How to get an invoice with your tax details

Before you start

Billing details exist once you have started a subscription. Until then, Billing address and Tax details each show Your billing details are not ready yet. Start a subscription to set them up. in place of their fields. The fields Tax details asks for follow the Country of your billing address, so the address comes first.

Steps

1. Open the account menu, select Settings, then Payments and invoices.
2. In Billing address, check the address your invoices should carry, Country included. For an Italian address the province is required. If you changed anything, select Save in that section.
3. In Tax details, tick I need an invoice with my tax details.
4. Enter your VAT number, if the form asks for one.
5. With an Italian address, check Codice fiscale and choose how the invoice is delivered under Delivery: Recipient code, then type the code, or PEC.
6. Select Save in Tax details. Each of the two sections has its own Save. When a change in one needs the other — moving your address into Italy with the box ticked, say — the Save you press saves both.

What you should see

Billing details saved confirms the save. The How you appear on invoices panel at the bottom of Tax details, shown while the box is ticked, which follows what you type in both sections, lists your VAT number and, for an Italian address, your codice fiscale and recipient code under your name and address.

Where do I enter my VAT number for the invoice?

The VAT number field appears in Tax details on Settings → Payments and invoices once I need an invoice with my tax details is ticked, for any address country that has a VAT number. Its format follows that country, and there is no type to choose. An EU VAT number carries its country's prefix, such as DE… for a German address: if you type the number alone the prefix is added for you, and a number with another country's prefix is refused. For a country with no VAT number, no field appears.

What does the line under the checkbox mean?

The line under I need an invoice with my tax details says what you will receive, and it depends on the country of your billing address:

• Italy: "You will receive the electronic invoice through the Sistema di Interscambio."
• A country where a VAT number is asked: "You will find the invoice, with your VAT number, under «Invoices»."
• A country with no VAT number: "The invoice will carry your name and your address."
• No country yet: "First choose the country in Billing address: the details asked for depend on it." Select Billing address in that line to go to the Country field; until a country is set, no tax field appears.

What does an Italian address need for the electronic invoice?

An Italian electronic invoice needs an Italian VAT number, a codice fiscale, a recipient and a complete address, province included. With an Italian address and I need an invoice with my tax details ticked, the form asks for each of them:

• VAT number — IT followed by 11 digits; the 11 digits alone are accepted too. A wrong check digit is refused as you type.
• Codice fiscale — filled in for you with your VAT number's 11 digits, and editable. The form explains why: "For a company it is the VAT number's digits. Sole trader or freelancer? Enter your personal codice fiscale." A personal codice fiscale has 16 characters.
• Delivery — Recipient code or PEC. A recipient code has 7 letters or digits. PEC asks for no address of its own: see the next section.
• The address — Billed to, the first address line, the postal code, the city and the province.

What happens if I choose PEC instead of a recipient code?

Choosing PEC sends the electronic invoice to the PEC address you already registered with the Agenzia delle Entrate, so Fincanva does not ask you for one. The form says so under Delivery: "The invoice goes to the PEC address you registered with the Agenzia delle Entrate. If you have not registered one, you will find it in your cassetto fiscale."

Can I get an electronic invoice without an Italian VAT number?

No, not for now. With an Italian address, I need an invoice with my tax details ticked and no VAT number, the details cannot be saved, and the VAT number field shows "For now the electronic invoice needs an Italian VAT number."

How do I receive my invoices?

With an Italian address, the electronic invoice arrives through the Sistema di Interscambio at your recipient code, or — if you chose PEC — at the PEC address registered with the Agenzia delle Entrate, or else in your cassetto fiscale. In every country, each invoice is also listed under Invoices on Settings → Payments and invoices, every one downloadable as a PDF.

How does Fincanva tell me something is missing for the electronic invoice?

When your Italian electronic invoice is missing a detail it needs, Fincanva shows it in three places until the detail is filled in:

• Your account avatar carries a small dot, and the account menu adds a Payments and invoices row reading "Something is missing for the electronic invoice".
• The list of settings shows a dot beside Payments and invoices.
• The top of Settings → Payments and invoices shows "Your electronic invoice is missing: …", naming the missing details, with a Complete the details button that takes you to the billing details sections, Billing address and Tax details, where the missing details are already marked.

They go away by themselves once the details are complete and saved. There is nothing to dismiss.

How do I correct my billing details or an invoice?

Change the details in Billing address or Tax details and select that section's Save: the change applies to the invoices issued after you save it. An invoice already issued is not rewritten. To correct one, contact Fincanva support.

Common problems

"This VAT number is not valid: check the digits."

The last digit of the Italian VAT number does not match the other ten. Check the number against your VAT registration and type it again.

"Enter a valid VAT number"

The number does not have the format of the VAT number for your address country, or it carries another country's prefix. Check that Country is the country the VAT number belongs to, then the number itself.

The recipient code "is reserved for customers abroad."

The code made of seven letters X is the recipient code for customers outside Italy, so it is refused with an Italian VAT number: the message repeats the code, followed by "is reserved for customers abroad." Enter your own 7-character recipient code, or choose PEC.

"The recipient code has 7 letters or digits."

The code you typed is not 7 letters or digits long. Check the code and type it again, or choose PEC.

"The codice fiscale has 11 digits or 16 characters."

A company's codice fiscale is its VAT number's 11 digits; a personal one has 16 characters. Check the length, then the characters, against your tax documents.

"This codice fiscale is not valid: check the characters."

The codice fiscale has the right length, but its check digit or check character does not match the rest. Check it against your tax documents and type it again.

"Enter the province."

An Italian billing address needs its province. Fill in Province and save again.