Bank Account Assessments and Relatives’ Accounts: The Reversal of the Burden of Proof in Case Law
Current accounts held in relatives’ names may be regarded as "transparent" by the Tax Administration if they are in fact attributable to the taxpayer. In Order no. 5971 of 17 March 2026, the Fifth Tax Division of the Italian Supreme Court (Corte di Cassazione) held that transactions on such accounts may lawfully be attributed to the taxpayer’s professional activity.Assessments Concerning Relatives’ Accounts and Attribution to the Taxpayer
For the Tax Administration to attribute transactions on current accounts held in relatives’ names to the taxpayer, there must be indicators that the accounts are effectively attributable to the person under investigation. The Tax Office bears the burden of adducing these elements, which include:- A close family relationship between the individuals.
- Unexplained income-generating capacity on the part of the relatives holding the account.
- The relative’s involvement in the conduct of the taxpayer’s activity.
The specific case: a professional and a family member acting as an assistant
The case examined by the Supreme Court concerned a female professional working in the road accident claims sector. The Italian Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) had issued tax assessment notices based on banking investigations extended to the accounts of the taxpayer’s mother. It emerged that the mother, a pensioner with a modest annual income whose marginal activity had ceased, was acting as a de facto assistant in her daughter’s Firm. The professional herself had admitted systematically using her mother’s accounts to process cheques relating to her own professional activity, while her mother’s income profile was manifestly incompatible with the substantial transactions identified.Assessment and reversal of the burden of proof
Where a statutory presumption arises from a bank account assessment (under art. 32 dpr 600/1973), once the Tax Office has discharged its burden by demonstrating that the account is attributable to the taxpayer, the burden of proof is reversed. The case law consistently requires the taxpayer to mount a rigorous defence:- Detailed and specific evidence is required, examining the transactions individually.
- The taxpayer must demonstrate unequivocally that the disputed account movements do not relate to taxable transactions.
- General or unspecific arguments are wholly insufficient and cannot in any way undermine the Tax Office’s reconstruction.
