Italy Tax Agency Clarifies New Patent Box Rules, R&D Tax Credit Refunds for Copyrighted Software

The Italian Revenue Agency April 2 issued Letter No. 102/2026, clarifying the new patent box rules for refunds of excess R&D tax credits, for copyright-protected software. The taxpayer, a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) in the digital sector, developed copyright-protected software and claimed R&D tax credits. The taxpayer sought clarification on the new patent box requirements, the R&D credit, and the repayment method. Upon review, the Revenue Agency clarified that: 1) the copyright-protected software qualified as an eligible intangible asset under the new patent box rules, but the taxpayer couldn’t combine the R&D tax credit on the same costs; and ...