Christmas bonus, new rules and enlarged scope: here are the Inland Revenue's clarifications

The new indications for obtaining the 'Christmas Bonus', the allowance reserved for employees with incomes up to €28,000 envisaged for this year by the Omnibus Decree, are ready. Following the changes introduced by Dl 167/2024 (Official Gazette of 14 November 2024), the Agenzia delle Entrate illustrates, in its circular no. 22/E of today 19 November, the renewed perimeter of the allowance: in particular, without prejudice to the other conditions (income limit and tax capacity), employers will be able to recognise the bonus to workers with at least one dependent child regardless of whether they are married, separated, divorced, single-parent or cohabiting (pursuant to Law No. 76 of 2016). The norma provides, however, that the bonus is not available to a married or cohabiting employee whose spouse, who is not legally and effectively separated, or cohabiting is a beneficiary of the same allowance.

Before the changes introduced by Law Decree No 167, one of the conditions for accessing the benefit was to have both a spouse, not legally and effectively separated, and at least one dependent child for tax purposes or, alternatively, to be part of a so-called single-parent household (e.g. a child recognised or adopted by a single parent). Now, however, the 'family requirement' is deemed to be satisfied with the mere presence of a dependent child. The circular - recalling Article 12, paragraph 2 of the Tuir - recalls that children up to 24 years of age with a total income up to 4,000 euro gross of deductible expenses are considered fiscally dependent (children over 24 years of age, on the other hand, are considered fiscally dependent if they have an income not exceeding 2,840.51 euro). An important clarification concerns the impossibility of cumulating the bonus: if both spouses, not legally and effectively separated, or both cohabitees (pursuant to Law No. 76 of 2016) are employees, in compliance with the other requirements, only one of them will be entitled to the contribution.

Therefore, the other two requirements remain unchanged: having a total income in 2024 of no more than EUR 28,000 and having a gross tax liability greater than the employee deduction. In order to obtain the bonus, the employee is required to communicate - by means of self-certification - that he or she meets the income and family requirements laid down by the rule and to declare that the spouse, not legally and effectively separated, or cohabiting partner, is not a beneficiary of the same allowance. Today's circular specifies that employees who have already applied to the withholding agent do not have to submit a new self-certification, except in the case where, in compliance with the new rules, it is necessary to communicate the tax code of the cohabitee, and declare that the latter is not a beneficiary of the bonus. The tax withholding agent will recognise the contribution together with the next 13th month's salary, generally arriving with the December pay slip; in any case, a worker who is entitled to the bonus but does not receive it may 'recover' it with the tax return for the 2024 tax year, to be filed in 2025.