🇮🇹 Italy

Dichiarazione ISEE

Economic Situation Statement

Hard 40 min BenefitsIncomeSocial Services

/ What is this form?

The ISEE (Indicatore della Situazione Economica Equivalente) is Italy's standardized measure of a household's economic situation, combining income, assets, and household size into a single indicator. It is required to access a vast range of means-tested public services and benefits, including: the Assegno Unico per i figli (child allowance), nursery (asilo nido) bonuses, university fee reductions, social housing, and reductions on utility bills.

The ISEE is calculated from the DSU (Dichiarazione Sostitutiva Unica), a self-declaration of all household income and assets for the previous year. The DSU can be submitted at a CAF (Centro di Assistenza Fiscale — a free tax assistance centre) or directly online through the INPS portal with SPID authentication.

The ISEE is valid for the entire calendar year (January to December). For certain benefits — such as the university ISEE or nursery ISEE — special variants of the calculation apply. It must be renewed every year, and failing to do so means losing access to means-tested benefits.

/ Who needs this form?

Families applying for the Assegno Unico Universale (universal child allowance)
Parents applying for nursery (asilo nido) bonuses or reduced fees
University students applying for grants (borsa di studio), reduced tuition, or on-campus housing
Households applying for social housing (alloggi ERP) or housing benefit
People applying for the reduced 'social rate' on electricity and gas bills
Citizens applying for the Reddito di Cittadinanza or other income support

/ What you need before you start

Codice fiscale (tax code) of all household members — the 16-character alphanumeric code

Tax return (dichiarazione dei redditi / 730 or UNICO) for the previous year, or CU certificate from employer

Bank and post office account statements as of December 31 of the previous year

Land registry documents (visura catastale) for any property you own

Vehicle registration documents for all cars, motorbikes, and boats owned

SPID or CIE (electronic ID card) credentials if submitting online via INPS

/ Step-by-step guide

1 Gather Documents

Collect tax returns (dichiarazione dei redditi), bank statements, property documents, and vehicle registration for all household members.

2 Household Members

List all members of your family nucleus (nucleo familiare), including their tax codes (codice fiscale) and income.

3 Income Declaration

Enter income from all sources for the previous year: employment, self-employment, pensions, rental income, and capital gains.

4 Assets Declaration

Declare all assets: bank accounts, real estate, vehicles, and financial investments as of December 31 of the previous year.

5 Submit DSU

Submit the Dichiarazione Sostitutiva Unica (DSU) at a CAF (patronage office), INPS office, or online through INPS portal.

/ Key fields explained

Field	What to enter	Common mistake
Nucleo familiare (Household)	All persons registered at the same address (residenza anagrafica), plus fiscally dependent family members living elsewhere.	Not including family members who are fiscally dependent but live at a different address (e.g. children at university).
Redditi (Income)	All income for the previous year: employment, self-employment, pension, rental, capital gains. The pre-filled DSU pulls data from INPS and Agenzia delle Entrate automatically.	Forgetting to declare rental income (canoni di locazione) or financial income (rendite finanziarie).
Patrimonio mobiliare (Financial assets)	Total value of all bank accounts, saving accounts, stocks, and bonds as of December 31.	Declaring the average annual balance instead of the balance on December 31 specifically.
Patrimonio immobiliare (Real estate)	Cadastral value (valore catastale) of all properties owned, including shares of inherited property.	Using the market value of the property instead of the cadastral value (rendita catastale × coefficient).
Veicoli (Vehicles)	All motor vehicles registered in your name as of December 31.	Forgetting to declare a second car or a boat — all registered vehicles must be declared.

/ Common mistakes to avoid

Declaring only the head of household's income instead of all household members' income.

Not renewing the ISEE at the start of the new year — the previous year's ISEE expires December 31.

Using the wrong ISEE variant — some benefits (university, nursery) require a specific ISEE type.

Not declaring financial assets as of December 31 — using average balances instead of year-end balances.

Forgetting to include properties or vehicles — even small ones affect the ISEE calculation.

Not going to a CAF for help — the form is complex and errors lead to penalties.

/ Frequently asked questions

What is the ISEE used for?

The ISEE is required for dozens of Italian social benefits and services, including: the Assegno Unico for children, university fee reductions, nursery bonuses, social housing applications, utility bill reductions, and many local municipality services.

How do I submit the DSU?

You can submit the DSU for free at a CAF office (Centro di Assistenza Fiscale), at an INPS branch, or independently online at the INPS portal if you have SPID or CIE digital identity credentials.

What is the 'precompilato ISEE'?

The pre-filled ISEE (ISEE precompilato) is an online service by INPS that automatically populates income and asset data from the tax authority and other government databases, reducing the need to gather documents manually.

How long is the ISEE valid?

The ISEE is valid from the date of submission until December 31 of the same year. If your economic situation improves significantly during the year, you are required to submit a new DSU.

Does ISEE account for property I own?

Yes. The ISEE calculation includes the cadastral value of all real estate you own (including land and any share of inherited property), minus the value of your main residence (with a cap).