In recent years, corporate welfare has evolved from an optional initiative to a structural component of corporate policy.
What is truly changing, however, is its tax treatment.
This is not the result of a “new law”, but rather an evolution in interpretation that has strengthened the role of Articles 95 and 100 of the Italian Income Tax Code (TUIR), with concrete implications for the IRES deductibility of corporate welfare programs.
Let’s explore what this means for companies.
Welfare as a “limited” cost
Traditionally, expenses for services and initiatives provided to all employees or to specific categories of employees fell under Article 100 of the TUIR.
This provision allows deductibility, but within a precise limit:
5 per thousand of total employee labor costs.
In practice:
- Voluntary welfare initiatives were deductible
- But only up to a quantitative threshold
- Any excess amount remained non-deductible for tax purposes
As a result, corporate welfare was often perceived as a partially recoverable cost.
The turning point for companies
However, when a welfare plan is established through a collective labor agreement, a binding company regulation, or a trade union agreement, it is no longer classified as a voluntary benefit.
In these cases, Article 95 of the TUIR applies. This article regulates employee compensation costs and allows full deductibility when expenses are related to business activities.
This represents the real turning point: structured welfare becomes part of labor costs, rather than a social benefit expense.
What does “100% deductibility” actually mean?
Full deductibility does not mean recovering the entire cost. Instead, it means:
- Reducing the company’s IRES taxable base by the full amount
- Generating tax savings equal to the applicable rate (currently 24%)
Example:
If a company invests €100,000 in a contractual welfare plan:
- The taxable base is reduced by €100,000
- The company obtains €24,000 in IRES tax savings
- The effective net cost becomes €76,000.
The benefit is therefore tax efficiency, not a full reimbursement.
From regulation to innovation: data-driven welfare
Today, investment in physical and mental health can:
- Reduce absenteeism
- Improve retention
- Increase engagement and productivity
- Strengthen employer branding
Through the evolving interpretation of the principle of business relevance (inerenza), legislators increasingly recognize that organizational wellbeing contributes directly to value creation.
Corporate welfare is therefore no longer a “soft” expense, but a measurable investment. And this is where a new opportunity emerges.
Many welfare plans still offer standardized services (generic platforms, non-personalized benefits, limited measurement of impact).
From a fiscal perspective, they may be efficient.
From a strategic perspective, however, they often fall short.
The key question companies should ask today is: “Can corporate welfare become a measurable tool for organizational performance?”
In this context, coaching emerges as one of the most effective tools to support awareness, development, and human potential within organizations.
Traditionally, coaching has been delivered through high-value individual programs, which are often difficult to scale and rarely integrated into corporate welfare systems.
Today, a data-driven approach makes it possible to move beyond this traditional model.
The combination of biometric technologies and artificial intelligence allows coaching to become continuous, personalized, and measurable.
IANUNAI QUI, our AI-supported digital coaching system, is a wearable device that monitors biosignals in real time to detect the user’s psychophysiological state.
Through an advanced artificial intelligence engine, the content and timing of coaching sessions are dynamically adapted based on the physiological data collected.
In this way, corporate welfare becomes a data-driven organizational tool, capable of strengthening engagement and enabling companies to objectively measure the impact on wellbeing and performance.
Transform welfare into measurable value. Get started!