Italy Tax Guide: the Flat Tax Just Tripled to EUR 300,000

Italy sits 187th out of 217 in our world ranking, with a FiScore of 3.7 out of 10. On its ordinary rates it is a high-tax country, and that rank says so.

It is on this list for one thing only, and the price of that thing has just tripled.

The flat charge, and what it now costs

A new resident can elect to pay a flat annual amount on all foreign-source income, whatever that income is, instead of Italian tax on it. No rate, no scale: one figure.

The figure has moved three times, and the amount you pay depends on the year you came in:

Everyone keeps the amount they entered on, for the whole run. So a page telling you "Italy costs EUR 100,000" is not wrong about 2024 arrivals, and useless to you.

Each family member can elect separately for EUR 50,000, which changes the arithmetic considerably for a couple with children.

The regime lasts fifteen years, and it is open only to someone who was not an Italian tax resident for nine of the ten years before moving.

When it is worth it, and the arithmetic is simple

The flat charge replaces Italian tax on foreign income. So it pays from the point where ordinary Italian tax on that income would exceed EUR 300,000.

Italy's top marginal rate is 43%, plus regional and municipal surcharges. Very roughly, the crossover sits around EUR 750,000 to 800,000 of foreign income a year, before the family members' elections change it.

Below that, the flat charge is a bad deal, and Italy becomes what its rank says it is: an expensive country.

What Italy costs everyone else

43% is not the real marginal rate, and almost no summary says so. The two surcharges stack on the national scale, so a high earner in an expensive region pays over 47%.

Companies face IRES at 24% plus IRAP, a regional tax of roughly 3.9% charged not on profit but on a wider production base, which means it falls due even on a barely profitable company.

If you are American

Citizenship-based taxation follows you to Milan. The flat charge is an Italian tax on foreign income, and the foreign tax credit mechanics of a lump sum are awkward: you are not paying tax at a rate on identifiable income, you are paying one number.

That makes crediting it against a US liability a question for an adviser rather than a spreadsheet, and it is the single most under-discussed aspect of the regime for Americans.

The drawbacks

It is an election, and elections are audited. Nine of ten years of non-residence has to be provable, and Italy has become considerably better at asking.

It does not cover Italian-source income. Anything arising in Italy is taxed normally, on the full scale plus surcharges.

The amount has tripled in eight years. A regime whose price triples is a regime that can be repriced again, and you are committing for fifteen years.

Bureaucracy is real, and it is the complaint that comes up most often from people who moved.

So, who is Italy for?

• Very large foreign income, above roughly EUR 800,000 a year: the flat charge works, and the family elections make it work harder.
• A couple or family with substantial income each: EUR 50,000 per member is the part people miss.
• Anyone below the crossover: no. Italy is an expensive country with a very good quality of life, and the tax case is not the reason to go.
• Income arising in Italy: the regime does nothing for it.

The full table of Italian rates is on our Italy page, and the comparison tool puts it next to anywhere else. Before deciding anything, read how to actually leave.

Sources

Figures verified in August 2026 against PwC Tax Summaries. The three tiers of the flat charge and the family member amount come from the same source. An error reported to us gets fixed.

This page informs, it does not advise. Before deciding anything, talk to a professional who will look at your situation, as our terms of use set out.