100 euro Christmas bonus, allowances also for single-parent families and part-timers

The 'Christmas bonus' also applies to single-parent families and those with part-time contracts. These are the clarifications that emerge from the Revenue Agency's circular released a few days after the final approval of the omnibus decree that has become the regulatory container of the long-awaited support promised by the government, first as the 'bonus tredicesima', then as the 'bonus Befana' and finally as the 'bonus Natale'. In order to get the extra 100 euro in the pay packet, the employee will have to apply to the employer. All that is needed is a written self-certification specifying the income requirements to obtain the contribution and the tax code of the spouse and children who are tax dependent, or of the children alone in the case of a single-parent household.

The Agency recalls the three requirements for obtaining the bonus: having in 2024 a total income of no more than EUR 28,000; having both a spouse and (at least) a dependent child for tax purposes; and having 'tax capacity' (a gross income tax on employee income in excess of the employee deduction).

With regard to the second requirement, the document specifies that it is necessary to have a spouse, not legally and effectively separated, and at least one child (even if born out of wedlock) who is recognised, adopted or entrusted, both - spouse and child - with tax liability. The family circumstances are analysed in detail, both with regard to single-parent households and de facto couples, a point on which a long controversy broke out between the majority and the opposition during the parliamentary examination of the measure.

A single-parent household, the Agency explains, is one in which the other parent is deceased, in which the other parent has not recognised the child born out of wedlock, or in which the child has been adopted by only one parent, or has been entrusted or affiliated to only one parent who is the recipient of the bonus. "In the latter three cases, without prejudice to the existence of the other requirements laid down by the rule for the applicant, the bonus is due to the only parent who is not married or, if married, who is subsequently legally and effectively separated. In these cases, which are characterised by the presence of a single parent, it should also be noted that the situation of cohabitation more uxorio does not preclude, subject to the existence of the other requirements, the entitlement to the bonus".

The Agency explains to the employer that the allowance must be paid together with the 13th month's salary. The sums may be recovered in the form of a credit to be used in compensation. The amount will have to be adjusted according to the number of days worked, while it will not change according to the type of contract, whether fixed-term or open-ended, or the work schedule, e.g. in the case of part-time work.