# Italy: Flat Tax for New Residents (€300k from 2026) > Italy's neo-residenti regime (Art. 24-bis TUIR): fixed tax on foreign income €100k→€200k→€300k from 2026, 15 years, 9/10 year condition, investor and elective visa options. Author: Мария Плотникова — юрист, Family Office (https://wiki.private.law/authors/plotnikova) Last modified: 2026-07-21T09:33:00.000Z Canonical: https://wiki.private.law/en/italy-flat-tax Topics: investments, migration Jurisdictions: italy Product tags: tax-regime, flat-tax, non-dom, wealth-planning, residence-permit Semantic tags: tax-regime, flat-tax, non-dom, wealth-planning, residence-permit --- ## Concept Italy offers one of Europe's best-known regimes for wealthy relocators — the "new residents regime" (regime dei neo-residenti, Art. 24-bis of the Tax Code, TUIR). Instead of the standard progressive tax, a new resident pays a fixed sum (flat tax) on all foreign income — regardless of its size — for up to 15 years. This is a substitute tax: it closes off the Italian tax on foreign income but does not make that income invisible to other countries. > 🍓 Status and figures as of 1 June 2026. The rate has risen three times: €100,000 (originally from 2017) → €200,000 (from 10 August 2024) → €300,000 for those whose Italian tax residency begins on or after 1 January 2026 (the 2026 Budget Law, published 31 December 2025). Earlier entrants keep their prior rates (grandfathering). The surcharge per family member has risen from €25,000 to €50,000. ## History: Why Italy Created This Regime > 🔗 **Related** > [non-dom](https://wiki.private.law/en/uk-non-dom-2025) · [Switzerland](https://wiki.private.law/en/switzerland-residence-permit) The regime did not appear out of nowhere. It was introduced by the 2017 Budget Law (Legge 232/2016, Article 24-bis TUIR) — at a moment when Britain was tightening its non-dom rules and wealthy foreigners were looking for a predictable alternative in Europe. Italy offered what Switzerland had done for decades through its lump-sum tax: pay a known sum in advance and not account for every euro of foreign income. The bet paid off: entrepreneurs, athletes and large rentiers were drawn to the regime. Popularity turned into higher prices — the entry ticket was raised every few years on a simple logic: demand exists, so the price can rise without losing the flow of applicants. A one-off relief thus became a permanent, but ever more expensive, budget instrument. ## How the Flat Tax Works - amount: a fixed tax on all foreign income (the rate depends on the year of entry into the regime); - duration: up to 15 years, renewed automatically each year; - family: a surcharge for each included family member (€25,000 for those who entered before 2026, €50,000 from 2026); - coverage: dividends, interest, capital gains, foreign real estate, etc.; - exemption from foreign-asset monitoring (the RW declaration) and from taxes on foreign assets (IVIE/IVAFE); - exemption from inheritance and gift tax on foreign assets during the regime period; - Italian income is taxed under the standard progressive tax (IRPEF, up to 43% plus local surcharges). Anti-abuse clause: capital gains from "qualified" participations (partecipazioni qualificate) in the first 5 years of the regime fall outside the flat tax and are taxed under the ordinary rules. ## Who Can Enter The main condition: not having been an Italian tax resident for at least 9 of the last 10 years before relocating. The regime is optional and is chosen when transferring tax residency to Italy. Economically it makes sense with substantial passive foreign income, when the fixed sum is more advantageous than the progressive rate. ## How to Arrange It and When to Pay The flat tax is not assigned automatically — you elect it in the annual tax return (Redditi PF, section NR). Before the first entry it is sensible to request an advance ruling from the tax authority (interpello): it confirms eligibility for the regime and removes disputes for years ahead. Payment is made once a year as a single sum, by the deadline for the annual IRPEF balance (by 30 June), through form F24. There is no instalment plan and no "right to a mistake": missing a payment means losing the regime with no reinstatement. From 2026 the flat tax may be combined with the new regime for inbound workers (D.Lgs 209/2023) — confirmed by a tax-authority clarification of December 2025. ## Immigration Component: How to Obtain Residency > 🔗 **Related** > [Investor Visa (the "golden visa")](https://wiki.private.law/en/golden-visas) The flat tax is a tax regime, not a visa. To become a tax resident, you must actually transfer residency (more than 183 days or your centre of life). Routes: - **EU/EEA citizens:** no visa is required, registration of residency is enough. - [Investor Visa](https://investorvisa.mise.gov.it/index.php/en/) (the "golden visa"): €250,000 in an innovative startup, €500,000 in an Italian company (S.r.l.), €1 million as a charitable donation, or €2 million in government bonds. The visa is independent of the flat tax: it grants residency, while the tax is calculated separately. - **Elective residence visa (for the financially independent):** passive income from ~€32,000/year (single) / €38,000 (couple) + ~€6,200 per child, housing and health insurance; no right to work in Italy. ## Context: How It Compares to Other Regimes > 🔗 **Related** > [Beckham law](https://wiki.private.law/en/beckham-law) · [Map of such regimes](https://wiki.private.law/en/special-tax-regimes) A fixed sum regardless of income size makes the regime worthwhile with very large foreign income — where a progressive scale would take far more. The market neighbours are built differently. Greece copied the Italian model almost literally: the same €100,000 a year. Switzerland has for decades levied a lump-sum tax on expenditure rather than on income. Spain, under the Beckham law, grants a favourable rate on local income but leaves worldwide income untouched. The United Kingdom abolished non-dom status in April 2025 and left newcomers only a [four-year relief (FIG)](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-you-can-claim-the-4-year-foreign-income-and-gains-regime). Against this backdrop Italy wins on a 15-year length and predictability, but after 2026 it carries the highest entry price. We have collected the full map of such regimes separately. > 💡 An adjacent option for pensioners: by moving to a small town (up to 20,000 residents) in southern Italy — Sicily, Calabria, Sardinia, Campania, Basilicata, Abruzzo, Molise, Apulia — a foreign pensioner can pay just 7% on all foreign income for 10 years. This is a separate regime and is best not confused with the flat tax for large fortunes. ## Risks and What to Consider > 🔗 **Related** > [controlled foreign companies (CFC)](https://wiki.private.law/en/kik) · [treaty tie-breaker](https://wiki.private.law/en/tax-residency-tiebreaker) - the flat tax does not close off the taxes of the country you leave: controlled foreign companies (CFC), exit tax, the treaty tie-breaker, citizenship-based taxation; - you must genuinely become an Italian resident (centre of life), otherwise the regime does not work; - "qualified" participations in the first 5 years are outside the regime; - the rise of the rate to €300,000 shifts the break-even threshold upward; - the fixed sum is paid annually regardless of whether there was any income. ## Frequently Asked Questions > 🔗 **Related** > [map of special tax regimes](https://wiki.private.law/en/special-tax-regimes) · [UK non-dom reform (FIG)](https://wiki.private.law/en/uk-non-dom-2025) · [Beckham law (Spain)](https://wiki.private.law/en/beckham-law) · [Switzerland: residence and lump-sum tax](https://wiki.private.law/en/switzerland-residence-permit) · [residence by investment](https://wiki.private.law/en/golden-visas) · [CFC](https://wiki.private.law/en/kik) ### How much does the regime cost now? €300,000/year for those entering from 1 January 2026; €200,000 for those who entered between 10 August 2024 and 31 December 2025; €100,000 for those who entered earlier. Plus a surcharge per family member (€50,000 or €25,000). ### For how many years does the regime run? Up to 15 years, with automatic annual renewal. Early exit is possible; re-entry is not. ### Do I have to pay if there was no foreign income this year? Yes. The sum is fixed and does not depend on actual income. ### Is this a visa? No. This is a tax regime; residency is arranged separately (EU citizens — without a visa; non-EU — an investor or elective visa). ### Does the regime cover inheritance? For foreign assets — yes: during the regime period there is an exemption from inheritance and gift tax on property outside Italy. > 🍓 The Italian flat tax is a purchase of tax quiet: a fixed payment closes off all foreign income and frees you from wealth tax and from reporting on foreign assets for up to 15 years. After the rise to €300,000 the break-even shifted upward, and the regime became a tool for very large fortunes. Yet it closes only the Italian side: the taxes of the country you leave are counted separately. --- ## Sources - [Investor Visa](https://investorvisa.mise.gov.it/index.php/en) - [four-year relief (FIG)](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-you-can-claim-the-4-year-foreign-income-and-gains-regime) --- ## FAQ ### How much does the regime cost now? €300,000/year for those entering from 1 January 2026; €200,000 for those who entered between 10 August 2024 and 31 December 2025; €100,000 for those who entered earlier. Plus a surcharge per family member (€50,000 or €25,000). ### For how many years does the regime run? Up to 15 years, with automatic annual renewal. Early exit is possible; re-entry is not. ### Do I have to pay if there was no foreign income this year? Yes. The sum is fixed and does not depend on actual income. ### Is this a visa? No. This is a tax regime; residency is arranged separately (EU citizens — without a visa; non-EU — an investor or elective visa). ### Does the regime cover inheritance? For foreign assets — yes: during the regime period there is an exemption from inheritance and gift tax on property outside Italy. --- ## Factual claims - Anti-abuse clause: capital gains from "qualified" participations (partecipazioni qualificate) in the first 5 years of the regime fall outside the flat tax and are taxed under the ordinary rules. - The main condition: not having been an Italian tax resident for at least 9 of the last 10 years before relocating. - Payment is made once a year as a single sum, by the deadline for the annual IRPEF balance (by 30 June), through form F24.