On 31 January 2024, with circular no. 27/2024, the Italian National Social Security Entity (Istituto nazionale della previdenza sociale, ‘INPS’) provided guidelines and instructions relating to the use of the exemption of 100% of the share of social security contributions payable by working mothers for the pay periods from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2026, up to a maximum limit of EUR 3,000 per year, to be allocated pro rata on a monthly basis, introduced by the 2024 Italian Budget Law.
The exemption is granted to working mothers of three or more children – employed on a permanent contract – up to the month of the youngest child’s eighteenth birthday.
To access the exemption in question, the circular specifies that female workers must send their employer a declaration containing the number of children and their tax codes. Alternatively, INPS provides a special application form that the worker can fill in and send directly to it.
The contribution exemption also applies to working mothers of two children, up to the month of the youngest child’s tenth birthday, limited to pay periods from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024.
Finally, the circular specifies that the mother is eligible for the exemption at the time of the birth of the third child (or, only for 2024, of the second). Moreover, if one of the children leaves the family unit or does not live with the mother or is in the sole custody of the father, there is no forfeiture of the right to benefit from the contribution reduction in question.