100 euro Christmas bonus: from taxes to beneficiaries, what you need to know

News on the way for workers with incomes of up to EUR 28,000, for whom the EUR 100 net bonus is destined, initially intended for the thirteenth month but then postponed to January due to funding problems. Now the good performance of the accounts has changed the situation. The Irpef-Ires legislative decree containing it will enter into force on 1 January, 'but we have managed to bring forward the Befana bonus to December 2024 thanks to the fact that revenues are going well,' announced Economy Deputy Minister Maurizio Leo, speaking at Special Telefisco of the Sole24ore. The 'Befana bonus' has thus become the 'Christmas bonus'.

Leo also opened up to the possibility of more money coming into the pay envelope, compared to the approximately 80 that would be left if taxes were also calculated. Thanks to this income, in fact, 'we aim for a bonus of 100 euro net without taxation,' he explained. The bonus will take shape through a government amendment to the omnibus decree, which should arrive in the next few hours. The Senate's Budget and Finance Committees are expected to begin voting on the amendments on Monday 23 September, with the aim of bringing the text to the Chamber by next week.

The Christmas bonus is reserved for low-income families: employees with children and incomes between EUR 8,500 and EUR 28,000 per year. The estimated cost is EUR 100 million. The target group is approximately one million recipients. 'We are aiming for a bonus of 100 euro net without taxation,' Leo explained.

The support is included in the Ires-Irpef legislative decree that was given the green light by the Council of Ministers on 30 April. The measure has not yet reached parliament for opinions. The executive aims to remove the rule providing for the bonus from this legislative decree and to include the solution in the omnibus decree-law (Decree-Law 113 of 2024), which is being examined by the Senate Finance and Budget Committees.

As for reducing the tax burden,' Leo continued, 'we know that taxpayers with an income between 28 and 50 thousand euro today have a tax rate of 35 per cent. The objective, if, as I repeat, the resources are found, is to raise it to 33 per cent, maybe push it a little further for those in the third bracket, that of 43 per cent, and raise it up to 60 thousand euro, then take 10 thousand of the third bracket and place them on 33 per cent. But all with the prudence of the case, it is all to be seen on the basis of the resources that will be found'.