730, already 13 million dispatches. 75% of Caf models in credit. Deadline 30 September

It's a race for 730 refunds. The push to obtain credit for deductible and deductible expenses is causing the number of forms sent to fly, which has already exceeded 13 million since the transmission channel was opened on 20 May. Nearly 10 million of the 730s already transmitted to the Inland Revenue (i.e. over 76%) have gone through Cafes and qualified intermediaries. These are the data (updated to 3 July) provided by the Consulta dei Caf, which traces an initial trend of the declaration campaign.

In reality, the deadline for submission to the Agency is still far off: the deadline is, in fact, 30 September. But a conspicuous proportion of taxpayers have preferred to move ahead. If one considers that 23.8 million 730s were sent last year, it would mean that more than half of that group (indeed almost 55%) has already decided to file the 2024 tax return (relating to the 2023 tax year). After all, it is no news that for the taxpayers concerned (i.e. mainly pensioners and employees) the 730 refunds in their pay envelope or pension slip are a source of funding for the summer holidays. It is no coincidence that three out of four of those taxpayers who go through Cafes go for reimbursement, while the remainder pay the taxes due through payroll deductions. On the other hand, the share of those who use the Inland Revenue as a tax substitute remains substantially unchanged: 13.5 per cent of the audience under the lens of the Caf.

But at the same time, according to the Consulta's projections, the number of declarations sent by the September deadline could be higher than in the 2023 budget. Leading to this assumption is the expansion of the use of the 730 made with the implementation decrees of the tax reform. It should be remembered, in fact, that as of this year a series of indications that previously required the compilation of Personal Income will pass from the 730: data on the revaluation of land, capital income from foreign sources subject to substitute tax, received without the intervention of resident intermediaries; data on investments abroad and on foreign assets of a financial nature, so as to manage Ivie on real estate and Ivafe on financial assets and the tax on crypto-assets.

Also contributing to an increase in the number of 730s is another change contained in the decree on compliance at the beginning of the year (Legislative Decree 1/2024), which has made the use of the model accessible to all natural persons who do not have a VAT number, such as holders of only land income, who until last year were forced to submit income tax returns. According to Consulta's initial analyses, these factors have already led to a 3 per cent increase in the number of declarations submitted through tax assistance centres. "In 2023 we handled about 24 million income declarations and about 10 million Isee certificates," emphasises Consulta chairman Giovanni Angileri, "and we are confident that we will be able to confirm and exceed these numbers in 2024 because the role of the Cafes as intermediaries between citizens and institutions is recognised and valued by people.

Even the first 2024 data, as anticipated, confirm for now that the main channel for transmitting 730s remains that of tax assistance centres and qualified intermediaries. This is despite a growing trend of do-it-yourself submissions of the pre-filled form by taxpayers, which for the 730 alone exceeded 4.5 million in 2023.