Professional Cash Benefits: How to Apply

After weeks of back and forth, the Government releases funds for professionals and the self-employed with private coffers - Here's who can receive the allowance, how to request it and when

After two weeks of controversy the green light comes. Freelancers and self-employed workers enrolled in private pension funds will also be able to receive the 600 euro allowance as early as March. The rules are contained in an interministerial decree signed by the Ministry of Labor in concert with that of the Economy.

Architects, engineers, surveyors, sales agents, doctors, psychologists, labor consultants, accountants, lawyers, journalists, etc. they will therefore have the right to compensation, but with specific parameters, different from those valid for VAT numbers and self-employed registered with INPS.

"This is a first intervention to immediately deal with the emergency situation," said the Minister of Labour, Nunzia Catalfo. “We are already working on the new measures for the April decree, where the objective is to provide, for these categories of workers, a compensation of a higher amount”, he underlined.

PROFESSIONALS ALLOWANCE WITH CASE: THE RULES

The interministerial decree establishes the various methods of disbursement of the 300 million euro last resort income fund set up with the Cura Italia decree. For professionals with cash there will be 200 million available.

In detail, the 600 euro allowance for the month of March will be paid to professionals and self-employed workers enrolled in private funds who:

received in the 2018 tax year an income equal to or less than 35.000 euros "whether the activity has been limited by the restrictive measures issued as a result of the epidemiological emergency from COVID-19";
received in the 2018 tax year an income between 35.000 and 50.000 euros and in the first three months of 2020 have experienced a reduction in activity of at least 33% compared to the first quarter of the previous year.

Another parameter is added to the income conditions: the professional must be up to date with the contribution obligations relating to the year 2019.

The decree also denies another of the concerns expressed in the previous days by the various funds: the indemnity will not contribute to the formation of taxable income and therefore will not be taxable.

PROFESSIONALS ALLOWANCE WITH CASH: HOW AND WHEN TO APPLY

Applications to receive the 600 euro allowance must be submitted from Wednesday 1st April to Thursday 30th April 2020. After this date, applications will be considered inadmissible. The request must be forwarded to the competent social security institution.

Applications must be accompanied by a statement from the worker concerned in which the professional will have to certify:

not to be a pensioner;
not to receive the 600 euros provided for by the Cura Italia decree for VAT numbers and self-employed persons registered with INPS;
not to receive the basic income;
that I have not submitted other applications of the same type to other forms of compulsory social security,
to have received in 2018 an income equal to or less than the amounts envisaged by the decree (35 or 50 euros)
to have closed the VAT number in the period between 23 February 2020 and 31 March 2020, or to have suffered a reduction of at least 33 per cent of the income relating to the first quarter of 2020 compared to the income of the first quarter 2019, or, for the holders of income of less than 35.000 euros, to be in the conditions established by the decree;

In addition, a copy of the identity document, tax code, bank account details or post office to send the credit.

Once the necessary checks have been carried out, the various social security institutions will distribute the allowance based on the chronological order of the applications presented and accepted.