Italy built one of Europe’s most generous angel incentives — and is, at the time of writing, between chapters. Readers should treat this article as a snapshot of a moving picture.
The established framework: individuals investing in companies registered in the special section for innovative startups could claim an ordinary 30% income tax deduction, or — under the ‘de minimis’ regime — an enhanced deduction that the 2025 reforms raised from 50% to 65% for investments made from 1 January 2025, on up to €100,000 per tax year. Conditions are strict and cumulative: the startup must be within its first three years on the special register, the shares must be held for at least three years, and the investment must not give the investor more than 25% of capital or voting rights. A genuinely investor-friendly innovation, introduced by Law 162/2024, allows any part of the 65% deduction the investor cannot absorb to convert into a tax credit, usable against other tax liabilities — solving the classic problem of relief exceeding tax capacity.
The transition: the ordinary 30% deduction expired on 31 December 2025 and was not renewed in the 2026 Budget Law, and the position for investments made from 1 January 2026 is uncertain while the Italian government and the European Commission work through state-aid approval. The sector is pressing for restoration with retroactive effect from the start of 2026. Anyone considering an Italian angel investment in 2026 should verify the live position with an Italian adviser before committing — the direction of travel is supportive, but the paperwork is not yet settled.
The boundaries are familiar from the rest of this series: the reliefs attach to Italian tax residents investing in Italian-registered innovative startups. They do not travel — a UK or other foreign venture sits outside the regime entirely, whatever happens next in Rome.
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