Regime Impatriati 2026: Tax Relief for Workers Moving to Italy

Last updated: 27 October 2026 · Written by the Peoitaly team, Employer of Record and payroll specialists in Italy.

Italy’s regime impatriati offers income tax relief to eligible workers who move their tax residence to Italy. In 2026, qualifying workers can generally exclude 50% of their eligible Italian employment or professional income from taxation. The exemption rises to 60% when the conditions relating to a minor child are met.

The relief applies to qualifying income up to €600,000 per year and normally lasts for five tax years. It is available to both returning Italian citizens and foreign nationals, including people who have never previously lived in Italy.

Access depends on several conditions, including previous tax residence abroad, professional qualifications and where the work is performed. The rules for new arrivals differ from those for workers covered by the previous regime. Source: Legislative Decree 209/2023, Article 5

How much income is exempt?

Under the standard regime, only 50% of qualifying income enters the Italian personal income tax base. Where the enhanced family benefit applies, the taxable share falls to 40%.

These percentages reduce taxable income; they are not a fixed reduction of the final tax bill. For example, €100,000 of qualifying income would contribute:

The final tax payable depends on the applicable tax rates, deductions and individual circumstances. To estimate an employee’s net pay in Italy, you can use our salary calculator.

The €600,000 limit is an annual ceiling on qualifying income: any amount above it does not receive the impatriati reduction.

Eligible income includes employment income, certain income treated as employment income, and self-employment income from arts and professions produced in Italy. Business income, pensions and investment income are outside the regime. Source: Article 5

Who can qualify in 2026?

To access the regime, workers must:

• Transfer their tax residence to Italy.
• Commit to keeping Italian tax residence for at least four years.
• Meet the required period of previous non-residence in Italy.
• Work in Italy for most of the tax period.
• Meet the professional qualification requirement, or the alternative route for research in artificial intelligence.

The ordinary previous non-residence requirement is three tax periods. For someone becoming tax resident in Italy in 2026, this generally means not having been tax resident in Italy in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Longer periods apply where the worker continues working for the same employer or corporate group:

These are tax periods, not a simple count of months spent abroad, so the employment history around each transfer needs to be reviewed. Source: Italian Revenue Agency, ruling 54/2026

Is a university degree always required?

No. A university degree is not the only way to meet the qualification requirement. Depending on the circumstances, eligibility may be supported by:

• A higher education qualification from a programme of at least three years.
• The requirements for a regulated profession.
• At least five years of relevant professional experience at a level comparable to higher education.
• For qualifying ICT managers and specialists, at least three years of relevant experience gained in the previous seven years.

A job title alone does not establish eligibility: the qualifications and supporting evidence must meet the applicable criteria. Source: EU Blue Card qualification rules referred to by Article 5 (Legislative Decree 286/1998, Article 27-quater)

Since 10 October 2025, workers who have carried out research, including applied research, in artificial intelligence technologies can also meet the qualification condition. All other eligibility requirements still apply. Source: Law 132/2025, Article 22

How long does the benefit last?

The benefit applies for the tax year in which Italian tax residence is acquired and the following four tax years. For someone becoming tax resident in Italy in 2026, the benefit period is therefore 2026–2030, provided the conditions continue to be met.

Separately, the worker must keep Italian tax residence for at least four years. If they leave earlier, the relief already received is recovered, with interest.

Five years of benefit, four years of minimum residence: they are two separate requirements.

Source: Article 5, paragraph 3

What additional relief is available for workers with children?

The taxable share of qualifying income falls from 50% to 40% where:

• The worker moves to Italy with a minor child, or
• A child is born, or a minor is adopted, during the benefit period.

For a birth or adoption during the regime, the enhanced relief applies from the tax year of the event for the rest of the benefit period. The child must reside in Italy during the relevant period.

Revenue Agency ruling 82/2026 confirms that a child’s earlier move to Italy does not, by itself, prevent the parent from receiving the enhanced relief, and that the child turning 18 after the worker’s return does not end the enhanced benefit for the remaining period. Source: Italian Revenue Agency, ruling 82/2026

Can remote workers with a foreign employer qualify?

Yes. Working remotely from Italy for a foreign employer can qualify, provided all the conditions are met.

What matters is where the work is performed: having an employer abroad does not make the employment income foreign-source. The Revenue Agency confirmed this approach in rulings 2/2026 and 82/2026. Staying with the same foreign employer does not prevent access, although the longer previous-residence requirements may apply.

If the employer does not apply the relief through payroll, an eligible worker can claim it in their Italian income tax return. Source: Italian Revenue Agency, ruling 2/2026

How does an Employer of Record affect eligibility?

An Employer of Record (EOR) arrangement needs its own assessment.

In ruling 54/2026, the Revenue Agency examined a worker employed through a foreign EOR before moving to Italy, and through an Italian EOR of the same group afterwards. The Agency required six previous tax periods abroad, even though the end-client companies were different and unrelated.

Using an EOR therefore does not automatically establish eligibility or remove the longer residence requirement. Before applying the relief, employers and workers should review who the contractual employers were, their group relationships and the worker’s previous employment history. Source: Italian Revenue Agency, ruling 54/2026

Why tax residence needs careful assessment

Tax residence involves more than registering an address or starting an Italian employment contract.

Italian rules look at residence, domicile and physical presence for most of the tax year. Registration in the population register (anagrafe) creates a rebuttable presumption of residence, and tax treaties may also affect the assessment.

A relocation date should therefore be planned together with the worker’s living arrangements, family situation and time spent in each country. Source: Legislative Decree 209/2023, Article 1

Do the previous rules or extensions still apply?

Workers covered by the transitional provisions may remain under the previous regime. The safeguard covers people who transferred their registered residence to Italy by 31 December 2023, with a separate provision for sports employment contracts signed by that date. Arriving before a specific month in 2023 is not, by itself, enough.

For a new move in 2026, buying a home or having a child does not extend the benefit beyond five tax years, and there is no additional 90% exemption for moving to southern Italy under the new regime.

A narrow transitional extension gives three additional tax periods, at a 50% taxable share, to certain workers who transferred their registered residence in 2024 and bought an Italian home used as their main residence by 31 December 2023, within the twelve months before the move.

Extensions under earlier regimes and the separate incentives for teachers and researchers need their own assessment. Source: Article 5, transitional provisions

How to claim the relief

• Employees give their employer a written request and the documents supporting eligibility. The employer then applies the relief through payroll. If the employer has not applied it, the worker can claim it in the income tax return. Source: Italian Revenue Agency, ruling 2/2026
• Self-employed professionals should also check the EU de minimis limits: the €600,000 ceiling does not replace them. Source: Article 5, paragraph 7
• Payroll must consider how each pay component is treated. Circular 3/E of 24 June 2026 clarifies that salary increases and allowances subject to the substitute taxes it examines do not also receive the impatriati reduction; if the worker validly opts for ordinary taxation, the impatriati rules can apply. Source: Revenue Agency circular 3/E/2026, paragraph 3.2

What changes from 2027?

From the 2027 tax year, people who transfer their tax residence to Italy can no longer combine the impatriati regime with the separate flat tax on foreign income for new residents. This restriction does not apply to people who transferred their tax residence in 2026. Source: Decree-Law 38/2026 (converted by Law 88/2026), Article 2

From 1 January 2027, the impatriati rules will also move to Article 225 of the new consolidated income tax code. Source: Legislative Decree 117/2026 (new income tax code), Articles 225 and 377

Frequently asked questions

This article provides general information. Eligibility and the resulting tax treatment depend on individual circumstances and should be assessed with a qualified Italian tax adviser.