Taxation and company cars: from optional extras to reassignments, here’s how the tax rules are changing

Taxation increased by 50% compared to the value determined for previous years after five years’ use of the same vehicle, with a view to renewing the vehicle fleet. A flat-rate increase of 5% to resolve the complications involved in calculating the value of optional extras not included in the ACI tables and not purchased directly by the employee. Reassignment is permitted without changing the taxation rules. The application of the standard value (which is more penalising), currently applicable if a car ordered in 2024 was assigned to the employee after 1 July 2025, is discontinued. These are some of the most important points of the changes to the taxation of company cars as fringe benefits included in the draft Omnibus Decree, which amends certain measures contained in the previous implementing decrees of the tax delegation law, approved in preliminary form by the Council of Ministers on Wednesday 10 June.

“The measure puts a definitive end to the interpretative uncertainties that had built up over time. The aim is to ensure clarity in its application for both businesses and workers,” explains Deputy Minister for the Economy Maurizio Leo.

The draft Omnibus Decree, which must now be examined by parliamentary committees for their opinions before returning to the Council of Ministers, also includes a provision to prevent IRAP penalties on third-sector organisations (as reported by *Il Sole 24 Ore* on 12 May). ‘Through the provision contained in the legislative decree,’ Leo emphasises, ‘it is clarified that, for IRAP purposes only, organisations will have to pay the tax under the previous rules,’ with regard to the entry into force of the new Third Sector Code. “In this way,” the Deputy Minister continues, “we avoid imposing heavy burdens on them that could have compromised the activities and ability of these organisations to operate in the service of the community.”

A measure is also being introduced in line with the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. In practice, the measure aims to allow Italian companies to utilise the final tax losses of companies resident in the European Union or the European Economic Area. “Italia is establishing a tax framework,” Leo adds, “that is increasingly in line with international rules, thereby ensuring legal certainty for businesses wishing to invest in Italy.”

The amendments to the Omnibus Decree also affect inheritance and gift tax. Interest on the additional tax due begins to accrue 90 days after the deadline for submitting the return has passed.