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Italy Invoice Template (Fattura): Field Reference

This is a reference layout of the details an Italian invoice (fattura) must contain under article 21 of Presidential Decree 633/1972: both parties' details and tax numbers, a progressive number, the description, the taxable amount, the IVA rate and the IVA amount. Use it to plan and check your data. It is not a valid Italian domestic invoice. Since 1 January 2019, invoices between parties resident or established in Italy must be XML e-invoices sent through the Agenzia delle Entrate's Sistema di Interscambio (SdI), and since 1 January 2024 that includes every flat-rate (forfettario) taxpayer. A PDF or printed copy of this layout, or a PDF made in InvoiceQuickly, is treated as an invoice that was never issued. The layout is useful for invoices to customers outside Italy, as a courtesy copy, or to collect the details you will enter in the Agenzia delle Entrate's free e-invoicing tools or an accredited provider. It downloads as an editable HTML file.

Preview this editable document

Download the HTML file to edit its fields, then print or save as PDF. Totals are entered manually.

What This Template Includes

  • Supplier partita IVA (VAT number)
  • Customer partita IVA, EU VAT number or codice fiscale
  • Codice destinatario (7 characters) or PEC address
  • Date of supply or payment (if different from issue date)
  • Taxable amount per IVA rate
  • IVA rate and IVA amount
  • Reason for zero IVA (Natura), e.g. non imponibile, esente
  • Scheme wording, e.g. regime forfettario
  • Stamp duty (bollo) of €2, if it applies

How to fill in this Italy Invoice (Fattura)

  1. Download the template. It opens as an editable HTML file in your browser.
  2. Replace each bracketed field with your details. Totals are not calculated for you, so check the arithmetic.
  3. Print it or save it as a PDF from your browser. InvoiceQuickly does not create or store this document type.

Recommended Payment Terms

Agree payment terms with your customer and include them in the invoice, for example "Pagamento a 30 giorni data fattura" (payment 30 days from invoice date) with your IBAN. Late payment in commercial transactions in Italy is governed by Legislative Decree 231 of 9 October 2002, which implements EU rules against late payment. Check its current terms with your adviser before you add a late-payment clause.

Tax Information

Article 16 of Presidential Decree 633/1972 sets IVA at 22% (ordinary rate), with reduced rates of 10%, 5% and 4% for the goods and services listed in Table A of the decree. Show the rate, taxable amount and IVA for each rate, rounded to the cent. The SdI checks that they agree, for example €100 at 22% must show €22 IVA. Lines without IVA need the legal reason (such as "operazione non imponibile" or "operazione esente") and a Natura code in the XML. Flat-rate taxpayers charge no IVA and add the forfettario wording. InvoiceQuickly cannot produce Italian e-invoices: it has no FatturaPA output and no SdI connection. Its PDFs print saved business and client tax IDs, but where e-invoicing applies a PDF is only a courtesy copy.

Industry context (2026)

Italy has required electronic invoices between parties resident or established in Italy since 1 January 2019, for both business and consumer customers, and for public administration since 31 March 2015 (Agenzia delle Entrate guide, December 2025 edition). The SdI checks each XML file for the minimum legal content, valid VAT numbers or tax codes, a delivery address and consistent tax amounts, and it can take up to 5 days at peak times. From 1 January 2027, the invoicing rules now in article 21 of Presidential Decree 633/1972 move into Italy's consolidated VAT code (Legislative Decree 10/2026), so legal references on invoices and in software will change (Normattiva, accessed 27 October 2026).

Worked example

Falegnameria Rossi, a sole-trader carpentry workshop in Florence under the ordinary IVA regime, installs custom shelving for Caffè Aurora Srl in Bologna on 6 October 2026 (an illustrative example). Lines: 4 oak shelving units at €450.00 = €1,800.00; installation €300.00. Taxable amount €2,100.00, IVA at 22% €462.00, total €2,562.00. The e-invoice carries both partite IVA, a progressive number, the issue date and Caffè Aurora's 7-character Codice destinatario. As an immediate invoice it must be issued by 18 October 2026, or by 15 November 2026 as a deferred invoice if a delivery note was handed over on 6 October. It counts as issued only when the SdI returns a delivery receipt or a receipt of impossibility of delivery. In a flat-rate variant, a forfettario designer billing €1,500.00 shows 0% IVA, Natura "non soggette - altri casi" and the forfettario wording, plus €2.00 stamp duty where it applies (total €1,502.00).

Common mistakes to avoid

Emailing a PDF instead of sending XML through the SdI

For domestic customers, a PDF on its own is not an invoice. The supplier risks penalties and the customer loses the IVA deduction.

Wrong or missing Codice destinatario

The SdI needs a delivery address. Use the customer's 7-character code or PEC address, or "0000000" for consumers and customers who gave you none.

Zero-IVA lines without a reason

Every line without IVA needs the legal reason (for example non imponibile or esente) and a Natura code. Forfettari also need the regime wording.

Amounts that do not reconcile

The SdI rejects invoices where the taxable amount, rate and IVA do not agree. Round each rate's IVA to the cent.

Treating a rejected invoice as sent

A ricevuta di scarto means the invoice was never issued. Correct it and resend.

Invoicing Tips

  • 1For a customer in Italy, send the invoice as XML through the SdI. The Agenzia delle Entrate offers a free web procedure, the FatturAE app and desktop software.
  • 2Ask business customers for their 7-character Codice destinatario or PEC address before you invoice. For consumers, use "0000000" and give them a paper or digital copy.
  • 3Issue an immediate invoice within 12 days of the transaction. For several deliveries documented by delivery notes in the same month, a deferred invoice is due by the 15th of the next month.
  • 4If the SdI rejects the file (ricevuta di scarto), fix it and resend. The invoice does not exist until the SdI delivers it or confirms it could not deliver it.
  • 5Forfettari: set IVA to 0%, use Natura "non soggette - altri casi" and add "Operazione effettuata in regime forfettario ai sensi dell'articolo 1, commi da 54 a 89, della Legge n. 190/2014 e successive modificazioni".

Related Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I send a PDF invoice to an Italian customer?

Not as the invoice, if you are an Italian VAT-registered business invoicing a customer resident or established in Italy. The Agenzia delle Entrate states that an invoice not prepared as XML and sent through the SdI is considered not issued, with penalties for the supplier and no IVA deduction for the customer. A PDF can accompany the e-invoice as a courtesy copy.

What must an Italian invoice include?

The issue date, a progressive number, both parties' names and addresses, the supplier's partita IVA, the customer's VAT number (or codice fiscale for a consumer), the nature, quality and quantity of the goods or services, the date of supply if different, the taxable amount, and the IVA rate and amount. Invoices without IVA must state the legal reason.

Do flat-rate (forfettario) taxpayers need e-invoices?

Yes. Under Decree-Law 36/2022, those whose previous-year revenue exceeded €25,000 (annualised) have issued e-invoices since 1 July 2022, and all other forfettari since 1 January 2024.

Can InvoiceQuickly create a fattura elettronica?

No. InvoiceQuickly produces PDF invoices only and has no FatturaPA XML output or SdI connection. Use the Agenzia delle Entrate's free tools or an accredited provider for invoices to customers in Italy.

When can I use this template?

As a checklist of the data your e-invoice needs, as a courtesy copy, or for invoices to customers outside Italy, where an e-invoice is optional. Even then, an Italian supplier must report the invoice data to the Agenzia delle Entrate (the esterometro) unless it sends an e-invoice through the SdI.