Complete Guide to the Italian Tax Code
What is the Codice Fiscale?
The Codice Fiscale (Italian Tax Code) is a unique 16-character alphanumeric code assigned to every individual in Italy for tax and administrative purposes. It’s roughly equivalent to a Social Security Number (US), National Insurance Number (UK), or Tax File Number (Australia), but its structure encodes personal information directly into the code.
You need it for: opening a bank account, signing employment or rental contracts, filing tax returns, accessing healthcare, enrolling in schools, and any interaction with Italian public administration.
The 16-character structure
An Italian tax code like RSSMRA85M10F205Z breaks down as:
| Position | Characters | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1–3 | RSS | Surname consonants |
| 4–6 | MRA | First name consonants |
| 7–8 | 85 | Last two digits of birth year |
| 9 | M | Month letter (A=Jan, B=Feb, C=Mar...) |
| 10–11 | 10 | Day of birth (add 40 for females) |
| 12–15 | F205 | Municipality cadastral code |
| 16 | Z | Check character (computed) |
Surname encoding rules
Take the first three consonants. If fewer than three, fill with vowels. If the surname has fewer than three letters, pad with X.
- Rossi → R, S, S →
RSS - Bianchi → B, N, C →
BNC - Ao → no consonants, use vowels A, O + X →
AOX
First name encoding rules
Similar to surnames, but if the name has 4 or more consonants, take the 1st, 3rd, and 4th (skipping the 2nd). Otherwise, take the first three consonants, filling with vowels if needed.
- Mario → M, R (only 2) + vowel A →
MRA - Giuseppe → G, S, P, P (4 consonants) → 1st, 3rd, 4th:
GPP - Francesca → F, R, N, C, S (5 consonants) → 1st, 3rd, 4th:
FNC
Date of birth and gender
The year is the last two digits (1985 → 85). Each month is a letter: A (Jan), B (Feb), C (Mar), D (Apr), E (May), H (Jun), L (Jul), M (Aug), P (Sep), R (Oct), S (Nov), T (Dec). The day is the actual date for males (01–31); for females, add 40 (41–71).
Codice Fiscale for foreigners
Non-Italian citizens living or working in Italy also receive a Codice Fiscale. The calculation is identical, but the birthplace code uses the country code (Z + 3 digits) instead of an Italian municipality. You can request one at any Italian consulate or Agenzia delle Entrate office.
Omocodia: duplicate code resolution
When two people generate the same tax code, the Italian Revenue Agency resolves the conflict by replacing digits with letters using a fixed table (0→L, 1→M, ..., 9→V), starting from the rightmost digit. Only the Agency can assign the official code in omocodia cases.
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