From 1 July 2026, Meta applies a 3% surcharge on all advertising campaigns targeting users in Italy to cover the Digital Services Tax (DST). A budget of €1,000 becomes €1,030 charged. The surcharge appears as a separate line in invoices under "Italy Digital Services Tax".
Real ROAS is calculated by dividing revenue by budget multiplied by 1.03. Example: if you spend €1,000 and generate €4,000 in revenue, your apparent ROAS is 4.0 but your real ROAS — accounting for the DST surcharge — is 3.88 (€4,000 ÷ €1,030). For a business with a ROAS break-even at 3.0, the real break-even after DST becomes 3.09.
The surcharge is not VAT and does not give the right to VAT deduction, but it is deductible as a business cost for direct tax purposes. It applies regardless of campaign objective, placement (Facebook, Instagram, Audience Network) or ad format (image, video, carousel, Stories).
The 5 adaptation strategies: (1) Update your ROAS target — divide your current target by 0.97 to find the equivalent post-DST target. (2) Improve average order value through upsell and cross-sell to maintain profitability at the same conversion volume. (3) Diversify budget toward TikTok Ads, which currently does not apply an equivalent DST surcharge in Italy. (4) Optimise creatives systematically — a 10–20% CTR improvement more than compensates for the 3% cost increase. (5) Activate Meta Advantage+ Shopping for e-commerce to maximise algorithmic efficiency and partially offset the higher cost.
At Pota Studio, we have already updated all client ROAS targets and budget pacing models in anticipation of 1 July 2026. The DST surcharge is real and non-negotiable — but for well-run accounts it is an operational adjustment, not a strategic crisis.