Nursery: up to € 3,600 a year back, but the receipts must be uploaded one by one
INPS refunds part of the nursery fee for children under three: up to € 327.27 a month for eleven instalments, depending on your ISEE and on when the child was born. From 2026 the single allowance no longer counts in the ISEE, and that changes the sum for many families.
Redazione Bahay 5 min read
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If you have a child under three at nursery, INPS refunds part of the fee. It is called the bonus asilo nido, and unlike the other support we have written about, this one you apply for: it does not arrive by itself.
How much comes back
The first question is not how much you earn: it is when your child was born. From 2026 there are two tables, and the one for younger children is more generous. The amount is paid in eleven instalments a year.
Children born from 1 January 2024
| ISEE | Per month, at most | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| up to € 40,000 | € 327.27 | € 3,600 |
| above € 40,000, or no ISEE | € 136.37 | € 1,500 |
Children born before 1 January 2024
| ISEE | Per month, at most | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| up to € 25,000.99 | € 272.73 | € 3,000 |
| € 25,001 to € 40,000 | € 227.27 | € 2,500 |
| above € 40,000, or no ISEE | € 136.37 | € 1,500 |
«At most» means something precise: the bonus cannot exceed what you actually paid. If the fee is € 200 a month, you get € 200 back, not € 327.
These amounts are set by the budget law and can change every year: the ones above apply from 1 January 2026 and come from INPS circular no. 29 of 27 March 2026, listed in the sources at the end. Before doing your sums on a figure, check the date at the top of this page.
⚠️ The single allowance no longer counts in the ISEE. Do the sum again
From 1 January 2026 the nursery bonus no longer looks at the ISEE minorenni: it looks at the ISEE for specific family and inclusion benefits, which is a new ISEE, and above all it takes the single allowance you received out of the calculation.
In the circular's own numbers: if your family has an equivalence scale of 3.10 and you received € 3,100 of single allowance during the year, € 1,000 is taken off the ISEE (3,100 divided by 3.10). An ISEE of € 41,000 becomes € 40,000.
Why this concerns you: in that example a thousand euros is the distance between € 1,500 and € 3,600 a year. If last year you were just above a threshold and were told no, this year the sum is a different one. You do not have to do anything special — INPS calculates it — but it is worth applying again.
It applies to you too
The nursery bonus is not open to every permit: the circular lists which ones count, and they are employed work, seasonal work, self-employment, family reasons, care of minors, special protection, special cases, the EU Blue Card and the EU long-term residence permit. Refugees and people with international protection are treated as Italian citizens.
If your permit has expired and you have already applied to renew it, you can still apply: what counts is having filed the renewal request. If the renewal then does not come, the benefit is revoked and claimed back.
From 2026 the permit while awaiting employment also counts, as for the single allowance. But here is something that has to be said and that nobody will tell you at the counter: INPS accepts these applications «subject to recovery». It means the matter is still before the Court of Cassation and that, if the rulings went the other way, the money could be claimed back. That is not a reason to skip it — it is a reason not to spend it as if it were final.
How to apply
On the INPS website with SPID, the electronic ID card or the Carta Nazionale dei Servizi, from the INPS Mobile app, or free through a patronato.
Applications for 2026 opened on 31 March 2026. Once approved it lasts until August of the year the child turns three: you do not reapply every year.
You need: the child's codice fiscale, the name of the nursery (it must be a facility authorised for children aged zero to three, public or private), and your IBAN.
⚠️ Where the money gets lost: the receipts
The bonus is not paid just because you applied. Every year you must:
- choose which months you are claiming;
- upload the proof of payment — the receipts for the fee, month by month.
The deadline is 30 April of the year following the months you are claiming. After that date, those months cannot be recovered.
The practical advice is obvious and it works: every time you pay the fee, upload the receipt straight away. Those who wait to do them all in spring are the ones who lose a few.
Keep the right receipts
You need a document stating who paid, for which child, for which month and how much. A receipt without the month, or in nobody's name, may not be enough. If the nursery only gives you a payment slip, ask for the receipt: they are used to it, everyone asks.
If the nursery is municipal, look at the other route too
Many municipalities set the nursery fee on the ISEE: the lower it is, the less you pay. The two add up — first you pay less, then part of what you paid is refunded — but they are claimed in two different places, the municipality and INPS, with two different applications.
What else depends on the ISEE is lined up in The ISEE opens one door after another.
If you cannot manage alone
Uploading receipts is the part that defeats most people, especially on a phone. A patronato does it free of charge, and can do it later too, for months already paid: bring them the receipts and your login.
