Italy Supreme Court issues rulings on tax refunds and performance bonuses

The Italian Supreme Court (Corte di Cassazione) has issued several significant rulings affecting taxpayers and employees. In a recent ordinance (n. 27121/2026), the Court classified 'ravvedimento operoso' (voluntary correction of tax errors) as a negotiable choice rather than a mere declaration of knowledge. Consequently, taxpayers seeking refunds of taxes and interest must prove an essential and recognizable error under Article 1428 of the Civil Code, creating new legal hurdles for those attempting to recover overpaid amounts.

In a separate labor ruling (n. 1235/2026), the Court addressed whether employees are entitled to performance bonuses if an employer fails to set individual objectives. The Court ruled that such failure does not automatically trigger a right to the bonus or compensation. Instead, workers must demonstrate a concrete probability that they would have achieved the objectives had they been assigned.

Additionally, the Court reaffirmed in ordinance n. 25406/2026 that filing a supplementary tax return is not sufficient on its own to annul a tax assessment or win a legal dispute against the Treasury. The burden of proof remains on the taxpayer to demonstrate that the original filing contained inaccuracies.