Scholarships for ITS students: from 2025, they will be exempt from IRPEF
As they do not generate income equivalent to that of an employee, they do not need to be declared on tax return forms
Key points
The scholarships received by students enrolled on courses at Higher Technical Institutes (ITS) are not subject to personal income tax (IRPEF), nor do they need to be declared in tax returns from the 2025 tax year onwards. This has been confirmed by the Italian Revenue Agency in an FAQ published on its website on 30 July 2026. The Agency has confirmed that, for the 2025 tax year, exempt income does indeed include scholarships awarded by the State, the regions, the ITS Academy foundations and other public bodies for attendance at training courses at Higher Technical Institutes. In the absence of a specific exemption, scholarships are generally treated as income equivalent to that from employment, as provided for in Article 50(1)(c) of the Consolidated Income Tax Act (Tuir).
The Revenue Agency’s position
As the Italian Revenue Agency points out, the law establishing the Its Academy (Law 99/2022) stipulated that charitable donations in cash received by the foundations themselves should be allocated, as a priority, towards contributing to the costs of student accommodation and supporting the right to education. This also includes scholarships for training programmes in which – as stated in Article 5, paragraph 4, letter a) of the Act – ‘each semester comprises hours of theoretical, practical and laboratory work’. Specifically, at least 60 per cent of the teaching hours must be delivered by lecturers from the world of work. Work placements and training internships are compulsory for at least 35 per cent of the total number of hours; they may also be undertaken abroad and are ‘adequately supported by grants’.
The Agency also points out that Article 10 of Decree-Law 45/2025 (converted by Law 79/2025) introduces a new paragraph, 9 bis, into Article 4 of Law 99/2022. This paragraph stipulates, in this regard, that ‘with effect from the 2025 tax year, sums paid by way of scholarships awarded by the State, by the regions, by the ITS Academy foundations and by other public bodies to students enrolled on the training courses referred to in Article 5, paragraph 1, including the scholarships referred to in Article 5, paragraph 4, letter a)’. From 2025 onwards, therefore, the Revenue Agency explains, scholarships will not constitute income treated as employment income and, consequently, do not even need to be declared in the tax return forms, namely the Form 730 and the personal income tax return.
