Partita IVA and employment in Italy: when you can and under what rules

A partita IVA (Italian VAT number) and employment can go together, but the rules change a lot depending on who your employer is. As a private-sector employee, only the duty of loyalty and your contract stop you; as a public employee, on the other hand, the starting rule is a ban, with specific exceptions. And if you want the regime forfettario (Italy’s flat-rate tax regime) there’s one more limit: the previous year’s salary. Here you’ll find everything in the order you need it.

Can you open a partita IVA as a private-sector employee?

Yes, you can open a partita IVA as an employee of a private company. Since 2022 art. 8 of D.Lgs. 27 giugno 2022, n. 104 has said so explicitly: your employer can’t forbid another working activity outside the agreed hours, nor treat you worse because of it. They can limit it only in specific cases: a risk to your health and safety, including respect for rest periods, or a conflict of interest with your main job.

The duty of loyalty in art. 2105 of the Civil Code (codice civile) always stands. As long as you’re an employee you can’t:

• do business, on your own account or for others, in competition with your employer;
• disclose information about the company’s organisation and production methods;
• use it in a way that harms the company.

In practice: a programmer employed by a software house who opens a partita IVA to build websites for clients in the same market is taking a big risk; the same programmer opening one to teach yoga on Saturdays isn’t.

What to check in your contract

Before opening, reread three things:

1. Your individual contract, looking for exclusivity clauses or obligations to report other activities.
2. The collective agreement (CCNL) for your sector, which may require you to inform the company.
3. Any non-compete agreement, if you signed one: it limits what you can do even after the employment has ended.

Even when it isn’t compulsory, telling your employer that you’re opening a partita IVA for an activity that doesn’t compete with them avoids surprises. Put it in writing, with a clear description of the activity.

Public employees and the partita IVA

For anyone working in the public administration the starting point is the opposite. Art. 60 of D.P.R. 3/1957 says a public employee may not engage in trade, industry or any profession. Art. 53 of D.Lgs. 165/2001 confirms these incompatibilities for all public employees and adds that paid assignments outside official duties require prior authorisation from the administration.

The main exception is part-time up to 50%. Law 662/1996 (art. 1, commi 56 e seguenti) allows public employees working no more than 50% of full time to join professional registers and carry out an activity, with two limits: they can’t receive professional assignments from public administrations and they can’t act in lawsuits in which a public administration is a party. The administration can refuse the move to part-time if the activity creates a conflict of interest with the job; for some sectors, such as justice, defence and security, their own rules apply.

Art. 53 exempts some activities from authorisation, including contributing to newspapers and magazines, the economic exploitation of your own intellectual works and taking part in conferences. That doesn’t mean these need a partita IVA: it depends on how habitual they are.

If a public employee carries out a paid assignment without authorisation, the fee must be paid over to the administration they belong to (art. 53, D.Lgs. 165/2001), on top of possible disciplinary consequences. Ask for authorisation before you start, not after.

The forfettario with a salary

Opening a partita IVA as an employee is possible; applying the regime forfettario depends on your salary.

The limit on employment income

According to the Agenzia delle Entrate (the Italian Revenue Agency), you can’t join the forfettario if in the previous year you received employment or similar income above €30,000. For 2025 and 2026 the limit is raised to €35,000. So, to apply the forfettario in 2026 you look at what you received as an employee in 2025.

The limit doesn’t apply if the employment ended in the previous year, provided that in the same year you didn’t receive a pension or a salary from another employment.

The €35,000 limit is confirmed by the Agenzia for 2025 and 2026. For 2027 check the Agenzia’s page on the regime forfetario before choosing your regime: the figure depends on the budget law.

If the forfettario is closed to you, you can still open the partita IVA, under the regime ordinario (the ordinary regime) or on simplified accounts (contabilità semplificata): the differences are in the guide to the simplified and ordinary regimes.

The former employer clause

There’s a second exclusion criterion that concerns precisely anyone who is or has been an employee. You can’t apply the forfettario if you work mainly for employers with whom you have an ongoing employment, or had one in the two previous tax years, or for parties connected to them. The exception is anyone starting a new activity after the compulsory traineeship needed to practise an art or a profession.

It’s the rule that stops an employee’s job being turned into a partita IVA collaboration with the same boss. If after resigning your first client is your former employer, what counts is how much they weigh in the total: if they’re most of your takings, the forfettario isn’t for you.

The 5% rate for new activities

The forfettario’s substitute tax (imposta sostitutiva) drops from 15% to 5% for the first five years only if, among the requirements, the new activity isn’t a mere continuation of another one carried out before as an employee or self-employed (except for the compulsory traineeship). If you do the same work with your partita IVA that you did as an employee, expect 15%. The other conditions are in the guide to the regime forfettario.

INPS contributions if you’re also an employee

As an employee you already pay contributions through your payslip. With a partita IVA you pay more, and how much depends on the fund.

• INPS Gestione Separata (the separate fund for professionals; freelance professionals without a pension fund): anyone already insured with another compulsory pension scheme, such as an employee, pays, according to INPS circular n. 8/2026, a rate of 24% in 2026 instead of the 26.07% paid by those who only have a partita IVA.
• The INPS artisans’ and traders’ funds (gestioni artigiani e commercianti): according to INPS, registration is tied to working in the business on a habitual and predominant basis. If you have an employment contract and open a sole proprietorship (ditta individuale), ask INPS or a professional how your position is assessed before you start, because the fixed contribution on the minimum base (minimale) weighs even with low takings.

Rates, minimum bases and deadlines are in the guide to INPS contributions with a partita IVA.

Before opening: the checklist

• Private-sector employee: the activity doesn’t compete with your employer and your contract doesn’t rule it out.
• Public employee: you’re part-time up to 50%, or you have authorisation for the assignment.
• Forfettario: the previous year’s salary doesn’t exceed €35,000 (limit valid for 2025 and 2026).
• Forfettario: you won’t work mainly for your current employer or for those of the last two years.
• INPS: you know which fund you’ll be in and at what rate.

Then follow the steps and costs in the guide on how to open a partita IVA.

A salary and a project of your own can grow together: all it takes is starting with clear rules.
💜💙 Your BravoLisa Team

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute professional tax, legal, or accounting advice. Every situation is different — consult a qualified professional (tax adviser, accountant, or lawyer) for advice specific to your circumstances. BravoLisa does not accept liability for decisions made based on this information.

Last updated: September 2026. Rates and thresholds can change: always check with the Agenzia delle Entrate, INPS or the relevant authority.

Sources (8)

Verified on 30 September 2026

1. Agenzia delle Entrate — Regime forfetario, Che cos'è
2. Gazzetta Ufficiale — D.Lgs. 27 giugno 2022, n. 104, art. 8 (cumulo di impieghi)
3. Gazzetta Ufficiale — Codice civile, art. 2105 (obbligo di fedeltà)
4. Normattiva — D.Lgs. 30 marzo 2001, n. 165, art. 53
5. Normattiva — D.P.R. 10 gennaio 1957, n. 3, art. 60
6. Normattiva — Legge 23 dicembre 1996, n. 662, art. 1, commi 56 e seguenti
7. INPS — Circolare n. 8 del 3 febbraio 2026, Gestione separata: aliquote 2026
8. INPS — Iscrizione Gestione Commercianti