What they are
An invitation to check your position before it becomes a formal assessment.
VAT numbers · Checks
ISA scores and the cassetto fiscale
The Agenzia delle Entrate (the Italian Revenue Agency) already has almost all your data and uses it to give you a score. Knowing that score in advance, and knowing what is in your cassetto fiscale (your online tax records with the Agency), is the difference between having an inspection happen to you and heading it off.
01 · The indices
The ISA reliability scores
The ISA (indici sintetici di affidabilità, synthetic reliability indices) replace the old sector studies. They are no longer used to set a presumed revenue figure: they give a score from 1 to 10 measuring how consistent your declared position is with what is expected for the sector and the structure of the business.
- They apply to people carrying on business activities, arts and professions, with specific exclusions.
- The score comes from elementary indicators of reliability and of anomaly.
- It is calculated with the Agency's software, which processes the data declared.
- There is no longer any automatic presumptive assessment for people whose figures do not match.
- The score does, however, have practical effects on the reward scheme and on the selection of taxpayers for checks.
- Taxpayers under the flat-rate scheme and other specified taxpayers are excluded.
The change of approach from the sector studies is substantial: it is no longer a matter of "adjusting" to a revenue figure, but of where you sit on a reliability scale. A low score does not in itself lead to an assessment, but it puts your position among the priorities when checks are selected.
02 · The benefits
What a high ISA score gets you
The reward scheme is organised by score bands: the higher the score, the more benefits you get.
- The score affects the proposal under the concordato preventivo.
- Shorter assessment time limits are the most tangible benefit: tax years close sooner.
- Exemption from the visto di conformità cuts costs and time for people who offset a lot.
- The score is fixed with the tax return: that is the moment it is settled.
- The benefit thresholds are updated from time to time by official measure.
| Benefit | At what score |
|---|---|
| Exemption from the visto di conformità (compliance check) for offsets up to higher thresholds | High score |
| Exemption from the compliance check for VAT credit refunds within thresholds | High score |
| Exclusion from the rules on non-operating companies | High score |
| Shorter time limits for assessments | Very high score |
| Exclusion from certain presumptive assessments | High score |
| Access to the concordato preventivo (advance tax agreement) | Counts towards the proposal |
03 · The indicators
How to read your score
The score is not an opaque overall judgement: it breaks down into indicators, and each one tells you something specific.
Reliability indicators
They measure consistency between revenue, value added, income and the structure of the business: employees, business assets, costs.
Anomaly indicators
They flag inconsistencies in the data declared: inventories, unusual costs, mismatches between sections of the return.
Pre-calculated variables
The Agency provides historical data that go into the calculation: they must be downloaded and checked.
Adjustment
You can declare additional revenue to improve your score, which also has VAT effects.
The most common causes of a low score
They are often mistakes, not real anomalies.
- Business assets entered wrongly or not updated
- Opening and closing inventories that do not match
- Staff costs not in line with the number of employees declared
- An activity code that does not match the activity actually carried out
04 · Your data
What the cassetto fiscale contains
It is the private area where the Agency collects everything that concerns you. It is worth opening it at least once a year, if only to check.
- Tax returns filed, with receipts and processing status.
- Payments: every F24 (the Italian tax payment form) submitted, with outcome and amounts.
- Electronic invoices issued and received, with their files.
- Communications: avvisi bonari (informal tax notices), compliance letters, results of automated checks.
- Registry data: registered deeds, rental contracts, inheritances.
- Refunds requested and how far they have got.
- Credits available and used for offsetting.
The cassetto fiscale can also be viewed by an authorised intermediary, and for people who use a practice this is how their position is monitored without having to ask for anything. The authorisation is activated once and lasts for the agreed period.
05 · What arrives
Compliance letters
These are letters in which the Agency points out an anomaly found by cross-checking data, inviting you to explain or put things right. They are not assessments.
Where they come from
From cross-checking returns, electronic invoices, daily takings, bank data and international information exchanges.
What to do
Check the substance: sometimes the anomaly is only apparent and you reply with an explanation, sometimes it is real and it makes sense to put it right.
The advantage
Ravvedimento (voluntary correction) is still possible, with reduced penalties: after an assessment it no longer is.
Ignoring them
It does not make them go away: your position stays selected and the assessment arrives with full penalties.
Recurring issues
Undeclared foreign income, earnings from platforms, mismatches between invoices issued and income declared, a missing quadro RW (foreign assets section).
06 · Prevention
How to keep your position under control
A few habits, all of them much cheaper than a dispute.
- Check your ISA score before sending the return, while mistakes can still be corrected.
- Download the pre-calculated variables and check that the historical data are correct.
- Open your cassetto fiscale at least once a year, and in any case before major transactions.
- Check your communications: compliance letters arrive there, not always by post.
- Reconcile the electronic invoices sent with what you have declared.
- Give the practice access, so monitoring is continuous and does not depend on memory.
A compliance letter that arrives out of the blue almost always concerns a figure that was already visible in the cassetto fiscale months earlier. Looking in good time turns a nasty surprise into a routine correction.
Frequently asked
The questions that keep coming up
Does a low ISA score mean I will be inspected?
Not automatically. Unlike the old sector studies, a low score does not in itself lead to a presumptive assessment.
It does, however, put your position among the priorities when checks are selected. It is a risk indicator, not a finding of wrongdoing: it often comes from data entered wrongly, not from unusual behaviour.
Is it worth adjusting my figures to raise the score?
It depends on the benefit you get and on the cost of the adjustment. Declaring additional revenue raises the score but brings taxes, contributions and, in some cases, VAT effects.
It makes sense when the adjustment is small and unlocks tangible benefits, such as shorter assessment time limits or exemption from the visto di conformità. The decision should be based on the figures, not on habit.
I am on the flat-rate scheme. Do I have to fill in the ISA?
No, taxpayers under the flat-rate scheme are excluded from the synthetic reliability indices.
They are still subject to other checks and to compliance letters, which come from cross-checking data and not from the ISA. You should look at your cassetto fiscale all the same.
I have received a compliance letter. Is it serious?
It is not an assessment: it is an invitation to check your position before it becomes one. In many cases the anomaly is only apparent and is resolved with an explanation.
The advantage is that ravvedimento operoso (voluntary correction) is still possible, with reduced penalties. Ignoring it is the worst choice: your position stays selected and the assessment arrives with full penalties.
Let's talk
You find out your score before filing the return, not after
The variables can be checked and corrected until the return is sent. After that it becomes much harder.