Hyper‑Depreciation: the final guide

Between 1 January 2026 and 30 September 2028, the Italian Government is making a hyper‑depreciation incentive available to companies, encouraging them both to accelerate their digital transformation and to reduce their environmental impact.

Hyper‑depreciation is a tax incentive that increases the recognised value of an asset by a certain percentage when calculating depreciation (for purchased assets) and/or financial‑lease instalments (for leased assets), thereby reducing the taxable base to which the company is subject.

The incentive is aimed at companies that:

• invest in capital goods produced within the EU/EEA
• allocate these assets to production facilities located in Italy
• comply with workplace safety regulations and fulfil all mandatory social‑security and welfare contribution requirements for their employees.

Company size, residence, legal form or tax regime do not affect eligibility.

The following companies are not eligible:

• those in a state of liquidation or financial distress;
• those subject to prohibitory sanctions.

The tax‑related cost uplift applies exclusively to:

• new tangible assets (e.g., machinery, machine components for revamping) listed in Annex IV of the 2026 Budget Law;
• new intangible assets (e.g., software, platforms) listed in Annex V of the 2026 Budget Law.

These assets must be allocated to production facilities located in Italy and must be interconnected with the company’s production‑management system or supply network.

• The incentive also applies to systems for the self‑generation of renewable energy intended for self‑consumption, including off‑site installations and storage systems for the energy produced.

Only the following photovoltaic components are eligible for hyper‑depreciation:

• photovoltaic modules with a cell efficiency of at least 23.5%;
• modules made from bifacial heterojunction or tandem silicon cells with a minimum cell efficiency of 24%.

In both cases, both the modules and the cells must be manufactured within the European Union.

Annex IV lists the new tangible assets eligible for the tax deduction. The main categories include:

• new smart capital goods equipped with sensors and actuators;
• systems supporting quality and sustainability;
• systems enabling human–machine integration, ergonomics and workplace safety;
• assets for the collection, processing and transmission of data.

Category 1 of Annex IV includes new capital goods used for production purposes. Examples include:

• production machinery (e.g., machine tools, material‑processing machines, packaging equipment);
• robots;
• material‑handling machines;
• systems for managing environmental and operating conditions of production processes (e.g., HVAC);
• automated warehouses;
• smart components used in revamping projects and mechatronic components capable of regenerating energy.

All assets listed under Item 1 of Annex IV must meet five mandatory requirements:

• They must be controlled by a PLC or CNC.
• They must be interconnected with the factory’s IT systems, allowing remote loading of instructions and/or part programs.
• They must be automatically integrated with the factory’s logistics system, the supply network and/or other machines in the production process.
• They must feature simple and intuitive human–machine interfaces.
• They must comply with all safety, health and hygiene requirements.

In addition to the five mandatory requirements, Category 1 assets must meet two of the following three characteristics:

• include systems for remote maintenance, remote diagnostics or remote control;
• be equipped with sensors and systems for the continuous monitoring of machine and process parameters;
• be integrated with their own Digital Twin.

Category 2 of Annex IV includes systems that are interconnected with the factory management system and ensure product or process quality, such as:

• measurement systems;
• systems for monitoring product, process or machine data;
• product or production‑batch traceability systems;
• filtration and treatment devices for recovering material resources used in the process;
• anomaly‑detection systems based on images or other parameters;
• automated marking systems linked to the product identification code for maintenance purposes.

Category 3 of Annex IV includes, for example:

• ergonomic devices adaptable to the operator’s biometric parameters;
• systems designed to assist in lifting heavy materials, such as exoskeletons;
• wearable tools and communication systems connecting operators and the factory;
• augmented, virtual and mixed‑reality devices;
• smart devices that interact with the customer;
• intelligent HMI interfaces.

Category 4 of Annex IV covers advanced technologies for the analysis, storage and transmission of high‑value data. These include hardware infrastructures for:

• simulation, and for training, optimising and running Artificial Intelligence models — such as GPU servers, edge‑computing devices and enterprise‑grade storage systems;
• industrial connectivity, including private 5G networks, Wi‑Fi systems and technologies enabling IT‑OT convergence;
• industrial cybersecurity, such as network‑segmentation devices, industrial endpoint‑protection solutions and systems ensuring the operational continuity of factory environments.

Assets under Category 4 of Annex IV must:
• be interconnected with the company’s information systems;
• be intended for running applications listed in Annex V, or be used to support smart machines and devices, or serve to ensure interconnection and communication between assets included in both Annexes.

Annex V lists the software solutions eligible for the tax deduction. The main categories include:

• design, simulation (Digital Twin) and product/process lifecycle management;
• data analytics (on‑premise, cloud‑based or on edge‑computing devices);
• production management and machine/process monitoring systems;
• virtual, augmented and mixed reality technologies;
• reverse‑engineering solutions;
• Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT);
• cloud‑computing platforms;
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) — algorithms and platforms for managing their lifecycle;
• applications for the use of robots;
• sustainability‑focused solutions (e.g., Energy Management Systems, Digital Product Passport, waste‑management tools, Life Cycle Assessment);
• cybersecurity software;
• predictive‑maintenance applications;
• low‑code and no‑code development platforms.

It has been announced that documentation relating to the assets included in the investment, along with the required interconnection certifications, must be uploaded to an online platform managed by the GSE (Energy Services Operator). Additional information regarding any periodic communications to be submitted to the GSE will be provided once the interministerial decree is published.

Investments in new capital goods listed in Annexes IV and V must be carried out between 1 January 2026 and 30 September 2028. During this incentive period, if the company sells the asset or relocates it to one of its foreign sites, it must purchase another asset within the same fiscal year with equal or superior technological performance. If the replacement asset has a lower cost than the original, the tax incentive will be adjusted accordingly.

The 2026 hyper‑depreciation incentive can be combined with other measures funded through national or European resources, provided that:

• the total amount of relief does not exceed the overall value of the investments made;
• each incentive covers different cost categories (i.e., no double financing).

The expenditure used to calculate the hyper‑depreciation corresponds to the purchase value of the new capital goods, net of any other incentives received

The 2026 Budget Law establishes that the calculation of the 2026 tax prepayment must be carried out without considering any tax incentives introduced by the law itself, including hyper‑depreciation.