Choosing Where Part of Your Tax Goes
The Italian tax return allows you to opt to allocate of your overall IRPEF liability to a variety of institutors. Note these are not “extra” taxes. You are simply telling the Italian Exchequer how to spend a percentage of the taxes you already owe.
These options are referred to as “otto/cinque/due per mille” – literally 8, 5, 2 per thousand. In other words you can nominate where 0.8%, 0.5% or 0.2% of your IRPEF tax should go.
Specifically the option are
8 x 1,000 (0.8%): Dedicated to religions or state social projects.
5 x 1,000 (0.5%): Dedicated to charities, research, or your local town’s social services.
2 x 1,000 (0.2%): Dedicated to political parties.
If you make no choice, the the 0.,8% and 0.5% (but not the 0.2%) will be allocated automatically by the Italian authorities on submission of your return to the various elegibile institutions on the basis of the average overall choices made by all Italian taxpayers.
The choice only applies to IRPEF tax, the national income tax. If you are (also) liable to substitute tax (e.g. on financial income, or rental income) the relevant allocation will not be made. The allocation also does not apply to Regional and Municipal additional taxes. See this post for more information on rates and types of applicable taxes. This means that if all of your income is liable to substitute tax then you cannot make the allocation – all of your tax goes to the National Exchequer.
The 8 x 1,000 Allocation
You can allocate 0.8 x1,000 of your IRPEF (Income Tax) as follows:
1. The Italian State *
2. One of the following recognized religious denominations:
- Catholic Church
- Italian Union of Seventh-day Adventist Christian Churches
- Assemblies of God in Italy
- Waldensian Evangelical Church (Union of Methodist and Waldensian Churches)
- Lutheran Evangelical Church in Italy
- Union of Italian Jewish Communities
- Sacred Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy and Exarchate for Southern Europe
- Apostolic Church in Italy
- Italian Baptist Evangelical Christian Union
- Italian Buddhist Union
- Italian Hindu Union
- Soka Gakkai Italian Buddhist Institute
- “Church of England” Association in Italy
* The IIalian State Option contains further sub options for allocation for specific “special interventions” of a social or humanitarian nature. The State option is the only one that allows you to be even more specific. Since 2014, when you sign for the State, you can also enter a specific category code to “earmark” your contribution for a particular cause.
If you choose the State, you can specify one of these six focus areas:
- World Hunger (Fame nel mondo): Funding for international cooperation and humanitarian aid to combat malnutrition.
- Natural Disasters (Calamità naturali): Emergency relief, reconstruction, and prevention measures following earthquakes, floods, or other disasters.
- School Building Public Works (Edilizia scolastica): Maintenance, safety upgrades, and energy efficiency for public schools. (Historically, this has been the most popular choice among Italian taxpayers).
- Refugee Assistance (Assistenza ai rifugiati): Support for refugees and unaccompanied foreign minors.
- Cultural Heritage (Beni culturali): Restoration and preservation of Italy’s historical, artistic, and landscape heritage.
- Drug Addiction Prevention & Recovery (Tossicodipendenze): This is a relatively new category focusing on the prevention of and recovery from substance abuse and other pathological addictions.
The 5 x 1,000 Allocation
With the 5×1000, you can allocate the quota to the following social interest purposes and general utility activities:
Support for Third Sector entities registered in the RUNTS (Single National Third Sector Register) as per Art. 46, paragraph 1 of Legislative Decree no. 117/2017, including social cooperatives and excluding social enterprises formed as companies; as well as support for non-profits (ONLUS) registered in the registry.
Funding for scientific university research.
Funding for health research.
Funding for activities involving the protection, promotion, and enhancement of cultural and landscape heritage.
Support for social activities carried out by the taxpayer’s Municipality of residence.
Support for amateur sports associations.
Support for management bodies of protected areas.
The 2 x 1,000 Allocation
You can allocate the 2 x 1,000 (0.2%) only to political parties registered in the specific official list.
How To Exercise Your Choice
Each option has a different “data requirements” to reflect your choice. Here is the summary of what you need to provide for each:
The 8 x 1,000 (Religious or State)
This is the simplest section because the options are pre-printed. If choosing a Religion: You only need to sign the box corresponding to your chosen denomination. No code is required.
If choosing the Italian State:
Step A Sign the box for “Lo Stato.”
Step B (Optional): Enter a Category Code (1–6) in the specific box next to your signature to “earmark” your funds. If you leave it blank, the funds are split across all categories.
| Code | Purpose |
| 1 | World Hunger (Fame nel mondo) |
| 2 | Natural Disasters (Calamità naturali) |
| 3 | School Building Public Works (Edilizia scolastica) |
| 4 | Refugee Assistance (Assistenza ai rifugiati) |
| 5 | Cultural Heritage (Beni culturali) |
| 6 | Drug Addiction Recovery (Tossicodipendenze) |
The 5 x 1,000 (Charities & Research)
This section is more specific because there are thousands of potential recipients.
Requirement: You must Sign the relevant thematic box (e.g., “Voluntary work and non-profits”) AND enter the Fiscal Code (Codice Fiscale) of the specific organization you want to support.
Example: To support “Save the Children,” you sign the box for “Third Sector Entities” and insert their Fiscal Code Number: 97227450158.
Note: If you sign the box but leave the Fiscal Code blank, your money is shared proportionally among all organizations in that category.
The 2 x 1,000 (Political Parties)
This is the only section where you do not use a Fiscal Code.
Requirement: You must Sign the box AND enter a Short Alpha-Numeric Code (usually a letter and two numbers) that identifies the party.
Example Codes (2025/2026 list):
| M20 | Partito Democratico |
| C12 | Fratelli d’Italia |
| F15 | Forza Italia |
| D43 | Lega per Salvini Premier |
| E54 | Movimento 5 Stelle |
Note: If you don’t make a choice here, the 0.2% stays with the State; it is not shared proportionally among parties.