The recent budget law (Article 1, paragraph 11, of Law No. 207/2024) introduced, through the new paragraph 2-bis of Article 12 of the TUIR, a provision that limits the possibility of benefiting from deductions for dependents living abroad to Italian citizens or citizens of a member State of the European Union or a State adhering to the Agreement on the European Economic Area.
A non-EU citizen residing in Italy cannot therefore benefit from deductions for dependents if the dependent resides outside the Italian territory.
More generally, deductions for family burdens vary based on the taxpayer’s income.
Those providing tax assistance must therefore calculate the amount of deductions actually due, taking into account the provisions of Article 12 of the TUIR.
Deductions for dependent children
Depending on the taxpayer’s income situation, family burden deductions may be fully granted, partially granted, or not granted at all.
As of March 1, 2022, deductions for dependent children under Article 12 of the TUIR are only granted for children aged 21 or older. For children under this age, the deductions have been replaced by the assegno unico, which is provided by INPS following a specific request. Starting from March 1, 2022, the additional €200 per child for families with more than 3 children is no longer applicable. Furthermore, the additional €1,200 deduction for families with more than 4 children is no longer granted.
It is never possible to benefit from both the deductions for dependent children and the deductions for other dependent family members for the same individuals.
For example, grandparents who have dependent grandchildren following a formal custody order or in cases of foster care or foster family placement (equated to custody under Law No. 184 of May 5, 1983) cannot simultaneously benefit from the deductions provided for both children and other dependent family members.
It is important to specify that, even if there is no right to the deduction for dependents, for example because all children are under 21 years old, it is still necessary to include the data in the family details section of the tax return, as this information is required to recognize other benefits, such as those related to expenses for supporting dependent family members.
Required documentation
Regarding the documentation certifying expenses incurred for family members who are fiscally dependent, it is important to remember that:
- If the expense is incurred for dependent family members, the deduction is granted to the taxpayer to whom the document certifying the expense is registered.
- If the expense relates to children, the deduction is granted to the parent who incurred the expense, regardless of whether they are entitled to the deduction for dependent children and regardless of how the deduction is shared with the other parent.
- If the expense document is registered in the name of the fiscally dependent child, the expenses are divided between the parents based on who actually incurred them. The parents can allocate the expenses in a way other than a 50% split by noting the allocation percentage on the expense document. For example, if one parent incurred the entire expense, that parent can calculate the deduction on the full amount, certifying this on the expense document.
- If one of the parents is fiscally dependent on the other, the latter can always claim the full deduction for the expenses incurred. The deduction is granted to the parent who incurred the expense for the child’s benefit, even if the expense documents are registered in the name of the other parent, provided that the latter is fiscally dependent on the parent who incurred the expense.
- In general, the deduction is granted to the taxpayer who incurred the expense for the benefit of dependent family members, even if the expense documents are registered in the name of another family member who is also fiscally dependent on the taxpayer who incurred the expense.