When dealing with Italian bureaucracy, taxes, and official paperwork, meeting deadlines is crucial. To express that something must be done "by" or "within" a certain time, use the preposition entro.
Setting Deadlines with "Entro"
Entro establishes a strict cutoff. You can place it directly before adverbs like oggi (today) or domani (tomorrow), as well as specific days of the week, to mean "no later than."
| You must send the declaration by tomorrow. | Devi inviare la dichiarazione entro domani. |
| You must send the receipt by Monday. | Lei deve inviare la ricevuta entro lunedì. |
You can also use it before noun phrases like la fine del mese (the end of the month) or specific calendar dates.
| The taxpayer paid the tax by the end of the month. | Il contribuente ha pagato l'imposta entro la fine del mese. |
| We sent the electronic form by the first of May. | Abbiamo inviato il modulo telematico entro il primo maggio. |
Bureaucracy and Consequences
If a contribuente (taxpayer) misses a deadline, they might face a multa (fine) or a sanzione (penalty).
| If you do not pay by today, you receive a fine. | Se non paghi entro oggi, ricevi una multa. |
| We pay the penalty by the deadline. | Paghiamo la sanzione entro la scadenza. |
To navigate these rules and avoid penalties, you might need a commercialista (accountant) to review your bilancio (balance sheet), or request a proroga (extension) to get a bit more time.
| With the extension, we can deliver the receipt by Friday. | Con la proroga, possiamo consegnare la ricevuta entro venerdì. |
| The accountant must check the balance sheet by the end of the month. | Il commercialista deve controllare il bilancio entro la fine del mese. |