INPS contributions in the 2026 flat-rate regime (forfetario): separate management, artisans, traders and the 35% reduction

In short: in the forfetario regime INPS contributions are calculated on forfetario income, that is revenue multiplied by the coefficient for the sector, and are deducted from that income before tax. In 2026, professionals without a professional pension fund pay 26.07% in separate management; artisans and traders pay at least €4,521.36 and €4,611.64 a year, and can request the 35% reduction.

Which INPS fund does a forfetario taxpayer pay into?

It depends on the activity, not on the tax regime. Those who carry on an artisan or trade business are registered with the artisans or traders fund, with a fixed minimum contribution even at zero income. Professionals without a professional pension fund pay a percentage of income to the separate management fund, with no minimum. Those registered with a professional body that has its own pension fund pay into that fund.

The extra 0.48% for traders serves almost entirely (0.46%) to finance the indemnity for the permanent cessation of commercial activity. The minimum contribution also includes the maternity contribution of €0.62 a month.

How are contributions calculated in the forfetario regime?

On forfetario income: revenue collected multiplied by the profitability coefficient of your ATECO group. For artisans and traders, paragraph 77 of Law 190/2014 provides that forfetario income is the social security tax base. The contributions paid during the year are then subtracted from that same income, and the 15% tax is paid on the difference.

• Separate management: 26.07% of income, up to the ceiling. It is paid with form F24 on the income tax deadlines: the balance for the previous year and two advance payments.
• Artisans and traders: fixed contribution on the minimum base of €18,808, in four instalments (for 2026: 18 May, 20 August, 16 November 2026 and 16 February 2027), plus the percentage on income exceeding the minimum base, paid on the tax deadlines.
• Deductibility: compulsory contributions paid during the year are deducted from forfetario income (paragraph 64, line LM35 of the Redditi form). Any excess is deducted from total income.

The coefficient therefore also decides how many contributions you pay: with the same revenue, a construction business (coefficient 86%) pays more than a shop (coefficient 40%). The full table is in forfetario profitability coefficients by ATECO code.

How much contribution does a forfetario taxpayer pay? Three calculated examples

Under the 2026 rules, a professional in separate management with €50,000 of fees pays €10,167.30; a trader with €50,000 of revenue pays €4,903.44; a construction artisan with €60,000 pays €12,391.44, which falls to €8,054.44 with the 35% reduction. The steps are in the table.

• Professional: €39,000 × 26.07% = €10,167.30. No minimum: with lower income, contributions fall in proportion.
• Trader: €4,611.64 fixed on the minimum base, plus 24.48% on the €1,192 exceeding the minimum base: €4,903.44.
• Construction artisan: €4,521.36 fixed, plus 24% on the €32,792 above the minimum base: €12,391.44. With the reduction INPS asks for 65% of that figure: €8,054.44.

Redo the numbers with your own figures: artisan with reduction, trader, professional in separate management.

How does the 35% contribution reduction work?

It is an optional reduction reserved for forfetario taxpayers who carry on a business activity, therefore registered with the artisans and traders funds: professionals in separate management are not entitled to it. It cuts all contributions due by 35%, both the fixed contribution on the minimum base and the one on income above it, and it is obtained only by submitting an online application to INPS.

• Rule: art. 1, paragraphs 76-84, Law 190/2014. Paragraph 76 makes it optional ("may apply"); paragraph 77 sets the 35% reduction.
• Value on the minimum: the fixed contribution falls from €4,521.36 to €2,938.88 for artisans and from €4,611.64 to €2,997.57 for traders.
• Those who already have it: they continue to have it in 2026 if they keep the forfetario requirements and have not waived it (INPS circular 14/2026, §8).
• Those who started the activity in 2025: to have it in 2026 they had to communicate their adherence by the peremptory deadline of 28 February 2026 (paragraph 83).
• Those who start in 2026: they must apply as promptly as possible after the registration notice, says INPS.
• Waiver: if submitted by 28 February it takes effect from 1 January of the same year, if later from 1 January of the following year. It is final: whoever leaves the favourable regime cannot re-enter it (circular 14/2026, which refers to paragraph 82).

Not to be confused with the 50% reduction for those who first registered in 2025 with the artisans or traders funds (art. 1, paragraph 186, Law 207/2024): that is a different measure, illustrated by INPS in circular 83 of 24 April 2025.

Is the 35% reduction worthwhile?

It raises today's net income but reduces the contributions credited towards your pension. It is not a full saving: lower contributions increase the taxable amount, so part of the cut returns to the State as tax. And if what is paid falls below the ordinary contribution on the minimum base, INPS credits you with fewer than twelve months for that year.

Construction artisan at €60,000. With the reduction he pays €4,337.00 less in contributions, but €650.55 more in tax: net income rises by €3,686.45. The reduced payment (€8,054.44) remains above the ordinary contribution on the minimum base (€4,521.36), so the year is credited in full, but on lower contributions.

Trader at €50,000. With the reduction he pays €3,187.24 instead of €4,903.44 (€1,716.20 less) and net income rises by €1,458.77. But €3,187.24 is less than the ordinary contribution on the minimum base, €4,611.64: for that year INPS credits a number of months proportional to what was paid, which is worth about 69%. This is the rule of art. 2, paragraph 29, of Law 335/1995, to which paragraph 77 refers and which INPS applies to the favourable regime (circular 35 of 2016).

In short: fewer contributions today means fewer contributions on your pension record, and therefore a lower pension and, below the minimum, fewer months of seniority. Whether the reduction is worthwhile for you depends on how much today's net income and tomorrow's pension weigh for you: it is a choice to make with your accountant or with a welfare assistance body (patronato), and the simulator gives you the numbers to make it. The full comparison of regimes is in forfetario or ordinary regime, which is better; if you have just opened, also see forfetario at 5% for new activities.

And if you are registered with a professional pension fund?

You pay into your fund, not INPS, and under its rules: rates, minimum contributions and deadlines differ from fund to fund. That is why the simulator does not estimate them. If you choose "professional pension fund" it asks for the rate of your personal contribution and applies it to forfetario income; minimums and supplementary contributions remain outside the calculation.

The 35% reduction does not apply to professional funds: it is valid only for the INPS artisans and traders funds.

What changes in 2027? What is certain and what is a proposal

As of 23 October 2026, nothing official has changed. INPS will publish the 2027 rates, minimum base and ceilings with the circulars at the start of 2027: those for 2026 came out on 3 and 9 February. The 2027 budget law has not been approved, and no text is known that modifies the 35% reduction.

There is an indirect effect: today, those who exceed €85,000 move to the ordinary regime the following year, where the 35% reduction does not exist. In the "2027 proposal" scenario the simulator keeps the reduction also between €85,000 and €100,000, because you would remain forfetario: this is an assumption to be checked against the text of the law, when it exists. The explanation is in the grey zone section of the simulator and, for the status of the budget, in the hub 2027 flat tax for VAT-registered freelancers.

Sources

• Law of 23 December 2014, no. 190, art. 1, paragraphs 54-89, text in force on Normattiva (para. 64 deductibility, paras. 76-84 favourable contribution regime), accessed on 23/10/2026.
• INPS, circular no. 8 of 3 February 2026 (separate management: rates, ceiling, minimum base and crediting, payments), accessed on 23/10/2026.
• INPS, circular no. 14 of 9 February 2026 (artisans and traders: rates, minimum base, ceiling, 35% reduction, deadlines and due dates), accessed on 23/10/2026.
• INPS, circular no. 35 of 19 February 2016 (reduction on minimum base and excess, proportional crediting of months), accessed on 23/10/2026.
• Law of 8 August 1995, no. 335, art. 2, paragraph 29, on Normattiva (crediting of months), accessed on 23/10/2026.
• Revenue Agency, Redditi Persone fisiche 2026 instructions, booklet 3, section LM (line LM35, deducted contributions), accessed on 23/10/2026.
• Budget proposals, press and non-normative sources: Sky TG24, 13/10/2026; Alanews, 20/10/2026; accessed on 23/10/2026.