

Farm businesses in the Po Delta: IAP status, agricultural companies and IMU on land

In the municipalities of the Po Delta, agricultural land is exempt from IMU (municipal property tax) only if it is owned and farmed by a coltivatore diretto (farmer who personally cultivates the land), by a professional agricultural entrepreneur (IAP) enrolled in the agricultural social security scheme or by a società agricola qualifying as an IAP. The status also affects personal income tax (IRPEF) on cadastral income and the taxation of the company or partnership; leases within the family and co-ownership need to be structured carefully.

No municipality in the province of Ferrara is listed among the mountain or hill municipalities in Circular No. 9/1993. In Codigoro, Mesola, Goro, Lagosanto, Fiscaglia, Jolanda di Savoia and Comacchio, agricultural land is exempt from IMU (municipal property tax) only if it is owned and farmed by a coltivatore diretto (farmer who personally cultivates the land), by a professional agricultural entrepreneur (imprenditore agricolo professionale, IAP) enrolled in the agricultural social security scheme, or by a società agricola (agricultural company or partnership) qualifying as an IAP.

Who qualifies as a professional agricultural entrepreneur

Under Article 1, paragraph 1, of Legislative Decree No. 99/2004, an IAP is a person who, having the professional knowledge and skills referred to in Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999, devotes at least 50 per cent of their total working time to the activities listed in Article 2135 of the Italian Civil Code, directly or as a partner or shareholder, and derives from them at least 50 per cent of their total income from work. Pensions and remuneration for public offices or for offices held in agricultural bodies are not taken into account. In the less-favoured areas referred to in Article 17 of the Regulation, the requirements are reduced to 25 per cent.

The status is certified by the Region (paragraph 2); in Emilia-Romagna, this is done by the territorial office for agriculture, hunting and fishing (Settore territoriale Agricoltura, caccia e pesca). At least 112.5 working days a year are required (56.25 in less-favoured areas), and the certificate is valid for 18 months (Regional Executive resolution No. 1211/2026). An IAP who is an individual must enrol in the agricultural social security scheme (paragraph 5-bis). A person who submits the application and enrols with INPS (the Italian social security institute) without meeting the requirements must meet them within 24 months, unless the Region sets a different time limit (in Emilia-Romagna, three years from the notice given to the territorial office, Regional Executive resolution No. 752/2006); otherwise the benefits are forfeited (paragraph 5-ter).

Agricultural companies and IAP companies

A company or partnership whose exclusive object is agricultural activity (Article 2135 of the Civil Code) must include the words società agricola in its firm name or company name (Article 2, paragraph 1); rentals and leases generating revenues of no more than 10 per cent of the total do not affect the exclusive object. A company or partnership with the same exclusive object qualifies as an IAP if at least one partner is an IAP (partnerships) or at least one director is an IAP (companies) (Article 1, paragraph 3); in a società in accomandita (limited partnership), the IAP partner must be a general partner. A director can confer the status on one company only (paragraph 3-bis).

Agricultural partnerships and limited liability companies (srl) may opt to be taxed on cadastral income under Article 32 of the Consolidated Income Tax Act (TUIR) (Article 1, paragraph 1093, of Law No. 296/2006). The income remains business income, and the option lapses if the requirements of Article 2 of Legislative Decree No. 99/2004 are no longer met (Ministerial Decree No. 213/2007).

Reddito dominicale, reddito agrario and VAT

The reddito dominicale (notional land income attributed to the owner) and the reddito agrario (notional farming income attributed to the person farming the land) are determined on the basis of the cadastral valuation tables (tariffe d’estimo) (Articles 28 and 34 of the TUIR); if the land is leased for agricultural use, the reddito agrario is attributed to the tenant from the date on which the lease takes effect (Article 33). For 2026, the reddito dominicale and reddito agrario of a coltivatore diretto or an enrolled IAP, excluding companies and partnerships that have opted for cadastral taxation, are added together and included in total income at 0 per cent up to €10,000, at 50 per cent between €10,000 and €15,000 and in full above that amount (Article 1, paragraph 44, of Law No. 232/2016): on combined income of €12,000, €1,000 is included. IMU replaces IRPEF (personal income tax) on the reddito dominicale of land that is not leased, but for exempt land the reddito dominicale remains subject to IRPEF (Articles 8, paragraph 1, and 9, paragraph 9, of Legislative Decree No. 23/2011).

For VAT purposes, the regime speciale IVA (special VAT scheme for agricultural producers) under Article 34 of Presidential Decree No. 633/1972 applies. It provides for a flat-rate deduction and relieves producers of VAT compliance obligations where their turnover does not exceed €7,000, at least two thirds of which comes from supplies of agricultural products.

IMU on land

The taxable base is the reddito dominicale as at 1 January, revalued by 25 per cent and multiplied by 135 (Article 1, paragraph 746, of Law No. 160/2019): a reddito dominicale of €400 gives a taxable base of €67,500. The rate is the one set out in the Municipality’s rate schedule published on the Fiscal Federalism Portal (Portale del federalismo fiscale) (paragraphs 752, 757 and 767). Land owned and farmed by a coltivatore diretto or by an IAP enrolled in the agricultural social security scheme, including IAP companies and partnerships, is exempt wherever it is located (point (a) of paragraph 758). Building land that the same persons own and farm through agricultural, forestry and livestock activities is deemed not to be building land (point (d) of paragraph 741). The same treatment applies to pensioners who continue farming and remain enrolled (Article 78-bis, paragraph 3, of Decree-Law No. 104/2020) and to assisting family members (familiari coadiuvanti) of a coltivatore diretto who belong to the farmer’s household, are themselves enrolled as coltivatori diretti and work in the business (Article 1, paragraph 705, of Law No. 145/2018).

Three common cases

A father who makes his land available to his son, a coltivatore diretto, under a lease or a free loan for use (comodato) does not farm it himself and therefore pays IMU. If the land is leased, he also reports the reddito dominicale for IRPEF purposes; if it is under a comodato, IMU replaces IRPEF on the reddito dominicale, because the property is not leased (Articles 8, paragraph 1, and 9, paragraph 9, of Legislative Decree No. 23/2011). The son, who farms the land, reports the reddito agrario. The exemption under paragraph 705 of Law No. 145/2018 is available to the father only if he is an assisting family member of his son in the same household, enrolled as a coltivatore diretto and working in the business.

In co-ownership, each co-owner has a separate liability for their own share (paragraph 743): on agricultural land, only the share of the IAP co-owner who farms it is exempt. For building land, Resolution No. 2/DF/2020 of the Department of Finance, referring to Court of Cassation judgment No. 15566/2010, extends to all co-owners the legal fiction that the land is not building land: those without the status pay tax on the cadastral value. The resolution does not bind the Municipality, and the judgments it cites concern ICI (the former municipal property tax): given that the liabilities are separate (paragraph 743), it can be argued that the fiction applies only to the qualifying co-owner. In assessment proceedings, the resolution should be relied on in the contraddittorio (prior discussion with the taxpayer); the issue is also relevant to the sale of building land.

An agricultural società semplice (simple partnership) with an exclusively agricultural object and an enrolled IAP partner is exempt from IMU on the land it owns and farms. For land that partners qualifying as coltivatori diretti or IAPs make available to the partnership and continue to farm, the exemption is available to those partners (Article 9, paragraph 1, of Legislative Decree No. 228/2001, extended to local taxes by Article 78-bis, paragraph 2, of Decree-Law No. 104/2020), not to the other partners. A partner who is only a coltivatore diretto confers their status on the partnership for indirect tax and credit purposes (Article 2, paragraph 4-bis, of Legislative Decree No. 99/2004), but not for IMU, which requires an IAP partner. We frequently deal with these situations at our Codigoro office.

In practice

• The balance of IMU for 2026 is due by 16 December, at the rates published by 28 October; the first instalment for 2027 is due by 16 June (paragraphs 762 and 767).
• The IMU return can only be filed electronically, by 30 June of the year following the change (paragraph 768-bis, introduced by Legislative Decree No. 147/2026), using the form approved by the Ministerial Decree of 29 July 2022. In the return, the taxpayer attests that the requirements for the reliefs are met: acquiring or losing the status in 2026 must be reported by 30 June 2027.
• A farm business, including a società semplice, is entered in the special section of the Business Register (Article 2 of Legislative Decree No. 228/2001); enrolment with INPS is requested through ComUnica (the single electronic filing with the Business Register) within 90 days of the start of the activity or of meeting the requirements.
• For building land, the Municipality may be asked for a certificate stating whether the land is building land (point (d) of paragraph 741), supported by evidence that it is farmed.
• The IAP certificate, proof of INPS enrolment, lease agreements, cadastral extracts and payment receipts should be kept until the time limit for assessment has expired.

Frequently asked questions

Is my land in Mesola exempt because the Po Delta is a less-favoured area?

No. The territorial exemption under point (d) of paragraph 758 applies only to the mountain or hill municipalities listed in Circular No. 9/1993, which include no municipality in the province of Ferrara. Being in a less-favoured area reduces the IAP requirements, not IMU.

I am an IAP, but the land is also registered in my sister’s name: do I pay anything?

If you farm the land, your share is exempt; your sister pays tax on her own share, calculated on the reddito dominicale revalued and multiplied by 135. If the land is building land and you farm it, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance your sister pays tax on the cadastral value and not on the market value.

Must an agricultural società semplice opt for cadastral taxation?

No. A società semplice already earns income from land (reddito fondiario); the option under paragraph 1093 is intended for commercial partnerships and srl qualifying as a società agricola, which would otherwise determine business income on the basis of their accounts.

Sources

Articles 1 and 2 of Legislative Decree No. 99 of 29 March 2004 (as in force on 21 October 2026).

Article 1, paragraphs 1093 and 1095, of Law No. 296 of 27 December 2006 (in force until 31 December 2026; from 1 January 2027, Article 287 of the Consolidated Act approved by Legislative Decree No. 117 of 19 June 2026); Ministerial Decree No. 213 of 27 September 2007; Presidential Decree No. 442 of 10 November 1997.

Articles 27, 28, 32, 33 and 34 of Presidential Decree No. 917 of 22 December 1986; Article 34 of Presidential Decree No. 633 of 26 October 1972 (with effect from 1 January 2027, incorporated into the Consolidated Acts approved by Legislative Decree No. 117 of 19 June 2026 and Legislative Decree No. 10 of 19 January 2026).

Article 1, paragraph 44, of Law No. 232 of 11 December 2016, as last amended by Law No. 199 of 30 December 2025.

Articles 8, paragraph 1, and 9, paragraph 9, of Legislative Decree No. 23 of 14 March 2011.

Article 1, paragraphs 741, 743, 746, 752, 757, 758, 762, 767 and 768-bis, of Law No. 160 of 27 December 2019; Article 26 of Legislative Decree No. 147 of 7 August 2026.

Article 1, paragraph 705, of Law No. 145 of 30 December 2018; Article 78-bis, paragraphs 2 and 3, of Decree-Law No. 104 of 14 August 2020, converted into law by Law No. 126 of 13 October 2020; Articles 2 and 9, paragraph 1, of Legislative Decree No. 228 of 18 May 2001.

Ministry of Finance, Circular No. 9 of 14 June 1993 (Official Gazette No. 141 of 18 June 1993, Ordinary Supplement No. 53); Department of Finance, Circular No. 3/DF of 18 May 2012 and Resolution No. 2/DF of 10 March 2020.

Emilia-Romagna Region, information sheet “Imprenditore agricolo professionale” and Regional Executive resolutions No. 752 of 29 May 2006 and No. 1211 of 13 July 2026 (Official Bulletin of the Emilia-Romagna Region No. 215 of 6 August 2026); INPS, information sheet “Iscrizione Gestione agricoli autonomi”.