13th and 14th Month Pay Italy: Tredicesima Explained
Editorial team Calcola Lordo Netto What Are the 13th and 14th Month?
Italian employees receive their annual salary split into more than 12 payments. The tredicesima mensilita (13th month pay) is a mandatory extra monthly salary paid to all employees, typically in December. The quattordicesima mensilita (14th month pay) is an additional bonus provided by certain national collective bargaining agreements (CCNL - Contratto Collettivo Nazionale di Lavoro), usually paid in June or July.
This system is an important difference from the salary structures common in the UK, US, or northern Europe. When an Italian employer quotes a RAL (Retribuzione Annua Lorda -- gross annual salary) of €30,000, this amount already includes the tredicesima (and quattordicesima if applicable). It does not mean you receive €2,500 per month for 12 months; instead, you receive a lower monthly amount (approximately €2,308 on 13 payments, or €2,143 on 14 payments) with the extra payments arriving as lump sums at specific times of year.
Understanding how these work is essential for financial planning, since your monthly take-home pay will be lower than you might expect from dividing your RAL by 12.
Tredicesima (13th Month Pay)
The tredicesima was established by D.P.R. 1070/1960 and is a right for all Italian employees regardless of sector, contract type, or CCNL. It is typically paid together with the December payslip, just before Christmas, and is equal to one month's gross salary (or a proportional fraction if you have not worked the full calendar year).
The calculation is straightforward:
- Full year worked: Tredicesima = 1/12 of RAL (i.e., one full monthly salary)
- Partial year: Tredicesima = (months worked / 12) × monthly gross salary
A month is counted in full if the employee worked at least 15 calendar days in it. Periods of paid maternity/paternity leave, sick leave (within INPS-covered limits), and paid holidays count as worked time for accrual purposes. Extended unpaid leave reduces the accrual proportionally.
For example, an employee with a RAL of €36,000 (monthly gross of €2,769 on 13 payments) who started working on 1 April would receive a tredicesima of €2,769 × 9/12 = €2,077 gross in December.
Quattordicesima (14th Month Pay)
The quattordicesima is not mandated by law for all workers -- it depends entirely on the applicable CCNL. The most common sectors that include a quattordicesima are:
- Commercio (retail and wholesale trade)
- Turismo (hotels, restaurants, tourism)
- Trasporti (transport and logistics)
- Colf e Badanti (domestic workers and caregivers)
- Alimentare (food industry)
Sectors such as Metalmeccanico (engineering/manufacturing) and Chimico (chemicals) typically do not include a quattordicesima, meaning employees in these sectors receive their RAL across 13 payments rather than 14.
When provided, the quattordicesima is usually paid with the June or July payslip. It accrues from July of the previous year through June of the current year (or January to December in some CCNLs), and the calculation mirrors the tredicesima: one month's gross salary for a full accrual period, or a proportional fraction for partial periods.
Taxation and Deductions
Both the tredicesima and the quattordicesima are treated as ordinary income for tax purposes. They are subject to:
- INPS contributions: the standard employee rate of 9.19% (private sector) applies to the gross amount
- IRPEF: the amount is added to your cumulative annual income and taxed at your applicable marginal rate
- Addizionali: regional and municipal surcharges apply on the combined annual taxable income
There is one critical difference: the standard detrazioni per lavoro dipendente (employment tax credits) are already fully distributed across your 12 ordinary monthly payments. This means the tredicesima and quattordicesima are taxed without the benefit of these credits, resulting in a higher effective tax rate on these bonus payments. Many expats are surprised to find that their tredicesima's net amount is proportionally smaller than a normal month's net pay.
To see the exact net value of your tredicesima or quattordicesima, including the impact of your specific tax bracket and deductions, try our 13th month calculator or 14th month calculator.
Worked Example: Tredicesima Net Calculation
To truly understand how the tredicesima works in practice, let us walk through a detailed example. Meet Maria, a private-sector employee in Milan with a RAL of €30,000 on 13 pay periods, no dependents, employed under the CCNL Commercio at level 3. Her monthly gross salary is €30,000 / 13 = €2,308 gross. Since she has worked the entire calendar year (January to December), she accrues a full tredicesima equal to one month's gross salary.
Here is how her tredicesima is calculated step by step, compared with a regular monthly payslip:
| Item | Tredicesima | Regular month |
|---|---|---|
| Gross amount | €2,308 | €2,308 |
| − INPS (9.19%) | − €212 | − €212 |
| = Taxable amount | €2,096 | €2,096 |
| − IRPEF (23%) | − €482 | − €482 |
| + Detrazione lavoro dipendente | €0 | + €165 |
| − Addizionale regionale | €0 | − €35 |
| − Addizionale comunale | €0 | − €18 |
| Net amount | ≈ €1,614 | ≈ €1,726 |
| Net-to-gross ratio | 69.9% | 74.8% |
The key takeaway: Maria's tredicesima nets approximately €112 less than a regular month even though the gross amounts are identical. This is because the tredicesima does not benefit from the detrazione per lavoro dipendente (approximately €1,979 per year, distributed across the 12 ordinary months), nor do regional or municipal surcharges typically apply to it (they are already calculated on the 12 regular payments). The IRPEF on the tredicesima is calculated at the marginal rate without any offsetting deduction, making the effective tax bite higher. You can verify Maria's figures using the Agenzia delle Entrate IRPEF reference and the INPS contribution tables.
Impact on Financial Planning
The 13-payment (or 14-payment) system has significant implications for how you budget your personal finances in Italy. If you are coming from a country where salaries are paid in 12 equal monthly instalments, you need to adjust your expectations and planning.
Monthly take-home is lower than you might expect. When you divide your RAL by 12 in your head, you get a number that is higher than what will actually appear on your monthly payslip. For Maria's case above, dividing €30,000 by 12 suggests a monthly gross of €2,500, but her actual monthly gross is €2,308 (the remaining €192/month is effectively "saved" toward her December tredicesima). This means roughly €112 less net per month compared to a hypothetical 12-payment structure, but with a lump sum of approximately €1,614 net arriving in December.
Mortgage and rent planning. Italian banks and landlords are well aware of this system. When assessing your ability to pay a mortgage, banks typically look at your RAL and calculate your monthly affordability based on 13 (or 14) payments, not 12. This means your debt-to-income ratio is assessed on the actual monthly amount. If you are applying for a mutuo (mortgage), the bank will use your regular monthly net (not the higher figure you would get by dividing annual net by 12) as the reference for the one-third rule (your monthly payment should not exceed roughly one-third of your monthly net income). Plan accordingly and do not count on the tredicesima for regular monthly obligations.
When to expect payments. The tredicesima is typically paid between 15 and 24 December, depending on the employer and the applicable CCNL. Some companies pay it with the regular December payslip (credited at the end of December), while others pay it as a separate transfer in mid-December. The quattordicesima, where applicable, is usually paid with the June or July payslip. Check your CCNL and company policy for exact dates.
Budgeting strategy. Many Italian workers treat the tredicesima as a form of forced savings, using it for Christmas expenses, annual insurance premiums, car tax (bollo auto), or property tax (IMU) payments that fall due in December. Financial advisors in Italy often recommend not factoring the tredicesima into your regular monthly budget, but instead earmarking it for specific annual expenses or savings goals. If you are paid on 14 payments, the quattordicesima in June/July serves a similar function for summer holiday expenses or mid-year bills.
Tredicesima During Maternity, Sick Leave, and Probation
Several special employment situations affect how the tredicesima accrues. Understanding these rules is important, particularly for expat workers who may not be familiar with Italian labour protections.
Maternity leave (congedo di maternita). During the mandatory 5-month maternity leave period (typically 2 months before and 3 months after the expected due date, as per D.Lgs. 151/2001), the tredicesima continues to accrue in full. This is because mandatory maternity leave is treated as equivalent to active work for all purposes, including tredicesima and quattordicesima accrual. The same applies to mandatory paternity leave (congedo di paternita). However, during optional parental leave (congedo parentale), the accrual depends on the CCNL: many contracts provide for full or partial accrual during the first months, but extended optional leave at 30% pay may reduce the tredicesima proportionally. INPS pays the maternity allowance directly, but the employer often advances it and then claims reimbursement, so the accrual appears seamless on your payslip. Refer to the INPS maternity benefit page for current entitlements.
Sick leave (malattia). During periods of illness covered by INPS (up to 180 days per year for most employees), the tredicesima continues to accrue. The general principle under Italian law is that malattia is a protected period and counts toward seniority and bonus accrual. Most CCNLs explicitly state that sick leave within the periodo di comporto (the maximum protected sick leave period, typically 180 days over 12 months in the private sector) does not reduce tredicesima entitlements. Only unpaid sick leave beyond the comporto limit, or leave without pay (aspettativa non retribuita), would reduce the accrual.
Probation period (periodo di prova). Employees on probation are fully entitled to the tredicesima. The probation period is regular employment in all respects — it simply allows either party to terminate the relationship without notice. If the employment is terminated during probation, the worker receives a pro-rata tredicesima for the months worked, calculated in the same way as for any other partial-year employee. For example, if Marco starts a new job on 1 September with a RAL of €26,000 (monthly gross €2,000 on 13 payments) and is terminated on 30 November during a 3-month probation, he would receive a tredicesima of €2,000 × 3/12 = €500 gross, paid with his final payslip.
Apprenticeship contracts (contratto di apprendistato). Apprentices under D.Lgs. 81/2015 are entitled to the tredicesima on the same terms as regular employees. Their lower salary level (which can be up to two CCNL levels below the target role) simply means a proportionally smaller tredicesima, but the right is the same.
Fixed-term contracts (contratto a tempo determinato). Workers on fixed-term contracts receive the tredicesima pro-rata for the months worked, included in the final payslip when the contract ends. If the contract spans the December payment date, the tredicesima is paid normally. If the contract ends before December, the accrued portion is paid with the final settlement (competenze di fine rapporto). This is regulated by D.Lgs. 81/2015 and the applicable CCNL.