Company Formation in Italy
Last updated: 2026-04
Last updated: April 2026.
Italy is the EU's third-largest economy and the workhorse entry vehicle is the S.r.l. — short for società a responsabilità limitata. Minimum share capital is €10,000 for the ordinary form, or €1 for the simplified S.r.l.s. available only to natural persons. Standard corporate tax is IRES at 24% plus IRAP at 3.9% — a combined headline rate near 27.9% on productive income. Every incorporation goes through a notaio and is filed with the Registro delle Imprese at the local Camera di Commercio via the unified ComUnica portal. End-to-end timing is 3 to 5 weeks from clean KYC to an operating company.
We form Italian S.r.l., S.r.l.s. and S.p.A. companies end to end: codice fiscale for foreign founders, name reservation, notarial deed coordination, capital deposit, Registro delle Imprese filing, partita IVA activation, INPS and INAIL enrolment, Titolari Effettivi declaration, Sistema di Interscambio setup, and a business bank account introduction. Fixed price. Italian-speaking manager. Notary and Camera di Commercio fees built in.
| Quick facts | Value |
|---|---|
| IRES (corporate income tax) | 24% |
| IRAP (regional production tax) | 3.9% standard (banks 4.65%; insurers 5.90%) |
| VAT (IVA) | 22% standard / 10% / 5% / 4% reduced |
| VAT registration threshold (resident) | €85,000 turnover |
| VAT registration threshold (non-resident) | None — register before first taxable supply |
| Minimum share capital (S.r.l.) | €10,000 (min 25% paid up; 100% if single shareholder) |
| Minimum share capital (S.r.l.s.) | €1 (natural persons only) |
| Minimum share capital (S.p.A.) | €50,000 (25% paid up at incorporation) |
| Minimum directors / shareholders | 1 amministratore, 1 socio (non-resident permitted) |
| Residency requirement | None; all founders need a codice fiscale |
| Standard formation time | 3–5 weeks end to end |
| Government fees | Included in our packages |
| Language of filings | Italian (sworn translation required for foreign documents) |
| Currency | Euro (EUR) |
Why Form a Company in Italy
Italy is the third economy in the eurozone and the second industrial producer in the EU after Germany. It gets treated, wrongly, as synonymous with red tape. The ComUnica reform closed that gap. Three reasons foreign founders pick it.
A real single point of filing. ComUnica is the unified online portal that a notary uses to file an incorporation with the Registro delle Imprese, the Agenzia delle Entrate, INPS, and INAIL in one electronic transaction. The Visura Camerale — the company's Chamber of Commerce certificate — typically arrives within 3 to 5 working days of the notary signing the deed. Partita IVA (the VAT number) and codice fiscale aziendale (the corporate tax ID) are issued at the same moment. This is faster than many public narratives about Italian bureaucracy suggest.
Deep industrial and supplier base. If your business touches fashion, food, pharmaceuticals, luxury goods, precision mechanics, or industrial automation, Italy is where the supplier and customer networks live. An Italian legal entity is often the prerequisite for commercial contracts with the large northern-Italian manufacturing groups and the cooperative retail chains. An operational Italian presence also unlocks access to regional and EU structural funds, some of which are conditional on a registered Italian beneficiary.
Tax incentives that are genuinely useful. The 2026 Budget Law reintroduces hyper-depreciation for qualifying Industry 4.0 and 5.0 capital investments — 180% uplift on the first €2.5 million of eligible spend, 100% from €2.5 to €10 million, and 50% above that, for investments made from 1 January 2026 through 30 September 2028. R&D credits remain at 20% of eligible costs up to €4 million per year. The Patent Box replacement regime gives a 110% super-deduction on qualifying R&D costs linked to IP assets.
The trade-offs are real. Every formation needs a notary — no DIY online registration exists, unlike the UK Companies House route or Poland's S24 system. All filings are in Italian and foreign corporate documents need sworn translation by a traduttore giurato. The Sistema di Interscambio e-invoicing rules add software compliance, and from 1 September 2026 receipt of e-invoices is mandatory for every Italian VAT-registered business.
Company Types Available in Italy
Italian corporate law under the Codice Civile recognises several forms. For most cf24 clients, the S.r.l. is the right answer.
S.r.l. — Società a Responsabilità Limitata
The Italian private limited company. Minimum share capital is €10,000 with at least 25% paid up before registration — the full amount must be paid up if there is only one shareholder. Shares (quote) are not freely transferable: transfers to third parties require notarised deeds. One director (amministratore unico) and one shareholder suffice, both can be non-residents, both can be the same person. Annual accounts go to the Registro delle Imprese; the corporate tax return (Modello Redditi SC) goes to the Agenzia delle Entrate. Audit is required above thresholds — revenue above €4 million, balance sheet above €2 million, 20+ employees (two of three).
S.r.l. with Reduced Capital
Variant of the ordinary S.r.l. that can be formed with share capital between €1 and €9,999, fully paid up in cash. The full €10,000 target must be built over time — 20% of annual profit is allocated to a legal reserve until capital plus reserve reaches €10,000. Uses standard notarial deed. Common choice when founders want the governance flexibility of the ordinary S.r.l. without the upfront €10k deposit.
S.r.l.s. — Società a Responsabilità Limitata Semplificata
The simplified S.r.l. Minimum share capital is €1, paid fully in cash. Available only to natural persons. Uses a fixed statutory template (Decreto MEF 138/2012) that cannot be amended — no custom share classes, no tailored transfer restrictions. Notary still signs the deed but cannot charge a fee. Best fit for solo founders and micro-businesses testing an idea. Many S.r.l.s. companies convert to ordinary S.r.l. once they bring in a second investor or a corporate shareholder.
S.p.A. — Società per Azioni
The Italian joint-stock company. Minimum capital €50,000, with 25% paid at incorporation — €12,500 on day one. Mandatory for listed companies, banks, insurers, and regulated asset managers. Shares are freely transferable and can be registered (nominative) or, in limited cases, bearer. Governance is either a traditional model (board plus collegio sindacale statutory auditors), a one-tier model, or a two-tier model with a management board and supervisory board.
S.n.c. and S.a.s.
Società in nome collettivo (general partnership) and società in accomandita semplice (limited partnership). No minimum capital. Partners in an S.n.c. have unlimited personal liability. In an S.a.s., general partners (accomandatari) have unlimited liability and limited partners (accomandanti) are capped at their contribution. Small-business and professional use cases.
Sede Secondaria — Branch
A foreign company's Italian branch. Not a separate legal entity — the parent's liability and balance sheet extend to the branch. Registered with the Registro delle Imprese through a notary who attests to the parent's apostilled corporate documents and translated articles. Useful when a foreign group wants Italian presence without a separate subsidiary.
If your timeline is urgent and you need an existing Italian entity rather than a fresh notarial deed, our sister brand offers pre-incorporated Italian S.r.l. companies that are transferable in days rather than weeks.
| Form | Min capital | Liability | Tax | Common use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S.r.l. | €10,000 | Limited | IRES 24% + IRAP 3.9% | Default — SMEs, foreign subsidiaries |
| S.r.l. reduced | €1–€9,999 | Limited | IRES 24% + IRAP 3.9% | Cash-light SRL, builds reserve to €10k |
| S.r.l.s. | €1 | Limited | IRES 24% + IRAP 3.9% | Natural persons only, micro-businesses |
| S.p.A. | €50,000 | Limited | IRES 24% + IRAP 3.9% | Listed, banks, insurers |
| S.n.c. / S.a.s. | None | Personal / mixed | IRPEF on partners | Small partnerships, professionals |
| Sede secondaria | None | Parent's | IRES on IT-source income | Foreign group presence |
Step-by-Step Formation Process
A typical ordinary S.r.l. formation follows these steps.
- Codice fiscale for non-resident founders. Every shareholder, director and UBO who is not already Italian-tax-registered needs an Italian tax code. We obtain it through the nearest Italian consulate or directly at the Agenzia delle Entrate under power of attorney. Budget 1 to 2 weeks for consular routes; faster if founders are physically in Italy.
- Name reservation and pre-filing checks. We confirm the proposed corporate name is available at the Registro delle Imprese, check for conflicts with trademark filings, and draft the oggetto sociale — the statutory business object — using the ATECO 2025 classification codes. Italian names must carry the form suffix (S.r.l., S.r.l.s., S.p.A.).
- Capital deposit. The share capital is paid into a dedicated conto vincolato at an Italian bank, which issues a certificate of deposit (certificazione di versamento) addressed to the notary. For a single-shareholder S.r.l. the full €10,000 must be paid. For multi-shareholder S.r.l., 25% is sufficient at incorporation.
- Atto costitutivo at the notary. The founders — or their proxies acting under apostilled power of attorney — sign the incorporation deed before an Italian notaio. The notary verifies identities, reads the deed aloud, attaches the capital certificate and the bylaws (statuto), and stamps the instrument. The atto costitutivo is constitutive of the company under Italian law.
- ComUnica filing. The notary files the deed electronically through ComUnica. One submission reaches the Registro delle Imprese at the local Camera di Commercio (for corporate registration), the Agenzia delle Entrate (for partita IVA and codice fiscale aziendale), INPS (social security) and INAIL (worker-accident insurance). The Visura Camerale — the company's certificate of registration — is usually issued within 3 to 5 working days.
- Post-incorporation registrations. We declare beneficial owners at the Registro dei Titolari Effettivi (held at Infocamere), set up access to the Sistema di Interscambio (SdI) for e-invoicing, open the final operating bank account, elect the accounting regime, and register any trademarks or domain names in the new company's name.
End-to-end timeline from clean KYC is typically 3 to 5 weeks. The notarial deed itself is signed on a single day. The Camera di Commercio registration lands within days. The bank account opening takes the longest, particularly for non-resident-controlled S.r.l.s., and can extend to 4 to 6 weeks with some Italian banks.
Required Documents
For each shareholder, director, and beneficial owner:
- Passport or EU national ID (notarised copy for non-resident founders signing by proxy)
- Italian codice fiscale — we obtain this if absent
- Proof of residential address dated within three months
- Anti-money-laundering questionnaire and UBO declaration under Legislative Decree 231/2007
- Sworn Italian translation of all foreign-language personal documents
For corporate shareholders:
- Apostilled certificate of incorporation
- Apostilled articles of association
- Apostilled register of directors or certificate of good standing
- UBO chain declaration identifying the ultimate natural-person beneficial owner
- Sworn Italian translation of every document above (via traduttore giurato)
You also confirm the proposed corporate name, the registered office address (we provide one in Milan or Rome if you do not have your own Italian address), the share capital allocation, the ATECO codes describing business activities, and the governance structure (amministratore unico or board).
Costs and Timeline
Italian formation costs are driven by two factors — the notarial deed (mandatory for every form except the S.r.l.s. template, where the notary cannot charge a fee) and sworn translations of foreign corporate documents. There is no self-service online filing equivalent to the UK's Companies House web form.
Our packages cover full incorporation through a partnered notary in Milan, Rome or Turin, all Camera di Commercio filing, the annual diritto camerale for year one, partita IVA activation, codice fiscale for non-resident founders, registered office for year one, SdI e-invoicing portal setup, Titolari Effettivi declaration, sworn translation of foreign corporate documents, and a business bank account introduction. Contact us for a fixed-price quote — there are no hourly invoices and no extras billed after the fact.
Typical timeline from KYC clearance:
| Week | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 0 | Engagement, KYC submitted |
| 1 | Codice fiscale issued for non-resident founders; articles drafted |
| 2 | Capital deposit; sworn translations completed; notary appointment confirmed |
| 3 | Atto costitutivo signed before the notaio; ComUnica filing same day |
| 3–4 | Visura Camerale issued, partita IVA and codice fiscale aziendale active |
| 4–5 | Bank account operational, SdI e-invoicing configured, Titolari Effettivi filed |
Tax Overview for Italian Companies
Italian corporate taxation layers a national and a regional tax on every company.
IRES — Imposta sul Reddito delle Società: 24%. The federal corporate income tax. Applies to all resident companies on worldwide income. Italian-incorporated companies are resident by default. Under the 2026 Budget Law, the 95% dividend exemption available to IRES taxpayers now requires a minimum 10% participation in the distributing company — a tightening from the previous rules.
IRAP — Imposta Regionale sulle Attività Produttive: 3.9% standard. The regional production tax on the valore della produzione netta — broadly, operating profit before interest, bad debts and most labour costs. Banks and financial intermediaries pay 4.65%; insurers pay 5.90%. Regions can vary the rate by up to 0.92 percentage points. Labour costs are largely deducted under the post-2015 bonus IRAP, but the tax still hits profitable operating companies.
Combined effective rate on ordinary trading profit runs around 27.9% — 24% IRES plus 3.9% IRAP — before incentives.
VAT — Imposta sul Valore Aggiunto: 22% standard. Reduced rates are 10% for hospitality and some medical supplies, 5% for certain social services, and 4% for basic foodstuffs, books and newspapers. The domestic registration threshold is €85,000 for resident individuals under the forfettario regime; companies generally register from the first taxable supply. Non-residents have no threshold — register before the first taxable transaction.
Sistema di Interscambio (SdI). Italy operates the EU's most mature mandatory B2B e-invoicing system. Every domestic invoice flows through the national SdI platform in FatturaPA XML format. From 1 September 2026 receipt of e-invoices becomes mandatory for every taxpayer; micro-businesses with revenue below €25,000 are in scope from 1 September 2027. EU Decision 2024/3150 authorises Italy to continue SdI through the end of 2027.
Withholding tax on dividends to non-residents is 26%, reduced to 1.20% on dividends paid to EU or EEA-resident companies meeting the participation thresholds, and to 0% under the Parent-Subsidiary Directive (≥10% holding held for at least one year). Reimbursement of up to 11/26 of the 26% withheld is available to foreign corporate recipients who prove actual taxation of the dividend in their home country. Interest to non-residents is 26% (0% under the EU Interest-Royalties Directive for qualifying EU parents, reduced under double-tax treaties). Royalties carry a 30% withholding on 75% of the gross amount — an effective 22.5% — reducible to 0% under the EU directive or under DTAs.
Incentives. The 2026 Budget Law reintroduces hyper-depreciation — 180% on the first €2.5 million, 100% up to €10 million, and 50% up to €20 million — for Industry 4.0 and 5.0 capital investments made between 1 January 2026 and 30 September 2028. The R&D tax credit remains at 20% of qualifying costs, capped at €4 million per year. The patent-box regime (Patent Box nuova) gives a 110% super-deduction on qualifying R&D expenditure linked to IP assets — software, patents, designs.
Banking for Italian Companies
Italian business banking is dominated by two domestic giants, with several mid-tier options and a growing share for EU-licensed EMIs. Italy has the largest banking system in southern Europe and one of the most consolidated in the eurozone.
Intesa Sanpaolo is Italy's largest bank and the default corporate choice. Complete product suite across cash management, FX, trade finance, and lending. Strong English-language corporate desk in Milan and Turin. Onboarding for non-resident-controlled S.r.l.s. is available but typically requires a director to attend a branch in person and provide an Italian-resident accountant as tax representative for ongoing correspondence.
UniCredit is the second-largest Italian bank and the most pan-European. The Imprendo Start business account targets small companies and professionals at a flat monthly fee and includes a multi-currency debit card. UniCredit accepts non-resident directors with standard KYC documentation and is often the faster of the two majors for foreign-owned Italian subsidiaries.
BPER Banca, strengthened by its recent absorption of the Carige and UBI networks, is the strongest mid-tier corporate option in central and northern Italy. Banco BPM focuses on SMEs and retail; useful where shareholders have Italian-resident ties. Crédit Agricole Italia, part of the French parent, is comfortable with foreign EU corporate shareholders and offers integrated treasury services across Italy and France.
Wise Business and Revolut Business are the leading EMI alternatives — both hold EU e-money licences and issue Italian IBANs. Fully remote onboarding, SEPA and SWIFT payments, multi-currency balances. Qonto, the French business-banking fintech, is active in Italy and popular with digital-first founders. EMIs are suitable for cross-border trading, SaaS, and consulting businesses without heavy domestic payment volumes; for direct-debit payments of Italian taxes (F24 module) and INPS contributions, most operating Italian companies still pair an EMI with a domestic bank account.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to form a company in Italy?
Through a notaio filing via ComUnica, the Camera di Commercio registration lands within 3 to 5 working days of the atto costitutivo. Including codice fiscale for non-resident founders, capital deposit, sworn translations and the bank account opening, our typical end-to-end timeline is 3 to 5 weeks from first contact to a fully operational S.r.l.
What is the minimum share capital for an Italian S.r.l.?
The ordinary S.r.l. requires €10,000 of share capital — at least 25% paid up at incorporation, or 100% if the company has a single shareholder. A capital-reduced S.r.l. can be formed with €1 to €9,999 fully paid. The S.r.l.s. simplified form requires only €1 and is available exclusively to natural persons. S.p.A. companies need €50,000.
What is the corporate tax rate in Italy?
Italian companies pay IRES at 24% and IRAP at 3.9% on productive income — a combined headline rate around 27.9%. Banks and financial intermediaries pay IRAP at 4.65%; insurers pay 5.90%. The 2026 Budget Law tightened the 95% dividend exemption — IRES taxpayers now need a 10% minimum holding in the distributing company to access it.
Can a foreigner form an Italian company?
Yes. Italian company law imposes no residency, citizenship, or work-permit requirement on shareholders or directors of an S.r.l. A non-resident foreigner can own 100% of the shares and act as sole amministratore. All founders need an Italian codice fiscale (tax code) — we obtain this through the consulate or directly at the Agenzia delle Entrate under power of attorney.
Do I need to travel to Italy to sign the notarial deed?
No. The atto costitutivo can be signed by an Italian-resident proxy under an apostilled power of attorney. The POA is executed before a notary in the founder's home country, apostilled under the 1961 Hague Convention, and sworn-translated into Italian. Our partnered Italian notaio then signs the deed with the proxy. Physical presence is not required.
What is the difference between S.r.l. and S.r.l.s.?
The ordinary S.r.l. requires €10,000 minimum capital and allows custom articles — tailored share classes, transfer restrictions, dividend preferences, governance rules. The simplified S.r.l.s. requires only €1 of capital but is available only to natural persons and must use a fixed statutory template that cannot be amended. Many founders start as S.r.l.s. and convert to ordinary S.r.l. once they bring in corporate or foreign investors.
What is a partita IVA?
Partita IVA is the Italian VAT number issued by the Agenzia delle Entrate. Every company that performs taxable supplies needs one. It is assigned automatically as part of the ComUnica filing at incorporation — no separate application is needed. Non-resident businesses without an Italian entity can also register for partita IVA directly before making any taxable supply in Italy.
Get Started — Form Your Italian Company
A fixed-price quote in 60 seconds. Notarial deed coordinated in Milan, Rome or Turin. Camera di Commercio filing within days of signing. Codice fiscale for foreign founders, sworn translations, and SdI e-invoicing setup all included. Most Italian formations are complete and operating with a bank account within 3 to 5 weeks.
Call +48 2222 5 2222 or email [email protected] to start.
Content prepared by Julia Thompson, Corporate Client Service Specialist. Approved by Tomasz Bielski, Managing Director.
Looking for a faster route? Our sister brand offers pre-incorporated Italian S.r.l. — pre-incorporated and transferable in days.