With the 2026 Budget Law, the incentive framework supporting companies’ digital transformation is changing.
Industry 4.0 and Transition 5.0 tax credits are being phased out, making room for the return of enhanced depreciation – a structural tax measure designed to support investments in new capital goods, both tangible and intangible, that enable the evolution of production processes.

Enhanced depreciation applies to investments that become operational between January 1, 2026 and September 30, 2028 and operates exclusively for tax purposes, with no impact on statutory accounting.
An implementing decree issued by MIMIT and MEF will define in detail the applicable procedures and compliance requirements.

What enhanced depreciation is and the benefits it offers

Enhanced depreciation allows companies to deduct, for tax purposes, an amount higher than the actual cost incurred for the purchase of new capital goods.
As a result, the asset’s tax-depreciable value increases, progressively reducing the taxable base and the overall tax burden for IRPEF and IRES purposes.

The intensity of the incentive varies depending on the amount of the investment:

• up to €2.5 million: 180% uplift;
• over €2.5 million and up to €10 million: 100% uplift;
• over €10 million and up to €20 million: 50% uplift.

The benefit does not generate immediate cash flow but is spread over time through depreciation charges and is conditional on the presence of taxable profit.
Compared to tax credits, enhanced depreciation represents a more structural lever, particularly well suited to medium- to long-term industrial investments.

Eligibility criteria for the incentive

The incentive is available to business income earners, regardless of legal form, sector, or company size, provided that the investments are allocated to production facilities located in Italy.

In addition to the eligibility requirements, access to enhanced depreciation requires compliance with a set of key criteria:

• EU/EEA origin of the assets, in line with the “Made in Europe” clause;
• interconnection with the company’s production management or supply chain systems;

• actual use of the asset within operational processes;
  
• availability of technical documentation and evidence of interconnection.

A core element of the measure is the integration of the asset into production processes: simply purchasing the technology is not sufficient; it must be effectively used and properly interconnected.

Which investments are eligible for enhanced depreciation

Enhanced depreciation applies to new tangible and intangible capital goods that support the digital and sustainable transformation of production processes.

The measure covers:

• assets and software included in Annexes IV and V of the 2026 Budget Law, provided they are interconnected with the company’s systems;
• investments in the self-generation of energy from renewable sources for self-consumption, in compliance with the applicable requirements.

Assets intended for administrative activities, office automation, or individual use, which are not directly connected to operational processes, are excluded.

Timing and eligibility windows of the measure

Access to enhanced depreciation is subject to compliance with two distinct time windows:

1. Investment period: January 1, 2026 – September 30, 2028

• Within this period, the tangible or intangible asset must be delivered and made operational (installed, interconnected, and integrated into the company’s processes).

• For the purposes of the incentive,the relevant date is the delivery of the asset, not the order date or the date on which the contract is signed.

• Investments ordered before January 1, 2026 are also eligible, provided they are delivered and made operational within the eligible window.
  For example, an asset ordered in 2025 and made operational in 2026 may qualify for the incentive, provided it meets the required criteria.

2. Procedural compliance period: February 2, 2026 – November 15, 2028

Within this timeframe, all administrative steps must be completed:

• reservation of the incentive;
• mandatory filings;
• final reporting of the investment.

Why MES, APS, and ERP are central to the Transition Plan 5.0

Within this framework, industrial MES, APS, and ERP systems represent some of the technologies most closely aligned with the objectives of the Transition Plan 5.0.

MES and APS systems enable advanced production and planning management, operational flow traceability, performance monitoring, and real-time data exchange between machines, plants, and ERP systems.
These capabilities fully meet the requirements for automation, interconnection, and process control set out by the measure.

Industrial ERP systems may also qualify for enhanced depreciation, provided they are integrated with shop-floor systems and used as platforms for governing operational processes.
In this case, what matters is not the software itself, but its role within the overall digital architecture and its actual use in production.

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For more information:

• Consult the official pages on the website of the Ministero delle Imprese e del Made in Italy: https://www.mimit.gov.it/it/

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Are you considering an incentivized investment to digitally transform your industrial processes? Make it happen with the Quin Group!

The Quin Group brings together the consulting expertise of Quin and the technological capabilities of QGS to support companies through end-to-end digital transformation journeys – from operating model design to the development and integration of digital solutions across the Operations & Supply Chain landscape.

Experience gained in the development of MES and APS solutions (by Quin) and ERP systems (by QGS), integrated into production and planning processes, enables companies to improve operational control, gain greater visibility into critical issues, and enhance decision-making effectiveness—fully in line with the requirements of enhanced depreciation under the Transition Plan 5.0.

✅ WHAT WE CAN DO	❌ WHAT WE CAN’T DO
We support the technical, digital, and organizational definition of digital transformation projects.	We do not provide consultancy services for the drafting or submission of incentive applications.
We support companies in the development of the solutions to be implemented as part of the investment.	We do not verify eligibility requirements for the incentive.
We contribute to the operational design and planning of transformation activities.	We do not manage the administrative or documentation procedures related to the incentive scheme.
We provide specialized expertise and an end-to-end approach to support the implementation of investments.	We do not provide support for the submission, upload, or transmission of incentive applications.
We work alongside the company in the concrete implementation of the funded project.	We do not provide regulatory or interpretative advice on incentive schemes.

For aspects we cannot manage directly – specifically those related to public calls or incentive schemes, such as eligibility checks, application preparation, and documentation management – we work with specialized partners who can support companies throughout the entire incentive access process.

Get in touch to discover how we can work together to deliver your digital transformation investment and access the 2026 enhanced depreciation measure with the Quin Group!