F24 form transmission with compensation

Budget Law for FY 2024, effective from 1 July 2024, introduced further restrictions to the possibility of offsetting tax debts against credits using the F24 form.

Specifically, the new norms provide for:

1. a generalised extension of the obligation to use the online services of the Italian Revenue Office to file F24 forms which include the offsetting of taxes;
2. the prohibition on offsetting taxes in case of debts entrusted to the tax collection agent for amounts exceeding 100,000 Euro.

The Revenue Office provided its clarifications on both issues above in Circular Letter no. 16 dated 28 June 2024, namely:

1. all offsetting of tax credits indicated in a F24 form will necessarily have to be submitted through the Revenue Office online portal. The obligations concerns:
   • the offsetting of tax credits of any kind and any amount;
   • F24 forms showing an amount other than a “zero balance” for a partial offsetting of tax credits with tax debts;
   • so-called “vertical” offsetting, i.e. offsetting of excess amounts of the same tax paid in previous FYs, if indicated in the F24 form.
2. an absolute ban is introduced to offset taxes in the F24 form in case there are overdue tax debts (for state tax or excise duties) or enforceable tax assessments entrusted for collection for a total amount exceeding 100,000 Euro (except in case non-lapsed instalment payments, administrative or judicial suspension of the tax collection).
   In short, the amounts of state tax debts entered in debtors’ lists contribute to reaching the threshold of 100,000 Euro when the following conditions are met:
   • the deadline for the payment of the tax debt has expired;
   • there are no suspension orders of any kind in force;
   • there are no instalment plans in place.

By way of example but not limited to, when the conditions set out above occur, the taxpayer is therefore prevented from offsetting:

• • state tax credits (e.g. those accrued with reference to income tax, VAT and registration tax);
  • tax credits for R&D activities;
  • tax credits for investments in Southern Italy;
  • tax credits granted to companies that invest in new capital assets;
  • tax credits relevant to building renovations;
  • other credits relevant to tax incentives.

The offsetting of INPS (Italian Social Security Institute) and INAIL (Italian Institute for compulsory insurance against accidents at work) credits are not impacted by the measures above: taxpayers who accrue credits towards INPS and INAIL will have the possibility to use them to offset other taxes even if there are amounts entrusted to the tax collection agent for total amounts exceeding 100,000 Euro.

The 100,000 Euro threshold is an absolute limit; therefore, even in case a taxpayer has tax credits (e.g. 130,000 Euro) for an amount exceeding that of the sums entrusted for collection (e.g. 110,000 Euro), he will not be in a position to offset any amount (not even, in the example, for 20,000 Euro) if he does not firs pay the expired debt (at least for the amount necessary to reduce it below the threshold of 100,000 Euro, in the example at least 10,001 Euro).

The abovementioned ban applies to all so-called “horizontal” offsetting (i.e. the use of tax credits to offset other taxes); the so-called “vertical” offsetting (i.e. the offsetting amounts relevant to the same tax, e.g. IRPEF credits and IRPEF debts), even if indicated in the F24 form, are therefore always allowed.

The abovementioned ban on the offsetting of taxes, in force since 1 July 2024, is in addition to the existing provision that precludes “horizontal” offsetting of state tax credits against state tax debts entrusted for collection exceeding 1,500 Euro, whose payment deadline has expired.

The two bans above have different characteristics and methods of applications, in particular:

1. the “new” ban in force since 1 July 2024 prohibits the offsetting not only of credits relevant to state taxes, but also of those relevant to tax benefits and applies when there are tax debts over Euro 100,000 Euro entrusted to the tax collection agent.
2. the “old” ban, still in force, applies in case of state tax debts for amounts exceeding 1,500 Euro entrusted to the tax collection agent and only prohibits the offsetting of state taxes.
   
   Moreover, in case of undue offsetting:
   
   
3. in the light of the “new” ban in force since 1 July 2024, provided that the tax credit actually exists, the F24 form is rejected and the payment is not processed; the fine for omitted payment (30%) would apply;
4. in the light of the “old” ban still in force, the fine is equal to 50% of the amount of debts entrusted for collection, within the limit of 50% of the undue offsetting carried out. The payment and the offsetting are considered valid.

Please feel free to contact us for any further clarification you may need.