You have until the end of January to avoid the automatic debit of the 90 euros on your bill. Here’s who can apply and how to send the documentation
There is still little time to request exemption from paying the Rai license fee. If you are eligible, to avoid the automatic debit of the 90 euros per year on your bill, the deadline to apply is close: January 31st
Rai 2026 license fee: how much you pay and how the bill debit works
Also for 2026 the Rai license fee remains fixed at 90 euros. The tax is collected through your residence’s electricity bill. Usual mechanism: anyone who receives a monthly bill pays 10 installments of 9 euros, from January to October; for bimonthly invoices the installments become 5 from 18 euros. When is the payment obligation triggered? Automatically, for the sole fact of being the owner of a residential home electricity user. In fact, it is assumed that anyone who has an electricity contract also owns a television. The fee is due only once per family, regardless of the number of televisions or homes, as long as all members have the same residence. The fee does not arrive with the bill only for those who live in rent with utilities registered in the owner’s name. In this case you must pay via form F24. A different path also for the special Rai license fee, which concerns commercial activities such as bars, hotels and restaurants.
Rai license fee: who can request exemption and when
You can request exemption from paying the Rai Chi license fee He doesn’t own any television in none of the homes for which an electrical user is active. This “non-detention” declaration is valid for one year and must be renewed every year by January 31st. The Rai license fee is in fact due by anyone who owns a television set. It’s not the actual use that counts, but simple possession. However, computers, tablets and smartphones, even if used to watch Rai programs in streaming, are not considered televisions, and therefore there is no obligation to pay the license fee, as are PC monitors without a TV tuner.
Another category of exempted people is that of over 75. The exemption is available to those who have reached the age of 75 and have a annual incomeoneself and one’s spouse, less than 8 thousand eurosprovided that you do not live with other people with an income, with the exception of your spouse or domestic workers such as housekeepers and carers. Once recognized, the exemption for the elderly remains valid in subsequent years, as long as the requirements remain.
Furthermore, there is no fee for foreign diplomats and soldiersbased on specific international conventions, and the businesses that sell or repair televisionsonly for devices used for technical or commercial purposes.
The date to remember is January 31, 2026. Since it falls on a Saturday, the application submission will be considered valid if made by Monday 2 February 2026. Anyone who submits the declaration between February and June will be able to obtain exemption only for the second half of the year.
How to request exemption from the Rai license fee: online application, certified email or registered mail
The request for exemption goes through a substitute declarationto be presented using the forms prepared by the Revenue Agency, which differ depending on the reason for the exemption. That’s the quickest way onlineby accessing the reserved area with your digital credentials. Another method is to use the certified e-mail, but only if digitally signed, or send the paper form by registered mail without an envelope, attaching a copy of the identity document. And finally there is always the possibility of turning to a Caf or to a professionalsuch as an accountant, to fill out and send the exemption application. But always by January 31, 2026.
