Bonus for mothers with 2, 3 or more children: how it works for employees, self-employed and temporary workers

With the entry into force of Decree Law No. 95 of 30 June 2025, the so-called 'bonus mamme', i.e. the incentive for working mothers with at least two children, changes its skin. Let us see in detail all the novelties.

As will be recalled, the 'mothers' bonus' was introduced with the 2024 manoeuvre. For permanent female employees who were mothers of three or more children (excluding domestic work), a total exemption (of 100 per cent) was recognised until the month in which the youngest child turned eighteen, up to a maximum annual limit of €3,000 (prorated on a monthly basis). This total exemption was recognised for the pay periods from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2026. The same legislation, on an experimental basis, i.e. only for the pay periods from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024, provided that this total exemption would also apply to working mothers of two children until the month in which the youngest child turns ten. In 2024, according to the technical report to the 2024 manoeuvre, this incentive affected a total of about 570,000 women with at least two children, for an expenditure of 500 million.

What has happened since January 2025? That the 2025 manoeuvre intervened on this legislation and, by widening the scope to include not only employed mothers, transformed the measure into a partial exemption of the worker's share of social security contributions (up to an expenditure limit of €300 million per year) for female workers, mothers of two or more children, employees (excluding domestic work relationships) and self-employed workers who receive at least one of self-employment income, business income in ordinary accounting, business income in simplified accounting or income from participation and who have not opted for the flat-rate regime. This contribution exemption is granted until the month in which the youngest child turns 10 years old. From 2027 for mothers of three or more children, the exemption from social security contributions is granted until the month in which the youngest child turns 18. The exemption is granted on condition that the salary or taxable income for social security purposes does not exceed EUR 40,000 on an annual basis. Within thirty days from the entry into force of the manoeuvre, a decree was to be issued by the Ministry of Labour and Finance to establish the extent of the exemption from contributions and the modalities for its recognition.

In this (already very complex) regulatory framework, Decree Law 95 of 2025 intervened. In January 2025, employed mothers with at least three children continued to receive the exemption in their pay packets (because the measure is three years), those with two (for whom the measure was provisionally envisaged for only one year) no longer (pending the ministerial decree with the new rules). Precisely in order to remedy this 'missing' regulatory connection, the Minister of Labour, Marina Calderone, revised the measure again with the aforementioned Decree-Law 95. More precisely, the new measure provides for the recognition of a sum equal to 40 euro per month for each month or fraction of a contract of employment or self-employment, in favour of female employees or self-employed workers who have an income of less than 40,000 euro per year and are mothers of 2 or more children, until the youngest one reaches the age of 10. This rule is only valid for 2025 and in practice means, for mothers with two children, whether employed, self-employed or precarious, to have a one-off (completely tax-free) payment of EUR 480 in December.

Also this year, working mothers with at least three children, if they are permanent employees, are continuing to receive the full contribution exemption in their pay envelope, as they did in 2024. So nothing is changing for them. What does change, however, is for working mothers with at least three children on fixed-term contracts or on a self-employed basis (including those enrolled in the separate management scheme) who, by virtue of the new regulations, will receive a one-off payment of €480 in December (if they meet the requirements of Decree Law 95).