How to Set up as an Independent Contractor in Italy

[santop]

Hi Chloe! This is very good article, thank you!

I actually set up ditta individuale to get payed as a consultant. I just got my first payment on Deel, but now I am trying to figure out how to file fatture elettroniche to get the money.

Do you have some experience with that you could share? I did it before for another agency, but with Deel I don't understand if I should invoice Deel directly (because money will be arriving from them), or I should invoice the original company (but it is registered in another country and they'd expect money to come from abroad too I think? or not?). I am totally confused, and tax advisors cannot help, because they don't know how Deel operates exactly.

This post was originally posted in this article - @CassyL  

[CassyL]

Hi @santop, 

Thanks so much for sharing your question on filing fatture elettroniche. We're so sorry to hear that doing so has been a confusing experience, and we certainly want to help clarify. I'm currently working with my team to get some more details on this process in Italy, so I'll share my findings and report back here when I do. 

Thanks again for chiming in, and being a part of the Deel Community, 
-Cassy 

[santop]

That's be awesome, thanks, Cassy!

- Sergey

[CassyL]

Hi Sergey @santop, 

Thanks for your patience while I looked into this more! While it's always best to properly consult tax advisors, I understand if they might need context on Deel. Since 2019, Contractors or Sole Traders in Italy have to issue an e-invoice electronical for B2B in Italy, and submit at the Tax Authority through SDI (Sistema di Interscambio). In scenarios where a service agreement is signed between a Contractor and their employer, and Deel Inc. is a gateway of payment responsible to process the payment, the contractor should also issue an e-invoice directly to the employer (even when the payment was processed by Deel Inc.). 

For the following details, please consult Article 21 of the Presidential Decree N. 633/1972 (Consolidated VAT Act) as an additional reference:
According to Article 21 of the Presidential Decree N. 633/1972 (Consolidated VAT Act), the invoice must be issued to the subject to whom the transfer of goods or the provision of services is addressed.

Per the Paragraph 2, letters E) and F): the invoice must contain "company, name or company name, name and surname, residence or domicile of the transferee or client ..." as well as their "VAT number" or, if the subject does not act in the exercise of a business, art or profession, the "tax code". The invoice must therefore be made out to the person who used the service, noting who actually incurred the expense.

It is advisable to keep evidence of the identity and reasons for which the person made the payment in the place of the person who used the service; this documentation would prove useful in the event of discussions with the tax authorities in the event of a tax audit.

Hopefully this information points you in the right direction, and provides additional details for you. Thanks again for sharing this on the Deel Community, as I'm sure many others have similar questions from their experiences as well. 

Cheers, 
-Cassy 

[santop]

Hi Cassy!

Thank you for your research into this and the response. I appreciate it a lot, and you helped me avoid additional costs on additional tax consultant. I talked with my CAF and we discussed your message, looked into the laws, and everything became clear. I already filed the first invoice and received my first payment through Deel. If you want to write about this and provide more examples for other people, I can give you a template of fattura I used. Of course, Italian tax system is complicated, and for another person this may not work, but it might point them in the right direction. (Hit me at *admin redacted if this is something you're interested in.)

Thanks again! Cheers,

Sergey

[CassyL]

Hi Sergey @santop, 

I'm so glad to hear that the above information was helpful, and that it was able to provide some additional clarity for you! I also appreciate your willingness to share a template for others to use; if we do create any content on this for more people to access, we'll reach out via DM to get more information. In the mean time, I redacted your email address. For our Community members' security, it's recommended to not share private details, including account information, personal emails, phone numbers, etc. While there are areas of our Community that are for member access only, the Community is a public platform where others can search questions and learn about Deel. 

Please don't hesitate to let us know if you have any questions, 
-Cassy