Italy's 200 euro cost of living bonus: who is eligible and how to get it

Italy's 200 euro cost of living bonus, introduced by the country's Aid Decree (decreto Aiuti), should be in the pockets of Italian residents by July 2022. There has however been some confusion as to who exactly is eligible for these 200 euros, which are aimed at helping to pay household bills. Let us shed some light on who is entitled to this new bonus in Italy for 2022 and how to get it depending on the category you belong to (employees, self-employed, unemployed, pensioners, "citizen's income" recipients, and domestic helpers).

Who is eligible for Italy's 200 euro cost of living bonus?

Italy's new 200 euro bonus is available for both employees and the self-employed, as well as pensioners with an income of up to 35,000, as explained here. With the latest amendments to the decree announced by the Italian government, the 200 euro cost of living bonus will also be available to those who receive "citizen's income" and seasonal workers. The one-off bonus will also be extended to domestic helpers (who had been excluded at first) and the whole sector of domestic workers.

200 euro bonus for employees in Italy

The 200 euro bonus for employees (public and private sector), according to Il Sole 24 Ore newspaper, will be triggered automatically. It will be employers who will recognise it in July 2022 pay cheques, subject to checking at the end of the year whether the employee is actually entitled to the money, and possibly reclaiming the amount in 8 instalments.

200 euro bonus for pensioners and the unemployed

The same applies to both pensioners and the unemployed who are also eligible for the 200 euro cost of living bonus. In July 2022, the INPS (Italian social security) will recognise ex officio the one-off contribution to pensioners and those who will have received unemployment benefits in June.

For the calculation of the 35,000 limit, above which one is not entitled to the 200 euro bonus, income of any kind is taken into account (including income exempt from tax or subject to withholding or substitute tax). 

200 euro bonus with Italy's "Citizen's income"

Italy's 200 euro bonus will also be paid to those who receive Italy's "Citizen's income", although with different modalities and without the payment being triggered automatically. The INPS will have to check each case to avoid double payments, in that the bonus may have already been obtained in cases where recipients are pensioners, and households in which one of the low-income members is entitled to the bonus as an employee.

200 euro bonus for domestic helpers

The 200 euro bonus for domestic helpers and caregivers, and for domestic workers in general, should be disbursed in a manner similar to that used in 2020 for the bonuses given out during the COVID health emergency, with INPS expected to open the service for collecting applications. In the previous case, applicants had to be in possession of an INPS Pin, SPID, Carta nazionale dei servizi (Cns) or Cie (Carta di identità elettronica). 

200 euros for the self-employed

It is still not very clear, however, how the 200 euro bonus for the self-employed works. According to the latest news reported by Il Sole 24 Ore, this will be disclosed in future a ministerial decree to be issued within 30 days of the publication of the aid decree in the Official Gazette that will define how the bonus will be disbursed. The payment should however take place in July.

Article seen at: Bonus 200 euro, come sarà erogato categoria per categoria (Il sole 24 ore)