The INPS bonus
It is a direct payment, independent of the tax you owe. It suits people with a low ISEE and people whose tax is too low to absorb a credit.
CAF services · Family
Nursery bonus (bonus asilo nido) in Turin
The nursery bonus (bonus asilo nido) reimburses a sizeable part of the nursery fees, but only what you have already paid and documented. It works as a monthly reimbursement that has to be fed receipt by receipt: forget to do it and you lose those months.
01 · The measure
What the nursery bonus is
It is a contribution from INPS (the Italian National Social Security Institute) towards the fees of public and authorised private nurseries, and towards home support for children with serious chronic illnesses who cannot attend.
It is not paid in advance: it is a reimbursement. You pay the fee, upload the receipt and INPS pays the contribution up to the ceiling for your band.
- It covers children under three, within the limits set by the law.
- It covers the fees of public nurseries, authorised private nurseries and micro-nurseries.
- The maximum amount is set by bands of the ISEE minorenni (the means-test indicator for benefits for children).
- It is paid for a maximum number of months per calendar year.
- Home support is an alternative and has its own procedure, with a certificate from the paediatrician.
- It cannot be combined with the tax credit for the same fees: you choose one or the other.
The measure has been strengthened for households with more than one young child: if you have another child below a certain age, you may qualify for a higher amount, under conditions that need to be checked against your own family details.
02 · How much you get
How much you can get from the nursery bonus
The amount depends on the ISEE minorenni that is valid when you apply, and it is set in bands.
- The contribution cannot exceed the fee actually paid in the month.
- You must file a valid ISEE minorenni: the ordinary one is not enough in every family situation.
- There is a maximum number of months per calendar year, not per school year.
- September and August need checking: they depend on when the service was actually provided.
- An ISEE filed after the application applies from the date of the certificate, not retrospectively.
| Situation | Effect on the amount |
|---|---|
| ISEE minorenni in the lowest band | Maximum monthly amount |
| ISEE minorenni in the middle band | Reduced monthly amount |
| ISEE minorenni in the highest band, or none | Minimum monthly amount |
| ISEE not filed or showing discrepancies | The minimum band applies |
| Household with another child below a certain age | Higher amount, if the requirements are met |
The costliest mistake is applying without a valid ISEE, or with an ordinary ISEE when your family situation calls for the one for benefits for children: the contribution is paid at the minimum band and the difference cannot be recovered.
03 · How to apply
How to apply
The application is made online by the parent who pays the fees, who must be the same person named on the receipts.
Who applies
The parent who pays the fee and lives with the child. They must be the same person named on the payment receipts.
How
Through the INPS portal with SPID, CIE or CNS (Italian digital identity), or through a CAF (authorised tax assistance centre) or patronato (welfare advice bureau) acting on your behalf.
What to include
The child's details, the nursery attended with its code, and the months for which you are claiming the contribution.
When
By the annual deadline set by INPS. Funding is in any case subject to an overall spending limit.
The nursery's document
Ask the nursery for it; do not improvise it.
- It must show the nursery's name and code
- It must give the details of its operating authorisation
- It must list the months for which payment is due
- For public nurseries you need the documents from the managing body
04 · The reimbursement
Uploading the receipts
This is the part where the most contributions are lost, because it requires a recurring action and nobody remembers it.
- Each month paid must be documented separately with its receipt.
- The receipt must be in the name of the parent who applied.
- It must show the month it refers to, the amount and the child's name.
- Payment must be made by traceable means.
- Receipts must be uploaded by the set deadline: after that, the month is lost.
- INPS pays the contribution after checking each receipt, not in one lump sum.
The reimbursement arrives in the IBAN you gave, month by month, a few weeks after the upload. If you see the first payment and then forget the following months, you end up with just one month paid out of eleven.
05 · The alternative
Bonus or tax credit: which makes sense
As an alternative to the bonus, nursery fees give the right to a tax credit (detrazione) in your tax return. The two routes cannot be combined on the same expense.
The tax credit
It reduces the tax in your return, up to a spending cap for each child. You need enough gross tax for it to work.
The comparison
In the great majority of cases the bonus is worth more, especially in the lower ISEE bands.
Partial combination
On the part of the fee not covered by the bonus you can consider the tax credit: the ban concerns the same expense, not the whole year.
If your tax is zero
The tax credit gives you no benefit at all: the bonus is the only useful route.
Check every year
ISEE, income and amounts change: the choice has to be made again, not carried over from the previous year.
06 · The other form
The contribution for home support
This is the alternative form, for children who cannot attend nursery because of serious chronic illnesses.
- It requires a certificate from the family paediatrician confirming that the child cannot attend.
- The certificate must state the period concerned and describe the illness in general terms.
- The contribution is paid in a single payment for the year, with no need to upload monthly receipts.
- The amount follows the same ISEE bands as the bonus for fees.
- It cannot be combined with the contribution for nursery attendance for the same period.
- The application follows the same online procedure, in the dedicated section.
If your child attends for part of the year and then can no longer do so for health reasons, with the right documents you can use both forms in separate periods. The dates in this situation need careful handling.
Frequently asked
The questions that keep coming up
Do I need an ISEE to apply?
It is not compulsory, but without a valid ISEE the contribution is paid at the lowest band. With a current ISEE minorenni the amount can be noticeably higher.
Check which type you need: in some family situations, such as a parent who does not live with the child, you need the ISEE for benefits for children and not the ordinary one.
I paid the fee in cash. Can I claim the reimbursement?
No. Payment must be made by traceable means and the receipt must be in the name of the parent applying.
This is a condition of the measure, not a question of proof: even with the nursery's receipt, a cash payment does not allow reimbursement.
I forgot to upload the receipts for some months. Can I recover them?
Only within the annual deadline set for uploading. After that deadline, months not uploaded are lost for good.
That is why it makes sense to upload each receipt as soon as you pay, without letting several pile up. Clients of the practice receive a monthly reminder.
Can I have both the bonus and the tax credit?
Not on the same expense. The ban on combining them concerns the amount actually reimbursed by INPS.
On the part of the fee you still bear yourself, however, the tax credit remains possible up to the set cap. The calculation has to be made on the actual figures for the year.
Let's talk
You apply once; the receipts are uploaded every month
This is where the most money is lost. If you prefer, we can take care of it for the whole school year.