INPS clarifies the extension to freelancers under 35: 18 thousand euros in three years for those who start the business between 2024 and 2025. Online applications from 31 January to 2 March 2026
The youth bonus is expanding. THE 500 euros per month, designed to support the start-up of businesses by those under 35 it will also be accessible to professionals with a VAT number, who have so far been excluded. The INPS definitively clarified the scope of the measure. This is a significant turning point, because it broadens the range of potential beneficiaries and makes the bonus a tool more in line with the reality of self-employment for young people, which is increasingly widespread.
What is the 500 euro youth bonus
The youth bonus is a financial contribution intended for those under 35 who start a new business. The benefit includes support of 18 thousand euros, in 36 monthly installments of 500 euros each. The objective is to accompany the first years of activity, a phase in which costs are high and revenues are often still unstable. The measure is part of the Cohesion Decree, which brings together the Government’s interventions to encourage employment and entrepreneurship, and will also be replicated in 2026.
The extension to VAT numbers: what really changes
Originally, the law had been interpreted by the INPS in a restrictive way, limiting the bonus only to young people who had started a business in the form of a business, excluding many freelancers. But the clarification from the Ministry of Labor has corrected the course: the bonus is also available to self-employed workers with a VAT number, without it being necessary to set up a company or business in the strict sense. For professionals, the time requirement for starting the business coincides with the date of opening of the VAT number.
The requirements to obtain the youth bonus
To access the 500 euro youth bonus, some specific requirements must be met. The first concerns age: you have to have it less than 35 years at the time of starting the business. The VAT number must have been opened between 1 July 2024 and 31 December 2025. It is also required that, at the time of opening, the beneficiary was in a state of unemployment. However, it is not unemployment, but a very limited income situation: maximum 8,145 euros per year from employed work or 4,800 euros from self-employment. The extension of the bonus does not concern all VAT numbers but it is reserved for some professional activitiesscientific and technical. In particular, young people working in the sectors of legal and accounting activities, management and management consultancy, architecture and engineering firms, scientific research and development, advertising and market research, other professional and technical activities and veterinary services can apply.
How and when to submit the application to INPS for the youth bonus
The application for the youth bonus must be submitted exclusively online, on the INPS platform. The Institute announced that it has updated its systems to allow freelancers to send requests as well. Limited times though. There is time from January 31st to March 2nd 2026
