Inpatriati Regime

Also known as: Italy Impatriate Regime, Regime Impatriati, Italian Impatriate Tax

Quick answer

Italy's Inpatriati regime gives qualifying new tax residents a 50% exemption on Italian-source employment, assimilated employment and professional self-employment income — on up to €600,000 of qualifying income per year before the exemption — for five tax years (a three-year extension at 50% exists only for 2024 movers who bought their Italian principal residence by 31 December 2023 and within the twelve months before their registered-residence transfer). Reformed by the 2024 Tax Reform Law, which tightened eligibility and reduced the exemption from the prior 70-90% range.

Reference:D.Lgs. 209/2023 + TUIR art. 16

The Inpatriati regime (Regime Speciale per Lavoratori Impatriati) lets non-Italian tax residents who relocate to Italy elect a partial-exemption regime for Italian-source income. Under the 2024 reform (Decreto Legislativo 209/2023), the exemption sits at 50% (up to a €600,000 income ceiling); under the previous regime it was 70%, or 90% for movers to southern Italian regions. The 2024 changes also tightened eligibility: the applicant must (a) not have been an Italian tax resident in any of the prior three years (six if employed by the same group, seven if previously employed in Italy by that group), (b) commit to remaining a tax resident for at least four years, (c) hold a degree or 3+ years of qualifying professional experience, and (d) work primarily in Italy.

The regime runs for five tax years; the three-year extension applies only to those who transferred residence in 2024 and had bought their Italian principal residence by 31 December 2023, within the twelve months before the registered-residence transfer (the extra three tax periods keep the 50% exemption). A resident minor child raises the exemption to 60% (it does not extend the duration). The exemption applies to Italian-source employment, assimilated employment and professional self-employment income — not to foreign-source income, which is generally taxed under standard Italian rules with tax-treaty relief.

For expats considering Italy in 2026, the Inpatriati regime is most useful for employees of multinationals being posted to Italian offices, returning Italian nationals (Italo-Argentinos, Italo-Brasileiros, etc. with citizenship), and high-earning specialists. The combination of Inpatriati + the Italian flat tax for new residents (the €300,000/year flat-fee regime for foreign income for residence transfers from 2026 — €200,000 for residence transfers after 10 August 2024 through 2025 — governed by art. 24-bis of the TUIR) is sometimes used by ultra-high-net-worth movers, though the two regimes are not directly stackable on the same income type.

Inpatriati Regime

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