Crypto Country GuideCrypto rules and tax, country by country

Italy: business tax

Last reviewed: October 2026

On this page
  1. Crypto in the accounts
  2. Corporate income tax rates
  3. VAT (IVA) on crypto
  4. If your business provides crypto services
  5. Sources
  • Changes in the value of crypto on the balance sheet at year-end do not count for IRES or IRAP. Gains and losses count when the company sells crypto or swaps it for something else.
  • Companies pay corporate income tax (IRES) at 24% and the regional tax on productive activities (IRAP) at a standard 3.9%, which regions can vary.
  • Exchanging crypto for euros, or one crypto for another, is exempt from VAT, following the EU Court’s Hedqvist ruling. Mining rewarded automatically by the network is outside the scope of VAT.
  • If a customer pays you in crypto, VAT is due as usual on the euro value of the sale.
  • A business that provides crypto services needs a MiCA license and, since 2026, reports customer data to the Agenzia delle Entrate (DAC8).

This page covers companies and sole traders in Italy that hold, accept or earn crypto. Private individuals are on personal tax, and the filing dates on filing and deadlines. It is general information, not tax advice.

Crypto in the accounts

Neither the Italian (OIC) nor the international (IAS/IFRS) accounting standards define crypto-assets, the Agenzia delle Entrate notes in Circular 30/E. So the tax treatment follows how the company classifies them in its accounts, for example as intangible assets, inventory or financial assets, except where tax law sets its own rule. The main tax rules:

  • Valuations do not count. Since 2023, positive and negative amounts that arise from valuing crypto at the end of the tax year do not count toward taxable income, “a prescindere dall’imputazione al conto economico” (TUIR, Article 110(3-bis)). The same applies for IRAP. This also covers receivables and debts expressed in crypto.
  • Realization counts. When crypto is sold for euros or swapped for other goods, including other crypto, the difference between the price received and the value recognized for tax becomes taxable.
  • Mining companies. The Agenzia has treated the remuneration of a company that mines as revenue from services, which also counts for IRAP; later swings in the value of the coins do not count for IRAP.

Sole traders and partnerships that hold crypto in their business follow the business income rules rather than the flat tax for private individuals.

Corporate income tax rates

Tax (2026)RateBase
IRES (imposta sul reddito delle società)24%Taxable profit
IRAP (imposta regionale sulle attività produttive)3.9% standard; regions may raise or lower it by up to 0.92 pointsNet value of production

The IRES rate is set in TUIR Article 77; the IRAP rates in Article 16 of Legislative Decree 446/1997, with higher rates for some sectors. Decree-Law 21 of 20 February 2026 raises the IRAP rate by two points for 2026 and 2027 for businesses mainly active in the sectors listed in its annex. When a company has to file is on filing and deadlines.

VAT (IVA) on crypto

Exchanging crypto for money. In the Hedqvist case (C-264/14, 22 October 2015) the Court of Justice of the EU ruled that exchanging traditional currency for bitcoin and back is a supply of services for consideration that is exempt from VAT under Article 135(1)(e) of the VAT Directive. Italy applies this through Article 10(1)(3) of the VAT decree (DPR 633/1972). Following the EU VAT Committee’s guidelines, Circular 30/E lists as exempt, when carried out for consideration by anyone: exchanging traditional currency for virtual currency and one virtual currency for another, mining rewarded for example through fees charged by the miner, fees for digital wallet services, and staking.

Mining. When a miner is rewarded automatically by the network, there is no identifiable customer. The Agenzia then considers mining outside the scope of VAT, with no right to deduct the VAT on costs (rulings 508 and 515 of 2022, confirmed in Circular 30/E). Mining under a contract between known parties can be taxable.

Being paid in crypto. If customers pay you in crypto, you charge VAT on what you sell as usual. The Agenzia considers it reasonable to convert the payment at the average value on the day of the transaction, as shown on the platform that runs the wallet where you receive it.

NFTs. When the buyer is only interested in the NFT itself, the Agenzia treats its sale as an electronically supplied service, taxed at the rate for general services. When the NFT represents something else, the VAT rules of that underlying item apply: for a physical object, a supply of goods; for rights such as exploitation rights, a supply of services. A first sale of a digital artwork by its own author is not a VAT supply.

Tokens. Payment tokens follow the exemption for currencies; security tokens normally the exemption for securities; utility tokens can be vouchers under the VAT voucher rules.

If your business provides crypto services

Exchanging, storing or transferring crypto for customers is a regulated service. Such a business needs a MiCA license from CONSOB, which decides after consulting the Banca d’Italia, or from the regulator of another EU country; see regulation.

Since 1 January 2026 crypto service providers must also collect and verify customer data and transactions and report them every year to the Agenzia delle Entrate under DAC8 (Legislative Decree 194/2025). The first report, on 2026, is due by 30 June 2027. What is reported is on filing and deadlines. Italian intermediaries can also act as tax withholding agents for their customers’ crypto gains if the customer opts for this (regime del risparmio amministrato).

Sources

This page is general information, not tax advice. Rules and rates change, so check the official sources above before you act.