For 2022, software 4.0 bonus at 50% for investments up to 1 million

The Transition Plan 4.0 is constantly evolving and subject to systematic restyling for the benefit of companies, especially as regards the tax credit for investments in capital goods.

After the extension to the three-year period 2023-2025 (with possible investment queues until 30 June 2026) introduced with the 2022 Budget Law, significant regulatory interventions and clarifications have followed, even in recent weeks.

It should be remembered, first of all, that in the context of the parliamentary process of conversion into law of the decree-law of December 30, 2021, n. 228 (the so -called Milleproroghe Decree ), an amendment has extended the privileged regime of 2021 , also to investments in ordinary assets (both tangible and intangible) and in 4.0 tangible assets booked in 2021 (with order and deposit of at least 20% by 2021 ) and concluded by 31 December 2022 , instead of by 30 June 2022.

On the other hand, no provision had been dedicated to intangible assets 4.0, since - unlike the other cases - for software 4.0 the 2021 Budget Law did not provide for a weakening of the incentive rate between 2021 and 2022, allowing the maintenance of the same subsidy intensity (20%) envisaged by the 2021 regime.

To redetermine the fate of intangible assets 4.0 acquired or "reserved" in 2022 , pursuant to art. 109 TUIR, the recent Aid Decree intervened (Law Decree no. 50 of 17 May 2022 containing " Urgent measures in the field of national energy policies, business productivity and attraction of investments, as well as in the field of social policies and the Ukrainian crisis ").

Article 21 of the Aid Decree increases the amount of the tax credit for intangible capital goods 4.0 acquired starting from January 1, 2022 and until December 31, 2022 or by June 30, 2023 , provided that by the date of December 2022, the relative order is accepted by the seller and the payment of advances has been made in an amount equal to at least 20% of the acquisition cost. In particular, the Decree increases the percentage of the cost of goods recognized as a tax credit from 20 to 50% .

The subsidy measure is included in the M1C2 mission of the NRP called “digitization, innovation and competitiveness in the production system”; in particular, the Annex to the executive decision of the Council of 13 July 2021 provides, among others, in the description of the goals and objectives associated with the mission, the following time objectives : at least 27,300 tax subjects must have accrued tax credits for intangible capital goods 4.0 on the basis of the tax returns submitted between January 2021 and December 2022 (target to be reached by June 2024) and at least 41,500 tax subjectsmust accrue the same credit on the basis of the returns submitted between January 2021 and December 2023 . The increase in the tax credit therefore responds to the need to ensure an acceleration in the dynamics of investments in intangible capital goods as per attachment B annexed to law no. 232, also in consideration of the provisional data processed on the tax returns relating to the tax year 2020 which show a number of beneficiaries significantly lower than the target and equal to 3,572.

Below is the updated incentive flow , comparing the news of the latest financial maneuvers as recently redelined, which is useful to consider to plan investments optimizing the benefits .