A lower pension than expected, a withholding item that he doesn’t remember having ever authorized and a deadline that, falling in the middle of the summer, easily risks going unnoticed. There are around 50 thousand pensioners who found a reduction on their August payslip linked to the failure to communicate their income for 2022 to INPS, an audience which represents just 0.3% of the total, but which includes people in receipt of particularly important benefits for the lowest incomes, such as the integration to the minimum wage, the social increase and the fourteenth salary.
However, the withholding must not be confused with the tax operations linked to the 730 form, which starting from August can produce refunds or charges on the pension. To understand why the amount received has decreased it is therefore necessary to enter the payslip, read the description of the individual item and check whether it is a tax adjustment or the suspension initiated due to the failure to transmit the income data.
Because the August pension may be lower
In the month of August, two different operations can overlap, both capable of reducing the net amount paid by INPS, but determined by completely different reasons and procedures.
The first is the adjustment resulting from the 730/2026 form, applied to pensioners who have chosen INPS as a withholding tax and for whom the Revenue Agency has transmitted the accounting results by 30 June. When a credit emerges from the declaration, the pensioner receives the refund together with the accrual; however, when there is a tax debt, the Institute withholds the sum due, possibly dividing it into several installments which must in any case be completed by November.
The second operation concerns exclusively pensioners who receive income-related benefits and who, despite previous communications and reminders sent by the Institute, have not sent the income information relating to 2022 requested as part of the RED 2023 campaign. In this case it is not a question of a tax or a debt emerging from the 730, but of the start of the suspension procedure required by law when INPS does not have the data necessary to verify that the additional benefit is actually due.
Who concerns the 5% INPS withholding
The withholding applies to pensioners resident in Italy who have not submitted the income tax return for 2022 and who receive a pension accompanied by sums whose recognition depends on their personal income or, when applicable, on that of their spouse or other members of the family unit.
Among the main benefits involved are the integration to the minimum wage, social increases, the fourteenth salary and some survivors’ pensions. However, civil disability welfare benefits, social allowances and social pensions are excluded from this specific operation.
The reduction is equal to 5% of the gross pension amount paid in July 2026 and is applied to both the August and September installments. For pensions not exceeding 100 euros per month, immediate withholding is not foreseen, but it is still necessary to regularize the position, because failure to send the data can also lead to the revocation of the benefit linked to the income.
How to recognize the withholding on your payslip
The first check must be carried out on the description shown next to the subtracted sum. The withholding relating to the missed 2022 tax return is recognizable by the wording: «Withholding for failure to communicate income art. 35, paragraph 10-bis, Legislative Decree no. 207/2008».
When this sentence appears, the decrease does not depend on the 730 and it is not sufficient to wait for the next payslip, because the operation signals that the benefit linked to the income has already entered the suspension phase. INPS also sent interested parties a dedicated letter, also available in the MyINPS reserved area and transmitted, when present in the Institute’s archives, to the pensioner’s email address or certified e-mail address.
The payslip can be consulted through the INPS website, by entering the personal area with SPID, electronic identity card or national services card and selecting the “Pension payslip” service, or via the INPS Mobile app. The document allows you to compare the gross amount with the net amount and to separately identify the individual withholdings applied.
How to distinguish the RED withholding from the 730 adjustment
The difference lies first and foremost in the description of the item. The adjustment of the 730 form is indicated as a tax debt or as a tax assistance operation and derives from the tax return filed in 2026; the 5% withholding, however, expressly refers to the failure to communicate income and concerns the data relating to 2022.
Anyone who has indicated INPS as a withholding agent can check the results of their 730 through the online service “Tax assistance (730/4): citizen services”, also available on the Institute’s app. If the sum reported on the payslip coincides with the tax debt emerging from the declaration, the reduction is linked to the 730; if the reference to article 35 of legislative decree 207 of 2008 appears, it is necessary to intervene on the income position.
It is possible that both operations are present on the same payslip, because the tax adjustment and the suspension of the benefit linked to the income follow distinct paths. For this reason it is not sufficient to compare the August credit with that of July, but it is necessary to verify every item that contributes to the determination of the net amount.
What to do by September 15, 2026
Interested pensioners have until September 15, 2026 to submit the application called “Reconstitution of income due to suspension of art. 35, paragraph 10-bis, Legislative Decree no. 207/2008”, communicating the relevant information relating to 2022 to INPS.
The application can be transmitted through the Institute’s online service, using digital credentials, or with the assistance of a patronage. Before proceeding, it is advisable to retrieve the communication present on MyINPS and bring with you the income documentation of the pensioner and, when required for the calculation of the benefit, that of the spouse or other family members.
The deadline does not concern all pensioners and does not require a new general declaration for those who have already correctly communicated their income. In fact, INPS acquires a lot of information directly from the Revenue Agency and requires additional transmission only when the necessary data is not available, is not complete or includes income that must be specifically declared to the Institute.
What happens if the position is not regularised
The withholding for August and September represents a temporary suspension and not yet the definitive revocation of the pension as a whole. What is subjected to verification is the component linked to income, i.e. the increase, the integration, the fourteenth or other sum paid on the basis of the economic situation of the beneficiary.
However, if the requested information is not transmitted by 15 September, INPS will be able to definitively revoke the benefit linked to the income received in 2022 and proceed with the recovery of the amounts which, after the verification, appear not to be due. The economic consequence could therefore become significantly heavier than the 5% withholding applied during the summer.
For those who care for a parent or an elderly family member, the most important step is therefore not to stop at the amount credited to the current account, but to enter the personal area, download the payslip and check for any communications. When the reference to the failure to return taxes appears, the position must be checked quickly, because waiting for the September payment without submitting the application does not solve the problem and can lead to the loss of a benefit which, with the correct documentation, could continue to be due.
