What is the Certificazione Unica (CU)?

What is the Certificazione Unica?

The Certificazione Unica (CU) is the annual certificate that every withholding agent in Italy, including every employer, issues for the income it paid in the previous year. It shows the pay, the income tax withheld, the tax credits applied and the social security contributions, so a single document serves both tax and INPS purposes.

Two versions

The employer gives each employee a summary version and sends a fuller version to the Italian Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate), with additional tax and contribution data. The Agency uses these data to prepare employees’ pre-filled tax returns (the 730 precompilato), so a missing or wrong CU affects the employee’s return.

Deadlines

For income paid in 2025, the CU had to be delivered to employees and sent to the Agency by 16 March 2026. CUs that cover only professional self-employment income or non-occasional commissions are due by 30 April, and those with only exempt income, or income that does not go in the pre-filled return, can be sent by the Modello 770 deadline. When employment ends during the year, the employee can ask for the CU and must receive it within 12 days. A deadline that falls on a Saturday or public holiday moves to the next working day.

Penalties

For each CU that is missing, late or wrong, the penalty is €100, up to €50,000 per withholding agent. There is no penalty when a wrong CU is corrected within five days of the deadline, and the penalty falls to a third, up to €20,000, if the correct CU is sent within 60 days.

The CU when TopSource runs your payroll

When TopSource runs your payroll in Italy, we prepare each employee’s CU from the year’s payroll, send it to the Agenzia delle Entrate and deliver it to employees by 16 March, and issue it within 12 days when someone leaves and asks for it.

Frequently asked questions

When must employers issue the Certificazione Unica?

By 16 March of the year after the income was paid, both to the employee and to the Agenzia delle Entrate. A deadline on a Saturday or public holiday moves to the next working day.

What is the penalty for a late or missing CU?

€100 for each certificate, up to €50,000 per withholding agent, reduced to a third, up to €20,000, if the correct CU is sent within 60 days.

Is the CU the same as a payslip?

No. The busta paga covers each pay period. The CU summarises the whole year’s pay, tax withheld and contributions.

Certificazione Unica (Italy)