Italy’s National Social-Security Institute (INPS) took another decisive step in the digital overhaul of public services by confirming that, from the first quarter of 2026, employers must pay social-security contributions for domestic staff—colf, badanti and baby-sitters—exclusively through its online Portale dei Pagamenti. The announcement, published on 26 February 2026, spells the end of the familiar bollettino MAV paper slip that households have used for decades. The change dovetails with the government’s wider “Italia Digitale 2026” roadmap, which mandates the adoption of the pagoPA platform across all public-sector transactions. For families who sponsor non-EU caregivers, the portal now auto-calculates due amounts, flags overdue quarters and issues a QR code that can be paid via mobile-banking apps, tobacconists or supermarkets. Employers also receive instant confirmation, a vital audit trail when renewing residence permits for their workers. INPS argues that dematerialising 11 million paper slips a year will save €14 million in printing and postage, and will curb under-reporting by cross-checking payments against immigration-quota data. Critics, however, say elderly employers may struggle with the digital shift; INPS promises dedicated counters at patronato help-desks and a toll-free number for assisted payments. For mobility and relocation teams, the reform removes a long-standing administrative irritant: expatriates hiring domestic help will no longer need an Italian postal account or physical slips. Payments can be executed from abroad in advance of home-leave, reducing the risk that a lapsed contribution invalidates a worker’s permesso di soggiorno renewal. The measure also sets the stage for further digital alignment: from July 2026, INPS will pilot real-time payroll reporting for domestic staff, while the Ministry of Labour is studying automatic data feeds to the Interior Ministry so that immigration authorities can instantly verify an employer’s compliance when issuing family-reunification or domestic-work visas.
Source: Corriere della Sera
