The first Italian tax question is not "how much?" but "since when?". Italy taxes residents on their income from anywhere in the world, so the date you become resident matters more than the rate. This guide covers taxes in Italy for newcomers: the 183-day test, the 2026 income tax brackets, the surcharges, how you file, and the often forgotten declarations about foreign assets.
When do you become a tax resident in Italy?
The rule changed in 2024. You are resident for the year if, for more than half of it (183 days, or 184 in a leap year), you have in Italy one of the following: your residence in the civil-code sense, your domicile (where your personal and family relations are centred), or your physical presence. Any fraction of a day counts as a full day, and separate stays add up. Arriving at 11 pm counts.
Registration in the population register is no longer decisive on its own, but it creates a presumption. You can rebut it; the burden of proof is on you. Equally, not registering does not protect you: 183 days of presence are enough, even if the town hall never heard of you. Remote workers should note this: working from an Italian flat for more than 183 days makes you a resident for tax, not only for your salary. Our guide to residence in Italy covers the registration side.
Italian law treats the year as a whole: you are resident for all of it or none. The Agenzia's 2024 circular cites the treaties with Germany, Switzerland and Panama as allowing the year of the move to be split; read your own treaty to see whether it does.
What are the income tax rates for taxes in Italy in 2026?
IRPEF, the personal income tax, has three brackets in 2026:
| Taxable income | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to €28,000 | 23% |
| €28,000 to €50,000 | 33% |
| Above €50,000 | 43% |
The middle rate was 35% until the 2026 budget law reduced it to 33%; above €200,000 of income, a mechanism cancels the benefit of the cut. Deductions and tax credits (detrazioni) then reduce the bill.
On top come two local surcharges: the regional surcharge (a base rate of 1.23%, which regions may raise) and the municipal surcharge (up to 0.8%, 0.9% in Rome), due to the region and the Comune where you are domiciled for tax purposes on 1 January. Rates vary, so look up your own on the Finance Department's site.
Tax residence is the point where "it depends" really bites: a partner who stays abroad, a home in two countries, a treaty tie-breaker between your country and Italy. Describe your situation to Moovy, Hello Expat's AI assistant, and it can tell you which rules and which official pages apply. For a decision with money at stake, a commercialista (Italian accountant) or a tax adviser should confirm it.
How do you file taxes in Italy?
You declare the year before's income in the spring and summer of the following year. Two forms matter:
- Modello 730, if you are an employee or pensioner whose employer or pension body withholds Italian tax. In 2026, for 2025 income, the deadline was 30 September.
- Modello Redditi PF, for the self-employed, people with foreign income or assets, and others. Filed online, the 2026 deadline is 31 October, moved to 2 November because the 31st falls on a Saturday.
A pre-filled return is available in your personal area on the Agenzia's site, accessed with SPID, CIE or CNS. Balance and instalments are paid with an F24 form. Your first year mixes two tax systems, so many newcomers hire a commercialista or a CAF (tax assistance centre), which is allowed but not required.
What about double taxation and treaties?
Italy has treaties against double taxation with most European countries. If both countries consider you resident, the treaty's tie-breaker rules (permanent home, centre of vital interests) decide. Where Italy taxes you, it usually gives a credit for tax paid abroad. The texts are listed on the Finance Department's site. Swiss cross-border workers have a specific agreement and protocol in force since 1 January 2024.
Which foreign assets must you declare?
As a resident, you declare each year, in quadro RW of the Redditi PF (or quadro W of the 730), your foreign bank accounts, investments, crypto-assets and real estate, even dormant ones. Two taxes may apply:
- IVAFE, on foreign financial assets: €34.20 per current account or savings account whose average balance exceeds €5,000, and 0.2% on other financial products.
- IVIE, on foreign property: 1.06% of the value, with an exemption for your main home abroad unless it is a luxury category (then 0.4%).
Omissions are expensive: 3% to 15% of the undeclared amounts, or €258 if you correct within 90 days of the deadline. Newcomers on the special regimes in flat tax for new residents in Italy or flat tax for retirees in Italy are exempt from these while the option lasts, for the countries it covers.
What are the local property taxes?
If you own a home that is not your main residence, the IMU applies (0.86% legal rate, set by the Comune within a range), payable on 16 June and 16 December. Main homes are exempt, except luxury categories. Everybody who occupies a home pays TARI, the municipal waste tax, set by the Comune. Buyers should read buying property in Italy, and workers who might qualify for a tax break should read about Italy's impatriati regime.
How do you count your days, and what proof should you keep?
If your year straddles two countries, you will want evidence either way. The Agenzia delle Entrate counts presence day by day, so keep what shows where you slept: flight and train tickets, hotel or lease records, payslips and utility bills. If you want to show you were not a resident despite being registered at a Comune, those papers are what you will use, and the burden is yours. If you are a resident, they help you answer questions about your first tax year.
Keep also the certificates of tax residence and tax notices from your previous country. Several Italian regimes ask you to prove you were not an Italian tax resident in earlier years, and treaty tie-breakers rely on documents about your home, family and economic ties.
Do special regimes change your taxes in Italy?
Yes, for three groups. Italy offers relief to people who move their tax residence, but each regime has very different conditions:
- Skilled workers taking a job in Italy can have half of their Italian employment income exempted for five years: Italy's impatriati regime.
- Foreign pensioners moving to a small town in the South can pay a flat 7% on their foreign income: flat tax for retirees in Italy.
- People with very large foreign incomes can pay a fixed annual amount, €300,000 for moves from 2026: flat tax for new residents in Italy.
All three require an election in your tax return, and each comes with a commitment period. They are not stacked on one another casually; the Agenzia notes the impatriati regime can be combined with other relocation incentives only if each regime's conditions are met.
What mistakes do people make with taxes in Italy?
- Thinking that skipping registration avoids tax. Italian tax residency now follows the 183-day presence test: physical presence alone for more than half the year is enough.
- Believing the year can be cut in two. In Italian law you are resident for the whole year or not at all, unless your treaty provides otherwise (the Agenzia cites Germany, Switzerland and Panama).
- Forgetting that a day starts at midnight. An evening arrival counts as a full day.
- Staying registered after leaving. The register creates a presumption that you still live in Italy; notify the Comune.
- Forgetting foreign assets in your return. Foreign accounts and property go in the quadro W (730) or quadro RW (Redditi PF).
- Doing the first year alone. A commercialista or a CAF, the tax assistance centre, is not mandatory but saves time with two countries involved.
Then check what you owe on your home abroad and your accounts, and what you can claim as a credit for tax already paid. The country-by-country answer is in the treaty text on the Finance Department's website. Before you file your first Italian return, have your situation checked by a commercialista or a tax adviser in Italy.