From January 1, 2027, the tax rules applied to the severance pay will change. The reform indeed provides for the removal of the clause that, in certain situations, still allows comparing the ordinary taxation with that provided by the 2006 Irpef system and applying the one more favorable to the worker.
The news will particularly affect those who will end their employment relationship from 2027, for example to retire or to change company.
Goodbye to the comparison with the 2006 Irpef rates
To understand the scope of the change, it is necessary to take a step back. In 2007, the Irpef system was profoundly modified with changes to the rates and income brackets.
The risk was that the new rules would produce, in some cases, heavier taxation on the severance pay. Severance pay, in fact, is accumulated during the years of work but is taxed at the moment it is paid out, through a separate taxation mechanism.
To avoid the transition to the new system causing a tax increase, a safeguard clause was introduced.
At the time of severance pay liquidation, the tax regime applicable at the termination of the relationship was compared with that in force on December 31, 2006. If the old system was more convenient, the worker could benefit from that taxation.
The same protection also applied to equivalent indemnities and other sums recognized at the end of the employment relationship.
From 2027 the tax “parachute” disappears
With the new Consolidated Income Tax Act, this possibility is eliminated.
Starting from 2027, it will no longer be possible to compare with the 2006 Irpef regime to choose, case by case, the most fiscally advantageous solution.
In other words, the protection mechanism introduced after the 2007 Irpef reform is removed. Severance pay will be taxed based on the tax rules in force at the time provided by the new regulation, without being able to automatically recover the old rates and brackets of 2006 when they are more convenient.
Severance pay taxed more for everyone? Not necessarily
The removal of the clause does not mean that from 2027 everyone will pay more taxes on severance pay.
The actual effect will depend on the individual worker’s tax situation and the advantage that, until now, could have derived from the comparison with the 2006 rules.
The old system could be particularly favorable in the presence of long periods of work and medium-high incomes. In these situations, the disappearance of the clause could result in a higher tax, with differences that can even reach several percentage points.
For other workers, however, the effect could be much more limited, especially when the comparison with the previous tax regime would not have produced a significant saving.