Operational and reasoned guide between non-commercialism, tax options and management impacts
By Paolo Sardo
From 1 January 2026, the taxation of Third Sector entities enters a fully operational and, in fact, irreversible phase. For many organizations the novelty is not so much the existence of a subsidized regime, but the fact that the choice (or lack of choice) of the regime produces effects over time and, above all, interacts with the tax qualification of the entity. It is the transition from a "fulfillment" logic to a structure logic: how activities, prices, agreements, fundraising and reporting are planned directly affects the perimeter of non-commercialism and, in cascade, the possibility of accessing the flat-rate regimes.
ODV and APS are at the center of this change because the Third Sector Code assigns them a specific and very favorable flat-rate regime (article 86 of Legislative Decree 117/2017), which however does not operate automatically. 2026, therefore, is the year in which it is best to "secure" the plant: coherent statute, accounting capable of reading the activities of general interest, correct classification of revenues and conscious choice of the regime.
The new system revolves around article 79 of the Third Sector Code, which introduces objective criteria to establish whether the ETS can be considered fiscally non-commercial. The distinction is not a label "regardless": it is a conclusion reached, year by year, through checks on the numbers.
The logic is on two levels. The first concerns individual activities of general interest: they are considered non-commercial when the related revenues do not exceed the actual costs, calculated including direct costs and, with reasonable criteria, attributable indirect costs. The Code also allows a percentage tolerance: a small deviation does not automatically cause the non-commercialism to be lost, but the verification must be repeated over time and with consistent accounting discipline.
In detail, the verification on activities of general interest is based on the comparison between revenues and actual costs. The actual costs are not only the "direct" ones (dedicated personnel, materials, specific services), but also include a reasonable share of indirect and general costs attributable to the activity, including structural costs. The Code allows a margin of deviation: activities can remain non-commercial even when revenues exceed costs, within the foreseen tolerance percentage, and for a limited number of consecutive tax periods. In practical terms, the rule functions as a safety band: it allows small misalignments without automatically triggering commercialization, but requires traceability and consistency of cost allocation criteria.
This is the point at which accounting becomes substance: if the entity is not able to reconstruct the actual cost of the activity (even with just an essential analytical approach), it is unable to use tolerance as a protection tool. On the contrary, with stable and documented criteria, the verification becomes repeatable and defensible over time, and allows tariffs and agreements to be planned without "surprises" at the end of the financial year.
The second level is the overall evaluation of the institution. Even if some activities are non-commercial, it is necessary to verify the prevalence of the institutional area on all the proceeds. Here the specific rules for ODV and APS also take on importance: some income "decommercialised" by articles 84 and 85 are treated as non-commercial income also for the purposes of determining the overall nature of the entity. In essence, the scope of non-commercialism for ODV and APS is wider, but still requires formal and accounting control.
To really understand the flat-rate schemes you need to start from the activities. Activities of general interest, if carried out in ways consistent with the Code, are the heart of non-commercialism. Alongside them, the ETS can carry out different activities, as long as they are secondary and instrumental and within the limits established by the reference discipline. The presence of different activities is not prohibited, but has a direct impact on the overall interpretation of the institution and its ability to remain non-commercial.
The critical point is not to carry out paid activities, but to do so without actually transforming the entity into a prevalent economic operator. This is why the planning of fees (quotas, tariffs, contributions, agreements) and the reconstruction of actual costs become decisive. In the absence of minimum analytical accounting, the discussion on non-commercialism remains fragile: not because the entity is "commercial", but because it is unable to prove otherwise.
When an ETS generates business income, there are three reference tax options. The ordinary regime is always practicable, but involves full VAT management and a more onerous accounting system. Alongside the ordinary, the Code provides for two flat-rate regimes: article 80, aimed at the generality of non-commercial ETS, and article 86, reserved for non-commercial ODVs and APSs that comply with the dimensional requirements.
The difference is not only quantitative (higher or lower coefficient): it is also qualitative, because article 86 brings with it a "super-simplification" logic designed for entities that operate mainly with volunteers and light administrative structures. Consequently, the real work is not to choose the most convenient regime in the abstract, but to build the conditions to be able to choose the right regime safely.
The regime of article 86 allows ODV and APS to apply, for the commercial activities carried out, a flat rate determination of the income provided that, in the previous tax period, the revenues do not exceed 85,000 euros, adjusted per year. The th A practical principle derives from this: the qualification of ODV or APS is not sufficient, in itself, to ensure access to the regime, if the entity does not pass the non-commercialization tests provided for by article 79.
Once the size requirement and the non-commercial nature of the entity have been ascertained, the taxable income is determined by applying an extremely low coefficient to the revenues: 1% for ODVs and 3% for APSs. The message from the legislator is clear: commercial activity is permitted as instrumental, but must not become the "economic basis" of the entity.
An example, to establish the order of magnitude. If an ODV collects 70,000 euros in commercial revenues, the lump sum income is 700 euros; if an APS collects the same amount, the lump sum income is 2,100 euros. Given these values, the real convenience is not just the reduced taxable income: it is the reduction of administrative complexity, as long as the entity maintains a properly qualified and documented revenue perimeter.
In practice, many entities choose article 86 for the combined effect on direct taxes and VAT management. The regime was created to simplify, but simplification requires discipline: the entity must be able to distinguish, in a traceable way, the revenues that fuel non-commercialism (membership fees, contributions, donations and qualified institutional proceeds) from actually commercial revenues.
The recent regulatory changes have also affected operational aspects, eliminating provisions that had generated application uncertainty on the certification of fees in the Article 86 regime. This does not free the entity from the need for coherence, but reduces management frictions which, in daily life, can become a hidden cost.
The key point, especially in 2026, is to avoid inconsistencies between the statute, the activities actually carried out and the accounting representation of revenue. Inconsistency is often the crux of disputes: not because the organization does not pursue civic purposes, but because it is unable to demonstrate that the economic component remains instrumental and not prevalent
Paragraph 13 of article 86 provides for a three-year restriction for ODV and APS which, despite having the requirements, decide to apply direct taxes and VAT in the ordinary ways. In concrete terms, if in 2026 an entity below the threshold chooses the ordinary one, it risks not being able to apply article 86 for at least the following two years.
It is a decisive point because it transforms 2026 into a strategic year. In other areas (for example for the flat rate for natural persons), the Financial Administration has over time attenuated the effect of the constraint when the transition concerned "natural" regimes and did not produce distortions. For ETS, however, until explicit clarifications arrive, prudence suggests considering the constraint as fully operational.
Hence a practical consequence: if the entity meets the requirements and intends to take advantage of the simplifications, it is advisable to seriously evaluate the application of article 86 as early as 2026, so as not to preclude the most efficient option when the entity needs it most.
The regime of Article 80 is aimed at the generality of non-commercial ETS and allows business income to be determined by applying the profitability coefficient by brackets to the revenues. For many entities, it is a "system" simplification regime useful when article 86 is not applicable or when the entity prefers more uniform management over time.
For ODV and APS, however, article 80 does not replace article 86: it supports it as a less favorable alternative, especially in terms of taxable income and VAT management. Furthermore, the general rules on options with three-year effect apply here too: therefore the choice should not be read as a "bridge" without consequences, but as a conscious decision.
A numerical comparison helps. An APS with 80,000 euros of commercial revenues would have, in art. 86, taxable at 3% (2,400 euros). In art. 80 the taxable amount depends on the applicable coefficients and brackets: often the result is higher, and above all it does not benefit from the same VAT simplification system. If the objective is to truly lighten the burden on the administration, article 86 remains, when possible, the preferred path.
Access to the flat-rate regimes passes through declarative options and, in some cases, through concluding behavior. In practice, the entity can communicate the choice in the annual VAT return or in the declaration of commencement of activity, but it can also demonstrate it by adopting behavior consistent with the chosen regime from the beginning.
The conclusive behavior is useful when the entity is born or changes structure during the year, but in 2026 it presents a risk: if the organization is not aligned (invoicing, management of fees, accounting, reporting), a misalignment is created between what the entity does and what he says. For this reason, in the first application phase, the most defensible choice is the one accompanied by a short internal report describing the requirements, verification of non-commercialism and justification of the option.
To avoid the tax regime being decided "at the end of the year" only at the declaration stage, it is useful to adopt a simple but robust method. We start from the reconstruction of the revenues and their qualification (institutional, decommercialized, commercial), we proceed with the commerciality test of the activities of general interest and with the overall evaluation of the entity, we verify the revenue threshold adjusted per year and, only at the end, we compare the impacts between ordinary, article 80 and article 86.
This path is not just technical. It's governance. Bringing the choice to the administrative body, with a concise document, means making the logic adopted transparent and strengthening the defensibility of the decisions. In a context in which taxation affects the sustainability of the institution, informed deliberation becomes part of the organizational structures.
The result is measurable: less time spent chasing obligations, less uncertainty in project management and more ability to plan activities, tariffs and agreements without the fear of involuntarily "exceeding" the non-commercial perimeter.
Legislative Decree 3 July 2017, no. 117 (Third Sector Code), articles. 79, 80 and 86 (Regulations).
Legislative Decree 4 December 2025, n. 186 (Official Journal, 12 December 2025) – changes to the tax regulations of the Third Sector, including the threshold for access to the regime pursuant to art. 86 CTS.
Revenue Agency, public consultation of 19 December 2025 - draft circular with clarifications on the fiscal discipline of the ETS (income taxes and tax qualification).
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