Does custom software always qualify?

No. Two conditions must hold together: the acquisition model must allow capitalisation among intangible assets (ownership, or a multi-year or indefinite licence), and the software must meet the Annex V requirements, in particular interconnection with the company's production management system or supply network.

Can I convert an existing subscription into a licence to make it eligible?

Not retroactively. What you have already paid as a fee remains an operating cost. A different choice applies going forward and should be assessed with your accountant first, because it also changes the deductibility profile: a licence is deducted over the depreciation period, a fee entirely in the year.

Do you also provide the sworn appraisal?

No, and we could not: the appraisal must be sworn by a chartered engineer or industrial expert on the professional register, and there would in any case be an obvious conflict of interest in certifying the requirements of software we wrote ourselves. We provide the technical documentation the appraiser works from.

How large does a project need to be to be worth it?

The uplift has no minimum threshold, but the sworn appraisal and the accounting certification carry a fixed cost. Below a certain project size the net benefit thins out: it is worth doing that arithmetic up front, and on the benefit spread across the years rather than on the headline 180%.

Custom software and iperammortamento: how to make it eligible

The implementing decree excluded SaaS fees from the 2026 iperammortamento: they are not depreciable assets, they are operating costs. Software developed for you and granted under a multi-year licence, on the other hand, is recorded among intangible assets and may qualify. The difference is contractual rather than technical — and it must be decided before signing, not afterwards.

Content reviewed on 28 July 2026

Why subscriptions are excluded and licences are not

Under a SaaS model the company acquires neither ownership of the software nor an autonomous multi-year licence: it pays for a continuous service, while the vendor retains the infrastructure, the updates and the technology risk. In accounting terms this is an operating cost, and an operating cost is not depreciated: so there is nothing to uplift.

Software bought outright, or licensed for an indefinite or multi-year term, is instead recorded among intangible assets. It has a depreciation schedule, and the uplift can operate on that schedule.

It should be said plainly: this does not make SaaS a bad choice. A subscription fee is fully deductible in the year it is incurred, with no appraisals and no interconnection requirements. They are different instruments, and the comparison should be made on the total, not on the larger percentage.

Acquisition model	Balance sheet treatment	Eligible for uplift
Outright purchase	Intangible asset	Yes, if interconnected
Multi-year or indefinite licence	Intangible asset	Yes, if interconnected
SaaS fee / cloud subscription	Operating cost	No
Ongoing maintenance and support services	Operating cost	No

Interconnection is not a checkbox

For an Annex V intangible asset to qualify it is not enough that it is business software. It must be interconnected with the company's production management system or supply network, and the interconnection must be demonstrable: bidirectional data exchange with company systems, unique identification, traceability.

This is where a project done well differs from one described well. If the software does not genuinely talk to the ERP, to the warehouse system or to the line, no appraisal will be able to say that it does.

What we do and what we do not do

We are the technology supplier, not the tax adviser and not the appraiser. The boundary is clear, and we prefer to state it up front.

What is needed	Who does it
Software and integration development	GrowFlow Studio
Multi-year licence agreement suitable for capitalisation	GrowFlow Studio
Technical documentation of the interconnection, for the appraiser	GrowFlow Studio
Sworn technical appraisal	Chartered engineer or industrial expert
Accounting certification of the expenditure	Statutory auditor
Tax assessment, combination and capacity	Your accountant

Be wary of anyone selling you both the software and the appraisal that certifies its requirements. Those two roles are better kept apart.

What we build, concretely

Custom management systems and portals integrated with ERP, warehouse and production systems.
Integrations and middleware between systems that do not currently talk to each other, with data-flow traceability.
Artificial intelligence applications interconnected with company systems, when the use case justifies a project rather than a subscription.
Industrial data collection and analysis tools, when they serve decisions rather than charts.

The right time to discuss it

Before the contract. The acquisition model determines whether the asset can be capitalised, and it cannot be fixed retrospectively by rewriting an invoice: if you bought a subscription, you bought a service. If eligibility is a requirement of the project, it belongs in the project requirements.

How the 2026 iperammortamento works

Bracketed rates, eligible assets, combination rules and dates. The full guide.

The GSE application

The three notices, the 20% down payment and the 60 days to confirm.

Frequently asked questions

Does custom software always qualify?: No. Two conditions must hold together: the acquisition model must allow capitalisation among intangible assets (ownership, or a multi-year or indefinite licence), and the software must meet the Annex V requirements, in particular interconnection with the company's production management system or supply network.
Can I convert an existing subscription into a licence to make it eligible?: Not retroactively. What you have already paid as a fee remains an operating cost. A different choice applies going forward and should be assessed with your accountant first, because it also changes the deductibility profile: a licence is deducted over the depreciation period, a fee entirely in the year.
Do you also provide the sworn appraisal?: No, and we could not: the appraisal must be sworn by a chartered engineer or industrial expert on the professional register, and there would in any case be an obvious conflict of interest in certifying the requirements of software we wrote ourselves. We provide the technical documentation the appraiser works from.
How large does a project need to be to be worth it?: The uplift has no minimum threshold, but the sworn appraisal and the accounting certification carry a fixed cost. Below a certain project size the net benefit thins out: it is worth doing that arithmetic up front, and on the benefit spread across the years rather than on the headline 180%.

Let's talk before the contract, not after

Tell us what the software has to do and which systems it has to talk to. We will tell you whether it makes sense as a capitalisable project or whether a subscription suits you better — including when that answer means we sell less.

Get in touch

Sources

This page is informational and does not constitute tax advice. The authoritative texts are Italian Law 199 of 30 December 2025 (art. 1, paragraphs 427-436, and Annexes IV and V), the interministerial decree of 7 May 2026 and the MIMIT directorial decree of 10 June 2026. We are engineers: we know how to build and document interconnected software, we do not replace your accountant. The sworn technical appraisal and the accounting certification must be signed by licensed professionals, which we are not.