Impatriate
Tax Regime
in Italy

From 2024 the eligible income counts towards the taxable base at 50% (only half is taxed), and that share can fall to 40% taxable (that is, a 60% exemption) with a minor child, or with a birth or adoption during the regime, within €600,000 of eligible income a year. The actual saving depends on your income and your tax rate: we work it out together.

In short (new regime): not having been tax resident in Italy in the 3 preceding tax periods (the period increases if you carry on working for the same employer or group), committing to keep your residence in Italy for at least 4 years, carrying out the work mainly in Italy and holding high qualification or specialisation requirements. They have to be checked against the actual case.

For 5 tax periods starting from the one in which you move your residence. Unlike the previous regime, an extension of a further 5 years is not normally available.

Yes: it covers employment income, income treated as employment income and self-employment income produced in Italy. Employees claim it from their employer; those with an Italian VAT number apply it in their tax return.

What counts is the registry residence: those who transferred it to Italy by 31 December 2023 stay under the previous regime (generally more favourable, with a 70% reduction — 90% in the South — and a possible extension), even if tax residence only started in 2024. Those who registered after that date fall under the new regime. It is a delicate point: better to check it with an expert. (art. 5, paragraph 9, D.Lgs. 209/2023)

If you are an employee you claim it from your employer with a written request: the employer applies withholding on the reduced taxable base from the following pay period and recovers the difference in the year-end adjustment, back to the hiring date. If the employer has not applied it, you can claim it directly in your tax return, reporting the already reduced income, as long as the time limits for that return have not expired. (Agenzia delle Entrate, circular 17/E of 2017, § 4.2.1; circular 33/E of 2020, § 6)

The impatriate self-declaration is a statement made under D.P.R. 445/2000 (the Italian rules on self-certification) and must state: personal details and date of birth, Italian tax code, date of return to Italy and date of first employment in Italy, your current address in Italy, the declaration that you meet the requirements of the regime, the undertaking to report promptly any change of residence and the declaration that you are not benefiting at the same time from other return incentives. (Agenzia delle Entrate, circular 17/E of 23 May 2017, § 4.2.1)

There is no single percentage, because the relief does not touch the net figure directly: it reduces the taxable base. Employment income counts towards total income only for 50% (40% with a minor child resident in Italy) and the employer applies withholding on that reduced base. How much more you keep depends on the gross figure, the IRPEF brackets (Italian personal income tax), the deductions and the regional and municipal surcharges: the net pay calculation has to be done on the actual case. (art. 5, D.Lgs. 209/2023)

No. Changing employer is not a ground for losing it: the only one set out by law is failing to keep tax residence in Italy for at least four years — in that case the benefits already enjoyed are recovered with interest. You do have to submit a new written request to your current employer, even if this is the second or a further hiring after your return. (art. 5, paragraph 3, D.Lgs. 209/2023; circular 17/E of 23 May 2017, § 4.2.1)

The two regimes do not add up: the regime forfettario (the Italian flat-rate scheme) is subject to a substitute tax and does not count towards total income (art. 3, paragraph 3, TUIR, the Italian income tax code), whereas the impatriate relief cuts the IRPEF base. The Revenue Agency stated they were incompatible under the previous regime (circular 33/E of 2020, § 7.11; ruling no. 190/2023) and the new provision is built the same way. Which one suits you depends on turnover, costs and duration: we compare them here.

Yes. The law requires the work to be carried out for most of the tax period in the territory of the State, not that the employer be Italian. The Revenue Agency has confirmed this for the new regime even where the relationship with the foreign employer continues without interruption: in that case, though, the minimum period of residence abroad rises to six or seven years. Here is the full picture. (Agenzia delle Entrate, rulings no. 2/2026 and no. 82/2026)