Single universal child allowance (assegno unico e universale)
Reference information: rules, amounts and deadlines change. Check the date of the material and the official sources.
Legislative Decree No. 230 of 21 December 2021 introduced, from 1 March 2022, the single universal child allowance (assegno unico e universale per i figli a carico, AUU). This cash benefit is paid every month, for the period from March of each year to February of the following year, to families with children on the basis of their financial situation, as measured by the equivalent economic situation indicator (ISEE). The single universal allowance is paid even without an ISEE, on the basis of the data self-declared in the application.
The allowance is paid:
for each dependent child under 18 and, for newborns, from the seventh month of pregnancy;
for each dependent child up to the age of 21 who meets one of the following conditions:
attending school, a vocational training course or a university degree course;
doing a traineeship or working with a total income of less than €8,000 a year;
registered as unemployed and looking for work with a public employment service;
doing universal civil service (servizio civile universale);
for each dependent child with a disability, with no age limit.
Amount of the allowance
Since January 2024 the minimum amount of the AUU has risen according to the ISEE: in particular, it goes up from €54.1 to €57.2 for a family with an ISEE above €45,704.68 (€43,240 in December). The maximum amount goes up from €189.2 to €199.4 for a family with an ISEE of up to €17,139.25 (€16,215 until December). From 18 to 21, the payment will range from €96.9 to €28.5 in 2024. The amount depends on the ISEE and on the children’s ages, except for children with disabilities, for whom there is no age limit.
Supplements
On top of the basic amount, the single allowance provides for increases in certain circumstances, for example when both parents work, when there are children with disabilities or who are not self-sufficient, and according to the recognised degree of disability. These supplements will also rise in 2024, as follows:
€34.15 for each child if both parents work;
€119.60 for children under 21 who are not self-sufficient;
€108.20 for children under 21 with severe disabilities;
€94.90 for children under 21 with a moderate disability;
€22.30 for each child under 21.
Who can apply
The allowance is granted provided that, at the time of application and for the whole period of the benefit, the applicant meets all of the following requirements at once:
is an Italian citizen or a citizen of an EU member state, or a family member of such a citizen holding a right of residence or a right of permanent residence, or a citizen of a non-EU country holding an EU long-term residence permit (permesso di soggiorno UE per soggiornanti di lungo periodo), or the holder of a single work permit (permesso unico di lavoro) allowing them to work for more than six months, or the holder of a residence permit for research purposes allowing them to stay in Italy for more than six months;
is liable to pay income tax in Italy;
is resident and domiciled in Italy;
lives or has lived in Italy for at least two years, even if not continuously, or holds a permanent or fixed-term employment contract of at least six months.
Note also paragraph 5 of INPS circular No. 41 of 07.04.2023, in which INPS (National Social Security Institute) clarified that the residence permits giving entitlement to the single universal allowance also include the temporary protection permit granted to people fleeing the war in Ukraine.
How to apply
The application only requires you to self-certify some basic details: the make-up of your household and the number of children, your place of residence and the IBAN of one or both parents. The application may or may not be accompanied by an up-to-date ISEE: submitting the ISEE is necessary to receive the full amount of the allowance that matches the applicant’s financial situation. Without an ISEE, you can still apply for the AUU, and everyone entitled to it will receive the minimum amount.
Applications, with or without an ISEE, can be submitted at any time of the year and, if successful, give entitlement to the allowance until February of the following year. However, all applications submitted by 30 June each year give entitlement to payments from March. You can apply through the “Assegno unico e universale per i figli a carico” service on www.inps.it, using SPID (Italy’s digital identity) at level 2 or above, the electronic identity card 3.0 (Carta di identità elettronica, CIE) or the National Services Card (Carta Nazionale dei Servizi, CNS); or by calling the integrated contact centre on the toll-free number 803.164 (free from a landline) or on 06 164.164 (from a mobile, charged at your operator’s rates).
Please note that the single universal allowance can be requested directly on the official INPS website only if it is your first application. Otherwise, no application is needed to receive it in 2024: applications submitted earlier remain valid in the years after the year of submission, but the applicant must inform INPS of any change affecting the amount of the allowance and entitlement to it (for example, the birth of another child). This means that you do not need to submit a new application for the single universal allowance for 2024, unless the application already sent to the Institute has the status “decaduta” (lapsed), “revocata” (revoked), “rinunciata” (withdrawn) or “respinta” (rejected). However, it is important to submit the new ISEE 2024 by 29 February, otherwise only the minimum amount will be paid from March. If the document is submitted by 30 June 2024, any amounts already paid for 2024 will be adjusted starting from March 2025, with the arrears due being paid.
Recipients of the citizenship income (Reddito di cittadinanza) need to pay particular attention: until February 2024 they will receive the single universal allowance automatically on their RdC card. From March 2024, however, there will be significant changes: recipients will have to submit a separate application to keep receiving the allowance. Beneficiaries should pay close attention to this change to make sure the financial support continues without interruption.
Below is the new payment calendar for January–June 2024, taken from the INPS website:
17, 18, 19 January 2024
16, 19, 20 February 2024
18, 19, 20 March 2024
17, 18, 19 April 2024
15, 16, 17 May 2024
17, 18, 19 June 2024
