Quarterly or monthly VAT settlement in Italy and the annual VAT return

If your partita IVA (Italian VAT number) charges VAT on its invoices, that is, you’re not under the regime forfettario (Italy’s flat-rate tax regime), every month or every three months you settle up with the state: you add up the VAT you’ve charged your clients, subtract the VAT you’ve paid on purchases and pay the difference with the F24 (the unified payment form). That’s the periodic VAT settlement (liquidazione IVA). Here you’ll find when you can choose the quarterly VAT settlement instead of the monthly one and what it costs, the payment deadlines, the quarterly report (the LIPE), the December advance and the annual VAT return that closes the year.

Who has to do the VAT settlement

The periodic settlement applies to those under the regime ordinario (the ordinary regime) or keeping simplified accounts (contabilità semplificata) who charge VAT on their invoices: professionals, artisans, traders. The differences between the two regimes are explained in simplified and ordinary regime.

If you’re under the regime forfettario, you don’t charge VAT and you don’t deduct it. So no settlements, no LIPE, no December advance and no VAT return: the instructions for the 2026 VAT return list among those exempt anyone who was a forfettario for the whole year.

If you leave the forfettario, for example because you go over the revenue threshold, settlements become compulsory from the day you enter the regime ordinario. The rate and the notices on your invoices change: see forfettario invoice to know what you stop writing.

How the settlement is calculated

The calculation is the same for monthly and quarterly filers:

output VAT for the period (on the invoices you’ve issued) minus input VAT for the period (on the purchase invoices you deduct) equals VAT to pay, or a credit to carry forward.

If the result is positive you pay it with the F24. If it’s negative you have a credit, which you carry to the next period or use for offsetting (compensazione). Invoices count in the period in which the VAT becomes chargeable and, for purchases, in which you exercise the deduction. Keeping your VAT registers in order during the month is what turns the settlement into a few minutes’ work.

Monthly or quarterly VAT: who can choose

According to the Agenzia delle Entrate, as a rule the settlement is monthly. You can switch to quarterly if in the previous calendar year your VAT turnover (volume d’affari) didn’t exceed these thresholds:

Two things to know before you choose.

• Quarterly costs 1% interest. The VAT of each quarterly settlement must be increased by 1% as interest, including that of the fourth quarter. It’s the price of paying less often.
• The option lasts at least a year. You exercise it by conduct, that is by settling and paying quarterly, and you report it in that year’s VAT return (section VO, line VO2). It stays valid until you revoke it and as long as you stay under the threshold.

With small volumes the 1% weighs little, and four deadlines instead of twelve free up your time. If on the other hand you’re often in credit, for example because you buy a lot, the monthly settlement gets your credit back sooner.

F24 deadlines for the VAT settlement

Periodic VAT is paid online only, with the F24 form. The dates are fixed days: when they fall on a Saturday or a public holiday they move to the next working day, and payments due between 1 and 20 August can be made by the 20th.

Monthly settlement

By the 16th of each month you pay the previous month’s VAT: 16 March for February, 16 April for March, and so on. July’s VAT is paid by 20 August, December’s by 16 January.

Quarterly VAT settlement

You pay by the 16th of the second month after the quarter. The fourth quarter has no settlement of its own: it’s closed with the annual return and paid by 16 March.

Remember to add the 1% interest to each of these payments.

The periodic VAT settlement report (LIPE)

As well as paying, every quarter you report the totals of your settlements to the Agenzia delle Entrate (the Italian Revenue Agency) with the Comunicazione delle liquidazioni periodiche IVA form, the LIPE. Both monthly filers (with the three months of the quarter) and quarterly filers submit it, online only, on their own or through an authorised intermediary.

Here too a deadline on a Saturday or a public holiday moves to the next working day. If in a quarter you have nothing to report the LIPE isn’t due, unless you have to carry forward a credit from the previous quarter. Those who don’t have to file the VAT return or make settlements are exempt, which includes forfettari.

The LIPE doesn’t replace the payment. It only reports the numbers: if you send it but don’t pay the F24, the debt remains.

The 27 December VAT advance

According to the Agenzia delle Entrate, by 27 December each year you pay, with the F24, an advance on the VAT of the last period: on December if you file monthly, on the fourth quarter if you file quarterly. You can calculate it in three ways and choose the one that suits you:

For a quarterly filer, the base of the historical method is the amount due shown in the previous year’s VAT return. On the advance, a quarterly filer does not add the 1% interest.

You don’t have to pay the advance if the amount doesn’t exceed €103.29, if you started your activity during the year, or if the previous year closed in credit. The advance you pay is then subtracted from the last settlement.

The annual VAT return

The annual VAT return (dichiarazione IVA) sums up the whole year: all transactions, settlements, advances, and the final balance or credit. It’s filed online only, including through an authorised intermediary.

The deadline

The 2026 VAT return, for the year 2025, was filed between 1 February and 30 April 2026. Anyone who wanted to include the fourth-quarter LIPE had to file it by 28 February, which in 2026 fell on a Saturday and moved to 2 March. For the return for the year 2026, filed in 2027, the Agenzia publishes the form and deadlines at the start of the year, as it did on the Iva 2026 page: check the dates there before relying on this year’s.

The VAT balance

If the return shows VAT to pay (above €10.33), these are your options:

A quarterly filer also pays the fourth-quarter VAT, increased by 1%, with the balance.

A year of quarterly VAT at a glance

• Every quarter: settle, pay with the F24 adding the 1%, and send the LIPE by the end of the second month.
• 27 December: advance on the last quarter, without the 1%.
• February–April: VAT return for the year just closed.
• 16 March: annual balance, which includes the fourth quarter.

Keep the invoices you issue and your purchase invoices in order as they come in: that way each settlement comes down to one addition and one subtraction. If you have clients who pay late, remember that as a rule you pay the VAT on an issued invoice by the deadline even if the client hasn’t paid yet: a payment reminder sent in good time helps your VAT cash flow too.

Every quarter closed in order is one less worry, and the rhythm you keep today is your calm in March.
💜💙 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 (6)

Verified on 30 September 2026

1. Agenzia delle Entrate — Come pagare l'Iva
2. Agenzia delle Entrate — Liquidazioni periodiche Iva, che cos'è
3. Agenzia delle Entrate — F24 acconto IVA, chi deve versare
4. Agenzia delle Entrate — F24 acconto IVA, come si calcola
5. Agenzia delle Entrate — Iva 2026, che cos'è
6. Agenzia delle Entrate — Dichiarazione IVA 2026, periodo d'imposta 2025: istruzioni