Italy E-Invoicing SDI Guide: FatturaPA and Codice Destinatario

Quick answer: Italy e-invoicing runs through the SDI (Sistema di Interscambio), the Agenzia delle Entrate's clearance hub. Almost every Italian business and self-employed person, including forfettari since 1 January 2024, must issue invoices as FatturaPA XML files, address them with a codice destinatario or PEC, and transmit them to the SDI, usually within 12 days of the sale.

Italy was the first EU country to make e-invoicing mandatory for business-to-business and business-to-consumer sales, starting in 2019, and its system has become a template for later mandates. If you are comparing countries, our overview of e-invoicing mandates coming in 2027 shows where Italy fits. If you just need a clean invoice for a client outside Italy's system, you can build one in our free invoice generator.

Important: This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Italian rules have many sector exceptions, so confirm your position with a commercialista.

How Italy e-invoicing through the SDI works

Italy uses a clearance model. That means the tax authority sits in the middle of every invoice instead of receiving data after the fact. If the difference is new to you, our guide to Peppol vs clearance models explains it in detail. In practice, the flow looks like this:

1. The seller creates the invoice as an XML file in the FatturaPA format, using accounting software, an intermediary, or the free tools in the Agenzia delle Entrate's Fatture e Corrispettivi area.
2. The file is signed if required and sent to the SDI by web upload, PEC, web service or FTP channel.
3. The SDI runs format and content checks: VAT numbers, tax codes, mandatory fields, arithmetic and file naming.
4. If the file fails, the SDI returns a rejection notice (notifica di scarto) and the invoice is treated as never issued. You fix it and resend.
5. If it passes, the SDI delivers it to the buyer's channel identified by the codice destinatario or PEC, and sends the seller a delivery receipt.
6. If delivery is impossible, for example because the buyer has no channel, the SDI makes the invoice available in the buyer's reserved area and tells the seller to send a copy another way.

Because the SDI sees each invoice, the Agenzia uses the data for pre-filled VAT records and risk analysis. That is the main reason Italy's VAT gap narrowed after the mandate, and why so many countries copied the approach. For a broader introduction to structured invoices, read our e-invoicing guide.

Who must use FatturaPA and the SDI

The obligation covers taxable persons who are established or identified for VAT in Italy. In 2026 that includes:

• Companies and partnerships for B2B and B2C sales, since 1 January 2019.
• Suppliers to the public administration, which has required FatturaPA since 2014 for central bodies and 2015 for local ones.
• Forfettari (flat-rate taxpayers): those with revenue above 25,000 euros from 1 July 2022, and all of them from 1 January 2024.
• Cross-border reporting: since 1 July 2022, sales to and purchases from foreign parties are reported through the SDI rather than the old esterometro return.

There are notable exclusions. Healthcare providers who send patient expense data to the Sistema Tessera Sanitaria are barred from e-invoicing those services to private individuals, to protect medical data. A few small categories, such as farmers in the special exemption regime, also sit outside. Non-resident businesses that are not VAT-identified in Italy are not required to issue through the SDI.

Codice destinatario, PEC and special codes

The codice destinatario is the most common source of delivery problems, so get it right before you send. This table shows which value goes in the field:

Buyer	What to enter	Notes
Italian business with a provider	Its seven-character codice destinatario	Ask for it with the buyer's partita IVA
Italian business using PEC only	0000000 plus the PEC address	The SDI delivers to the certified email
Public administration office	Six-character codice univoco ufficio	Listed in the IPA public index; CIG or CUP codes may also be required
Italian consumer	0000000 and the buyer's codice fiscale	Give the consumer a paper or PDF copy
Foreign customer (EU or non-EU)	XXXXXXX	Country code in IdPaese, identifier in IdCodice; send a copy directly

Note that if the buyer has registered a preferred channel in the Agenzia's portal, the SDI will deliver there regardless of what you entered. That registration is why many small businesses tell suppliers to "just use seven zeros".

Receiving e-invoices in Italy

The receiving side matters as much as sending. Every Italian VAT number can see the invoices addressed to it in the Fatture e Corrispettivi reserved area, even when no codice destinatario was given. Buyers should record purchase invoices from the SDI data, not from PDF copies, because the SDI file is the legal document and the date it is delivered affects when input VAT can be claimed. When an Italian business buys services from a foreign supplier that does not use the SDI, it creates a reverse-charge integration document (type TD17 for services, TD18 for intra-EU goods, TD19 for certain goods bought from non-residents) and sends that to the SDI itself. That is why a foreign freelancer billing an Italian company can send a normal invoice: the client does the SDI reporting on its side.

Key fields in a FatturaPA file

Beyond the routing code, a valid XML invoice carries the same content a normal VAT invoice would, in structured form:

• Document type code, for example TD01 for a standard invoice or TD04 for a credit note.
• Seller and buyer partita IVA and/or codice fiscale. Our guide to tax IDs on invoices covers why these must match the registry exactly.
• A progressive invoice number and date. A consistent sequence matters, so a tool like our invoice number generator helps when you plan your series.
• Tax regime code (RF01 for ordinary, RF19 for forfettario).
• Line descriptions, quantities, unit prices, VAT rate or a nature code (N1 to N7) explaining why no VAT is charged.
• Withholding tax block (DatiRitenuta) for professionals billing Italian businesses.
• Stamp duty block (DatiBollo) where the 2-euro bollo applies.
• Payment terms and IBAN.

Deadlines: when to transmit

Italian VAT law fixes the invoice date by the date of the transaction, but gives you time to transmit:

Invoice type	Transmission deadline
Immediate invoice (fattura immediata)	Within 12 days of the transaction
Deferred invoice (fattura differita)	By the 15th of the month after the transactions it covers
Reporting of purchases from abroad (TD17, TD18, TD19)	By the 15th of the month after receipt or the transaction
Resubmission after an SDI rejection	Within 5 days of the rejection notice, keeping the original number and date

Corrections work differently from paper invoicing. Once the SDI has delivered an invoice, you cannot edit or delete it. You issue a credit note (TD04) and, if needed, a new invoice. Our credit note guide explains the logic, which is the same in Italy, just in XML.

Forfettari, withholding tax and the bollo

Most freelancers in Italy fall into one of two camps: the flat-rate regime forfettario, or the ordinary regime with VAT. Their invoices look very different.

Forfettario invoices

Forfettari do not charge VAT and are not subject to withholding by their clients. Their XML invoices use regime RF19, nature code N2.2 on the lines, and a short statement that the transaction is carried out under the flat-rate regime. If the invoice total exceeds 77.47 euros, a 2-euro stamp duty (imposta di bollo) applies and must be flagged in the DatiBollo block. The Agenzia then calculates the bollo due from SDI data each quarter and the issuer pays it.

Ordinary regime professionals

Professionals in the ordinary regime charge VAT (22% standard rate) and, when billing an Italian business that acts as withholding agent, suffer a 20% ritenuta d'acconto on the fee. The client pays the withholding to the state on your behalf. For the general concept, see our explainer on withholding tax on invoices.

Worked example: two Italian invoices

Forfettario consultant. Giulia is a forfettaria consultant. She bills a Milan company 1,500 euros for a project. No VAT is charged (N2.2), there is no withholding, and the total is above 77.47 euros, so the 2-euro bollo applies. Many forfettari recharge it to the client:

• Fee: 1,500.00 euros
• VAT: 0.00 (N2.2)
• Stamp duty recharged: 2.00 euros
• Total invoice and amount due: 1,502.00 euros

Ordinary regime designer. Marco is in the ordinary regime and bills an Italian agency 2,000 euros:

• Fee: 2,000.00 euros
• VAT at 22%: 440.00 euros
• Invoice total: 2,440.00 euros
• Withholding at 20% of the fee: 400.00 euros
• Net amount the agency pays Marco: 2,440.00 minus 400.00 = 2,040.00 euros

Both invoices go to the SDI as XML within 12 days of completing the work. If you want to sanity-check the VAT arithmetic before you enter it, our guide on how to calculate VAT walks through the formulas.

Storage, free tools and penalties

E-invoices must be kept in compliant digital storage (conservazione sostitutiva). The Agenzia offers a free storage service if you sign the agreement in its portal, and most accounting software includes one. Italian law generally requires tax records to be kept for at least ten years; our guide on how long to keep invoices compares this with other countries.

The Agenzia delle Entrate e-invoicing section lists free services to prepare, send, store and consult invoices, including a web form and the FatturAE app. For a handful of invoices a month, these are enough.

Penalties for failing to issue an invoice, or issuing one outside the SDI, are calculated as a percentage of the VAT involved, with fixed minimums where no VAT was due. The sanctions system was reformed from 1 September 2024 and you can reduce penalties through ravvedimento operoso if you correct quickly. The exact figure depends on the case, so ask an adviser rather than estimating it yourself.

Italy after 2027: what changes next

Italy's mandate needs an EU derogation. Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2024/3150 extends it until 31 December 2027, with any renewal request due by 31 March 2027. The EU's VAT in the Digital Age reform is set to let member states impose domestic e-invoicing without a derogation, and to introduce EU-wide digital reporting for cross-border B2B sales from 2030. Our explainer on ViDA covers that timeline.

For businesses, the practical message is that the SDI is not going away. Expect continued technical updates, such as the 1.9.1 specifications in 2026, and closer alignment with the European standard EN 16931 over time. Other clearance systems, such as Romania's e-Factura and Mexico's CFDI, follow similar logic, so the habits you build for Italy carry over.

Practical checklist for Italy e-invoicing

1. Confirm whether you are VAT-established or identified in Italy. If not, the SDI obligation does not apply to you.
2. Choose a channel: Agenzia free tools, accounting software, or an intermediary.
3. Collect each client's partita IVA or codice fiscale, plus codice destinatario or PEC.
4. Set the right regime code (RF01 or RF19) and VAT or nature codes on every line.
5. Add withholding and bollo blocks where they apply.
6. Transmit within 12 days and watch for rejection notices.
7. Correct with credit notes, never by editing a delivered invoice.
8. Activate compliant storage and keep files for at least ten years.

Create your invoices for clients outside the SDI

Italy e-invoicing through the SDI is strict, but it is predictable once your codes, deadlines and regime settings are right. If you are a foreign freelancer billing an Italian company, or you need a clear PDF courtesy copy alongside your XML, create it in minutes with our free invoice generator and keep the format consistent with an invoice template.