Finalising the tax return and generating XML and deferred tax in SamBooks

How to freeze the IRES/IRAP worksheet figures with finalisation, what changes from that point on, and how to get the resulting declaration XML files and deferred tax entry.

What it's for

Once the IRES/IRAP worksheet computed from your accounting (guide Calculating IRES and IRAP and balancing the worksheet) is ready, finalisation freezes a copy of it: SamBooks saves an immutable snapshot of the figures at that moment, and it is that snapshot — not the accounting, which keeps moving — that SamBooks uses to generate the related documents: the balance and advance F24 forms (companion guide Generating IRES and IRAP F24 forms with balance and advances), the declaration XML files, and, when needed, the deferred tax entry.

This guide covers only what happens downstream of the computation: finalising, reopening, and the three "Filings and documents" groups that unlock — F24, XML, deferred tax (DTA/DTL). It doesn't repeat how to get to a balanced worksheet: that's the previous guide.

Before you start

• Finalising, reopening, generating the F24 forms and recognising deferred tax require a Gestore or Amministrativo role. Downloading the two XML files and opening the DTA/DTL calculation as a preview are reads: a Visualizzatore can do those too.
• You need two conditions together to finalise: that year's fiscal year must be closed (badge "Official", not "Provisional") and the worksheet must balance (no line with an amber variance). Missing either? The "Finalize" button stays locked until you resolve it.
• The XML files you download here are not the Italian Revenue Agency's official electronic filing format: they're reconciliation files meant for your accountant or a licensed intermediary, who reviews them and files them through their own channel. No button in SamBooks transmits anything to the Revenue Agency.

Step by step

1. Check the two prerequisites in the balancing bar

At the bottom of the IRES/IRAP taxes page, the sticky bar shows the "Finalize" button on the right. If either condition is missing, the button appears disabled with a lock icon; hovering (or tapping on mobile) opens a tooltip explaining exactly which one:

"To finalize you must first close the fiscal year: while it is open the computation is a provisional estimate."

"To finalize, the return must balance: fix the highlighted amounts."

The first is resolved by closing the fiscal year (guide); the second by going back to the worksheet and correcting the flagged lines (previous guide).

2. Press «Finalize»

Once both conditions are met, the lock disappears and "Finalize" becomes active. A click executes it immediately — there's no intermediate confirmation window, the bar itself is the standing warning until you press it. A toast confirms "Return finalized".

3. What changes after finalisation

Three effects, all immediate:

• The badge at the top switches from Draft to Finalized.
• SamBooks writes an immutable snapshot of the numbers (the exact figures at that moment, lines included): F24 forms, XML files and deferred tax are built from that snapshot, not from current accounting. One point that catches people out: the worksheet on the page keeps recomputing live even while the return is finalised. If you post more entries for that year, the figures on screen move while the snapshot stays put, and the documents already generated no longer match what you are reading — when you notice, reopen and re-finalise.
• The "Filings and documents" section, below the two worksheets, switches from a disabled state (subtitle "Available after finalisation: finalise the return (with the year-end closed and balanced) to generate F24, XML files and deferred tax.") to an operational one (subtitle "Generate the payment F24 forms, download the declaration XML files and recognise deferred tax from the finalised return."): the five buttons across the three groups become active — two for F24, two for XML, one for deferred tax.

4. «Reopen» to make corrections

While the return is Finalized, the bar shows "Reopen" in place of "Finalize". A click brings the status back to Draft: the worksheet becomes editable again (overrides, manual lines), and you'll need to press "Finalize" again to re-finalise it. The previous finalisation's snapshot isn't deleted — it stays as a historical version — but the "active" return goes back to the current, live-recomputed one. If you'd already generated F24 forms or XML files from the previous finalisation, those documents stay where they are: reopening the worksheet doesn't touch or automatically void them.

5. Generate the payment F24 forms

In the "Direct tax F24" group, two buttons — "Generate IRES F24" and "Generate IRAP F24" — each open a dialog with the advance-calculation parameters (ISA taxpayer, historical/forecast method, estimated tax). That's the subject of the companion guide Generating IRES and IRAP F24 forms with balance and advances: here it's enough to know they stay disabled until the return is finalised.

6. Download the declaration XML files

In the "Declaration XML file" group: "Download REDDITI SC XML" (the RF/RN sections — the same business income and IRES tax shown in the worksheet) and "Download IRAP XML" (the IC/IS/IR sections). Clicking downloads the file right away — no intermediate dialog, just the icon turning into a loading spinner while SamBooks generates it. The file saves as redditi_sc_{tax year}.xml and irap_{tax year}.xml — redditi_sc_2025.xml, for instance. There is no "BOZZA" prefix in the name: the filename is not what tells you this is not a file to submit — the paragraph below is.

Before generating the file, SamBooks runs a formal check on the snapshot data. Part of it finalisation has already guaranteed — internal balancing and consistency between totals; part of it has not, and that is where the download can genuinely stop: the taxpayer's name and VAT number, and for IRAP the presence of a region code and a positive rate. The message lists exactly which check failed, so you know where to act — the company profile, or reopen, correct and re-finalise — before trying again.

Neither of these two XML files is the Italian Revenue Agency's official electronic filing format: they contain the correct data in the section structure, but they aren't yet the validated Entratel format. The banner at the top of the page states this explicitly. They need to be handed to your accountant or a licensed intermediary, who checks them with their own software and files them through the telematic channel reserved for professionals — SamBooks never connects directly to the Italian Revenue Agency.

7. Compute and recognise deferred tax (DTA/DTL)

In the "Deferred tax" group, "Compute/View DTA/DTL" opens the dialog that analyses the temporary differences in the finalised worksheet (the ones marked "Temporary" in the line drill-down, previous guide) and derives deferred tax assets (DTA) and liabilities (DTL) from them under OIC 25.

If there are no temporary differences for the year, the dialog says so ("No temporary differences to recognise deferred tax from.") and stops there. If there are, it shows three amounts — Deferred tax assets (DTA), Deferred tax liabilities (DTL), Tax for the period — a status badge ("Preview (not recognised)" until you confirm, "Recognised in the accounts" afterwards) and a table with Account · Type · Tax base · Tax for every contributing difference. If part of the DTA isn't recognised for lack of reasonable certainty about future taxable income, an amber notice flags it with the excluded amount.

"Recognise in the accounts" is an action with real accounting effects: it writes the journal entry that recognises DTA/DTL in the income statement (line 20) and balance sheet — it's not a simple calculation. After recognition, the "View the entry" link opens that journal entry directly. If you spot a mistake, "Reverse recognition" takes the place of "Recognise in the accounts" once you have recognised it: it deletes the entry just created and returns the dialog to preview status. Be aware: it acts on the first click, with no confirmation step — the button is red, but nothing stands between you and it.

Toasts and real outcome messages

Every action in this section confirms or reports the outcome with a short message that always matches what actually happened — there are no "fake" confirmations when nothing really changed:

• F24: "{tax} F24 generated" when new ones are created, "F24 had already been generated" if you trigger generation on a period already covered (it won't duplicate them), "Nothing to pay: no F24 generated" if both balance and advance come out at zero.
• Deferred tax: "Deferred tax recognised in the accounts" and "DTA/DTL recognition reversed".
• A generic error on any action shows "Operation failed. Please try again."

Ask Sam

You can ask Sam to finalise or reopen the return ("finalise the 2025 taxes", "reopen the 2025 tax return"), to generate the REDDITI SC and IRAP XML files, and to compute or recognise deferred tax — same service as this page's buttons and the same gating: none of this works on a return still in draft. Finalising, reopening and recognising deferred tax stay traced and undoable from Sam's action history; generating the XML files does not, because it changes nothing in the accounts: it only produces the file, which stays as a downloadable attachment in the conversation, no need to open the page.

If something goes wrong

• "Finalize" stays locked — read the tooltip: either the fiscal year isn't closed, or the worksheet is out of balance. See step 1.
• "The tax return … is not finalized: IRES/IRAP F24 forms are only generated from the official return…" — you tried to generate an F24 (or XML, or deferred tax) on a return still in draft: finalise it first.
• "Formal checks … not passed" when downloading an XML — rare, since finalisation already guarantees balancing: the message lists the exact check that failed (for example a missing VAT number, a non-positive IRAP rate). Reopen, fix, re-finalise, try again.
• I reopened the return and the F24/XML I'd generated before are gone — that doesn't happen: reopening the worksheet doesn't touch documents already generated, it only means you can regenerate them with updated numbers after a new finalisation.
• I can't find where to recognise deferred tax when I have no temporary differences — that's correct: with no temporary differences there's nothing to recognise, the dialog says so explicitly instead of offering a zero-value entry.

Frequently asked questions

What happens when I finalise the tax return? SamBooks saves an immutable snapshot of the figures, the badge switches to Finalized and F24 forms, declaration XML files and deferred tax unlock; the worksheet on the page, though, keeps recomputing from current accounting data.

I can't finalise, it tells me the fiscal year isn't closed. Close that year's year-end accounts first from Adjustments → Closing, then come back here: the badge will switch from Provisional to Official and the button will unlock (if the worksheet also balances).

The finalize button is grey, why? At least one of the two conditions is missing — closed accounts, balanced worksheet. The tooltip on the lock tells you which.

How do I reopen an already finalised return? From the same bar at the bottom of the page, where "Finalize" used to be you'll find "Reopen": one click and it's back in Draft.

Where do I download the REDDITI SC XML? "Filings and documents" section → "Declaration XML file" group → "Download REDDITI SC XML", available only once the return is finalised.

Can I send the IRAP XML to the Revenue Agency myself? No: it isn't the official electronic filing format, it's reconciliation material for your accountant or a licensed intermediary, who checks and files it through their own channel.

What is deferred tax in SamBooks? The OIC 25 computation of DTA/DTL from the temporary differences in the finalised worksheet — for example a cost that's non-deductible this year but deductible in the future. See the "Deferred tax" group.

How do I recognise DTA and DTL in the accounts? From the "Compute/View DTA/DTL" dialog, "Recognise in the accounts" button: it writes the matching journal entry, then you'll find the "View the entry" link.

Can I reverse the deferred tax recognition? Yes, from the same dialog, with "Reverse recognition": available only after you've recognised it, and it cancels that entry.

Why are the filing buttons disabled? Because the return isn't finalised yet: the section subtitle reminds you of this as long as that's the case.

Does finalisation also lock the accounting? No: you can keep recording entries for that year. What locks is only the tax worksheet snapshot; if you need to update it with the new accounting, reopen and re-finalise.

Related features

• Calculating IRES and IRAP and balancing the worksheet — the previous step this finalisation builds on.
• Generating IRES and IRAP F24 forms with balance and advances — the detail of the first group of documents.
• The line between filings and your accountant — why no SamBooks file goes to the Revenue Agency.
• Closing the fiscal year in SamBooks — the statutory prerequisite for finalisation.