New rules for the 2024 Impatriates Regime for Individuals

Legislative Decree no. 209 of 27 December 2023  was published in the Official Gazette (OG General Series No. 301 of 28-12-2023) and is stated to enter into force from 1 January 2024. 

The Decree, an executive measure, was approved by the Italian Council of Ministers pursuant to authority granted by Parliament by Law No. 111 of 9 August 2023. The Law conferred authority on the Italian Government to revise the Italian tax system, within the general principles  of European Union and international tax law. 

Amongst other things, the Decree, at article 5, implements a “new” beneficial tax regime for Impatriates replacing the former regime but only for post 2023 arrivers. 

According to the Decree, the new regime will apply to individuals who are tax resident in Italy, for the first time in the past three to seven years,  starting from the Italian tax year ending 31 December 2024 (FY 2024),  and who apply to register as resident in Italy on or after 1 January 2024.  Individuals already benefitting from the former regime at 31 December 2023, or who are registered as resident in Italy with effect on or before 31 December 2023, will remain on the current regime, for the rest of its natural 5 or 10 year term, and will not be impacted by the new rules.

The earlier legislation (Article 16 of Legislative Decree 14 September 2015, no. 147, and Article 5, paragraphs 2-bis, 2-ter and 2-quater, of Decree-Law  30 April 2019, no. 34, converted, with amendments, by Law No. 28 June 2019, no. 58) was abolished, but continues to apply to pre 1 January 2024 arrivers.

 

This means that the (copious) Tax Agency guidance and jurisprudence relating to the old regime will not necessary apply under the new regime.

Rate of the Relief, Timescale and Earnings Cap

  • The Relief post 2024 will apply generally at the rate of 50%. Thus 50% of remuneration will be exempt from taxation, the other 50% will be liable to tax at scale rates applicable to the taxpayer’s relevant total income. This rate substitutes the dual rates of 70% and 90% under the pre-existing regime;
  • The Relief will apply for a maximum of five tax periods (generally the calendar year) starting with the first year in which the taxpayer is tax resident in Italy;
  • The benefit will be capped at an annual salary of Euro 600,000 – no relief will be available for earnings over that amount;
  • The exempt portion of income will rise to 60% for a worker with at least one minor (under age eighteen) child at the time of the transfer to Italy .  If the worker has no children at the time of the transfer, in the case of the subsequent birth or adoption of a child, the extra benefit will apply from the tax year in which the child is born or adopted up to the end of the original 5 year period. The child must be tax resident in Italy for the whole of the period in which the tax benefit applies.

Table of Contents

Period outside Italy before the transfer

  • The worker must have been tax resident outside Italy in the three tax periods preceding the transfer;
  • For employees transferring to Italy to work for a company within the same group of companies as their former employer outside Italy, the period abroad prior to the transfer to Italy must be no less than six tax years;
  • For employees who have gone abroad and worked for a company belonging to the same group as their original employer in Italy, and who return to work for an Italian company belonging to the same group, the prior period working abroad must be at least seven years.
  • Italian citizens must have been registered with the AIRE (the register of Italian resident population) or have been tax resident pursuant to an applicable double tax treaty in another country for the whole of the applicable period (three, four or six years) before transferring to Italy.

Companies are deemed to belong to to the same group where there is a relationship of direct or indirect control within the meaning of Article 2359, para (1), section (1), of the Civil Code between the two companies or where both companies are subject to common direct or indirect control by a third person.

Requirement to Work in Italy and Minimum Period

  • The work activity (employment or self employment as a professional) must be carried out for the greater part of the tax period from Italian territory. The relief will not apply to profits from a business activity. The requirement in the original text that the employer be a resident company, appears to have been removed.
  • The worker must remain tax resident in Italy for four tax years. If the worker does not remain for the minimum term, they will lose the benefit of the Relief and will need to pay the extra tax due with interest (but not any penalty, it would appear);

Individual Requirements – Education (Professional Qualifications and Experience

  • The worker must be in possession of the high qualification or specialisation requirements defined by specific Italian legislation (a minimum three year higher education qualification and higher educational qualification attested by the country of origin and recognized in Italy). This requirement applies alike to Italian citizens, EU blue card holders and non EU citizens legally holding the right to remain within Italian territory).  Under the prior regime Italian citizens were not obliged to meet this requirement.

The legislation states the requirement here is either recognition of the professional qualification for “regulated” professions  or “a higher education qualification issued by the competent authority in the country where the qualification was obtained  certifying the completion of a higher education path lasting at least three years and a related higher professional qualification, falling within levels 1, 2 and 3 of the ISTAT  (Italian statistical office classification of the professions CP 2011 and subsequent amendments, certified by the country of origin and recognized in Italy.

 

In a ruling made in response for a request for official guidance (interpello Risposta n. 55/2025)  the Tax Agency make it clear that while it is up to other Italian government departments to assess and certify qualifications and experience,  in general terms, the individual must meet at least one of the following conditions:

 
  • Hold a University degree or an equivalent higher education qualification.  The qualification must be recognized under Italian or EU academic standards (e.g by requesting a “Dichiarazione di Valore”  – see below);

  • Work in a regulated profession – for example doctors, lawyers, chartered/certified accountants, engineers, architects etc.   The profession must be one of those recognized as regulated under Italian/ EU law, meaning it requires specific licensing or registration to practice;

  • Demonstrate at least 5 years of high-level experience comparable to a University qualification.  The experience must be in a specialized or technical field that would typically require a higher education degree.  This criterion applies where formal education is substituted by proven professional expertise. The experience must relate to the work actually to be carried out as specified in an offer or contract of employment; 
  • A higher professional qualification attested by at least three years of relevant professional experience acquired in the seven years preceding the submission of a EU Blue Card application, as regards managers and specialists in the field of information and communication technologies (“ICT”)  referred to in ISCO-08 classification No 133 and No 25.  In broad terms this means that that individuals in the ICT sector must have at least 3 years of experience in an ICT managerial or specialist role, involving specialized or leadership responsibilities.
In any event all qualifications and experience must be documented. Degree or other certification issued by non Italian Universities, must be “recognized” first by application for a “Dichiarazione di Valore”  (Declaration of Value or DoV) – a certificate issued by the Italian consulate for the jurisdiction in which educational institute issuing the professional qualification is situated, classifying the qualification within the relevant category under the Italian system.  Original certificates to be presented will need to be “legalized” – generally this will mean presenting the document to the competent government  authority of the state of the issuing institution for authentication, or for an apostille, and then official translation into Italian prior to presentation of the request for the DoV to the Italian Consulate. 

For University Degrees the DoV should be sufficient, for other certifications/qualifications further  applications may need to be made to the appropriate Government departments. 
 
Where there is any doubt regarding the qualifications/experience in accordance with the above guidelines, such as in this case where the individual holds educational qualification other than a university degree, or is basis eligibility on professional experience an individual  considering a move to Italy would be well advised to seek professional advice well ahead of the move. As can be seen from the above mentioned interpello, the Italian Tax Agency are not able to assess qualifications in advance and reserve the right to review the position at a later stage. An Enquiry or Audit may arise several years down the line, with a risk of extra tax, penalties, and interest, if the Agency do not consider that documents produced do not evidence entitlement for the Impatriates Relief. 

How to claim the relief

If you are an employee you should make a written letter of request (self certifying that you meet all the requisites) to your employer, ideally before receipt of your first instalment of annual salary in the first tax year that the relief applies – although adjustment via a future payslip for the same year may be possible.

 

For those employees who have not presented the letter of request for reduction of tax via the payroll, a refund or tax credit can be generated via the annual tax return. this must be done in the return for the first tax year for which the Impatriates Regime applies.   

 

For the self-employed  the benefit can be claimed in the first annual tax return for the first year of tax residence after the transfer to Italy.

Grandfathering 

The provisions of the old regime (70% or 90% relief) will continue to apply to those who have  succesfully applied to be registered as resident in Italy (with the list of resident population “anagrafe“) on or before 31 December 2023 or, for sportsmen and women, to those who have stipulated the relevant employment  contract by that date.

Extension of the initial five year period

The reduced tax regime can be extended for a further three tax years, after the initial five,  for those who purchase a residential real estate unit to be used as a main residence on or before 31 December 2023 and, in any case, in the 12 months prior to the transfer of residence.

 

 Our interpretation of the legislation is that in order to get the three year extension an individual:

  • must have completed a purchase of real estate on or before 31 December 2023; and
  • must be considered tax resident in Italy (under the new rules on tax residence) for FY 2024; and 
  • must register as resident in Italy no later than 12 months after the purchase of the property.

This interpretation needs to be confirmed by the official guidance.

 

In the further three year period, taxable income is reduced by 50%. 

EU State Aid Limitation

According to the Decree the provisions of this article apply in compliance with the conditions and  limitations of Regulation (EU) 1407/2013 of the Commission of December 18, 2013 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid, Commission Regulation (EU) 1408/2013 of Commission of December 18, 2013 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid in the agricultural sector, and Commission Regulation (EU) 717/2014 of the Commission of June 27, 2014 on the on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid in the fisheries and aquaculture.

This broad statement, which amplifies a similar intention in the previous  regulations will be of significant importance to high earning self employed, who will be likely to a maximum tax saving of Euro 300,000 over any three period.  It remains to be seen whether the Italian government will implement specific rules limiting the tax benefit for employees – at present there seems no intention in this sense.

Social Security and Wealth Tax

The exemption is expressed to apply only to income taxes. It does not necessarily apply to statutory social security contributions (pension, healthcare and unemployment benefit) which, for employees are, according to the authorities, calculated on 100% of salary.  

In Circular number 52 of 7 June 2023, the Italian Social Security Institute (INPS) has confirmed that for certain self employed workers the social security basis is the same as that the reduced basis used to calculate the income tax – i.e. the reduced basis by virtue of the Impatriates Relief.  The circular makes reference to the former Impatriates Regime, but it is believed that the reduction (50% or 60%) will continue to apply  from FY 2024 onward. 

The Impatriates Regime does not provide any exemption from Italy’s foreign asset reporting requirements (Section RW) or exemption/reduction of  wealth tax generally applicable to people who are tax resident in Italy for any year. 

Professors and Research Workers

The new rules do not impact the existing regime applicable to professors and research workers.

Checklist for Eligibility

The following documents are typically requested by the Tax Agency on audit of eligibility for the regime. It is worthwhile collating these as you start on the regime, and indeed the documentary support may be required by an employer, if you are requesting that income tax via the payroll is being reduced.

  • Evidence of non residence in Italy for requisite prior tax periods (e.g. certificate(s) of tax residence issued by foreign authorities,  copies of tax returns, annual earnings certification etc.
  • Degree certificate;
  • Declaration of Value for degree certificate  – instructions here: Italian Ministerial website  in Italian language – translated version in English;
  • Certificate of residence (registration with the (Anagrafe) or confirmation of acceptance of declaration of residence issued by local Comune;
  • Documentary evidence of registration with AIRE (for Italian citizens) or tax residence in white list country for requisite tax periods (3 to 7)  before the move to Italy;
  • Confirmation of intention to stay tax resident in Italy for at least four tax periods;
  • Confirmation of intention to work for the greater part of each future tax period from Italian territory;
  • Confirmation that earnings will be below the Euro 600k annual limit and tax savings will not exceed EU state aid thresholds in force from time to time.

The exact evidence required will depend on an individual’s particular circumstances. It may be possible to proceed with application of the Impatriates Relief while the supporting documents are being collected, albeit it with the risk of extra tax, penalties and interest, if the individual subsequently turns out not to be eligible.

Next Steps

it will likely be necessary to review the usual guidelines issued by the Tax Agency containing more details and definitions of some of the terminology used and underlying concepts. 

Legislation and guidance

Please refer to our blog post on the pre 2024 regime for a listing of the base legislation and Tax Agency guidance on that regime.

Interpello (Replies to Requests for Official Ruling)

Many of these rulings all refer to the pre 2023 rules and it is questionable if the guidance can continue to be applied to the post 2023 rules. Whilst it is likely that the authorities will continue to make reference to some of these rulings in relation to the post 2024 regime, the position in law will need to be examined.
 

Resolution no. 72, 26 September  2018  – Work activity performed in Italy and abroad for companies belonging to a multinational group;

Risposta no. 272 -114/2018 Impatriates Regime not available where no “connection” between transfer of residence and new job in Italy. Taxpayer coming to Italy in search of new employment.

Resolution no. 51, 6 July 2018   – Tax residence abroad before impatriation – 2 complete tax years required;

Risposta no. 492/2019 – assignment to France  – importance of lack of continuity – worker transferring to Italy with promotion to new level;

Risposta no. 495/2019 – taxpayer coming from Ireland – taxed in full on first year (as non resident), commencement of special regime starting from first year of tax residence and following four years;

Risposta no. 497/2019 – taxpayer working abroad, not registered with the AIRE;

Risposta no. 59/2020 – Timing of the benefit – interaction between time of starting work and first year of tax residence  – importance of claiming relief either by request to the employer or in tax return for first period of residence or lose – possibility of claiming relief for remaining years;

Risposta no. 533/2020 – Two years residence abroad for study purposes (Master’s Degree) not sufficient;

Risposta no. 42/2021 – Employee assigned abroad, returning to Italy – importance of non continuity;

Risposta no. 407/2021 Establishment of a single-member newco, attribution to the sole shareholder-manager of remuneration based on profits  – access to the ‘impatriates’ regime not available as the set up of the structure is intended purely to obtain a tax advantage and for no valid commercial reason – abuse of law.

Risposta no. 458/2021 – Tax treatment of income from employment paid to resident and non-resident individuals who due to the Covid emergency performed their work remotely in Italy, instead of the foreign country to which they had been posted and in which they usually worked (no discussion of availability of Impatriates’ Relief);

Risposta no. 596/2021  – Impatriates’ regime available for employees working remotely for non Italian companies.

Risposta no. 626/2021 – tax treatment of income from employment received by a nonresident individual who, due to the Covid emergency, performed their work remotely from Italy,  instead of in the foreign country in which they were resident and normally working (no discussion of availability of Impatriates’ Relief);

Risposta no. 703/2021 – requirements, exclusions and timings for taxpayers interested in the 5 year extension

Risposta no. 854/2021 Application of Impatriates Regime to Stock Option plans

Risposta no. 119/2022  – Return of employee from assignment abroad, continuing on same terms of employment, regime not applicable.

Risposta no. 159/2022  – Return of employee from assignment abroad, continuing on same terms of employment, regime not applicable – useful discussion of the “continuity” principal.

Risposta no. 172/2022 – UK citizen arriving pre-2020 admitted possibility of five year extension due to non discrimination provisions of EU/Italy withdrawal agreement.

Risposta n. 321/2022 Dual Italian/non EU citizen, a pre-2020 arriver,  denied 5 year extension due to not having been registered in the AIRE prior to transfer to Italy.

Risposta no. 460/2022 – The self employed cannot switch from Regime Forfettario flat-rate scheme’to Impatriates Relief in the first five years after transferring residence to Italy.

Risposta no. 190/2023 – Application of the Regime Forfettario  flat-rate scheme’ precludes subsequent access to Impatriates Regime and extension thereof.

Risposta n. 152/2024 Access to Impatriates Regime denied for a taxpayer transferring to Italy to undertake an MBA course at an Italian University , even though the course involved workplace  periods of (unremunerated)  training/stage.

Risposta no. 159/2024 Impatriates Regime (and extension) can be applied for later years, even where for the first years after transfer to Italy, the taxpayer elected the special regime for HNWI’s under Article 24-bis of the Italian Tax Code, provided conditions for the Impatriates Regime were  satisfied at time of transfer to Italy.

Risposta n. 53/2025 Impatriates Regime (post 2023 version) requires a 7 year minimum term of residence outside Italy where worker previously worked in Italy and transferred aboard in the context of the same group of companies, notwithstanding a change of relationship from employment to self employment.  Additional 10% increase of tax benefit available to both parents  transferring to Italy in presence of a single child.

Risposta n. 55/2025 Individual transferring to Italy requests confirmation that his mariner’s certificates/licences enable eligibility for the  Impatriates Regime (post 2023 version). The Tax Agency states that it CANNOT determine qualification equivalency in a tax ruling, as this is a technical matter for other government bodies. The Tax Agency provides its view of the conditions for access to the Impatriates Regime in terms of educational qualifications and professional certificates.

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