Goodbye to non-profit organisations: the transition to RUNTS and the deadline of 31 March 2026

by Paolo Sardo – Chartered Accountant, professor of Industrial Economics at the ISIA Roma Design University (MUR), Expert for Il Sole24Ore

2026 will mark the definitive end of a season that lasted over twenty years: that of the ONLUS. With the start of full operation of the Third Sector Code, starting from January 1st, the qualification of Non-Profit Organization of Social Utility will cease to exist. The registry kept at the Revenue Agency will be abolished, and with it all the tax breaks currently recognized to these entities will cease, based on Legislative Decree 460/1997.

The effects will be immediate for non-profit organizations with financial year coinciding with the calendar year, while for those with "non-calendar" financial year the regulations will be slightly more complex. In any case, all non-profit organizations will have to make a choice by 31 March 2026: submit an application to register with RUNTS, effectively becoming Third Sector Entities, or renounce legal-fiscal continuity and face the consequences of failure to comply.

A decisive deadline to avoid losing your assets.

The date of 31 March 2026 represents the deadline within which a non-profit organization can request registration in the RUNTS and avoid the most concrete risk: the obligation to donate the assets. According to the provisions of the art. 10, paragraph 1, letter. f) of Legislative Decree 460/1997, the loss of the ONLUS qualification, without transition to ETS, entails the obligation to allocate the residual assets to other third sector bodies with similar purposes.

It is important to clarify that the deadline is not peremptory in a technical sense: the registration application could also be submitted later. However, only non-profit organizations that send the application by March 31st will be able to benefit from the seamless transition, maintaining the benefits and without having to start a capital devolution procedure. In the event of rejection of the application or failure to register for RUNTS, the devolution effect will still be triggered.

Retroactive effects and cases with non-solar exercise

A particularly relevant aspect concerns entities with operations that do not coincide with the calendar year. According to what is clarified in the draft circular on the Third Sector, for these non-profit organisations, the regulations provide that the benefits remain applicable until the end of the last financial year which began before 1 January 2026. Consequently, the non-profit organization regime could formally also apply to part of 2026, despite an already changed legal context.

This is the case, for example, of an entity with operations from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026, which submits an application to RUNTS by March and obtains registration in May. In this scenario, the ONLUS regulation would apply until the moment of registration, while from that date onwards the ETS regime would come into force. The consequence? It may be necessary to split the tax period, applying two different regimes within the same financial year, with inevitable accounting and declaration complications.

Fiscal continuity: how it works

For all non-profit organizations that submit an application by the deadline and have their registration accepted, the effect is clear: ETS qualification is considered acquired starting from 1 January 2026, even if registration takes place on a later date, for example in September. This principle of retroactivity is essential to guarantee operational continuity and immediate access to the new tax regimes provided for by Title X of the Third Sector Code.

Differently, for those who register after March 31st or obtain recognition after 2026, retroactivity does not apply: the ETS qualification will start from the date of the registration provision. In such cases, the entities will find themselves in the regulatory limbo of the ordinary TUIR regulations, losing any possibility of applying the new rules envisaged for the Third Sector.

A transition phase to plan now

There isn't much time to adapt. The interested non-profit organizations must start a statutory review as soon as possible, verify their compatibility with the ETS categories and plan the registration application. Those who have non-calendar businesses will also have to carefully evaluate the fiscal and accounting impact of the possible splitting of the tax year.

The transition from NPO to ETS is not a bureaucratic requirement, but a crucial step for the survival of the institutions and their future sustainability. Tackling it methodically and promptly means avoiding financial and fiscal risks and guaranteeing continuity of the pursued social mission.

What to do now: operational plan for organizations and professionals

March 2026 is not far away. In this phase it is essential to take action on three operational guidelines:

1. Statutory check
Check:

• Statutory purposes compatible with the ETS Code;
• Clauses on assets, bodies, dissolution;
• Any requests for shareholders' changes (it would have been better to start them by mid-2025).

2. Strategic-fiscal analysis
Evaluate:

• Flat rate or ordinary regime? Commercial or non-commercial ETS?
• Which RUNTS section is most suitable (APS, ODV, "other" entities)?
• Simulate the economic impact of the new regime compared to the previous one.

3. Documentary and procedural preparation

• SPID activation of the legal representative;
• Collection of mandatory documents;
• Planning of submission times to avoid congestion on the RUNTS.