Italy's impatriati regime: the 50% exemption, explained
By Skyler Bissell · July 22, 2026 · 7 min read
Italy will tax half your salary. The other half, the law simply ignores. That is the impatriati regime (formally the regime dei lavoratori impatriati), Italy's standing offer to professionals who move their tax residence there, and on a €90,000 Milan salary it is worth about €17,875 a year by cityparity's engine. Held over the full five-year term, the regime hands back roughly €89,000. Close to an entire extra year of gross salary.
One warning before the mechanics. The regime was cut hard in 2024, and much of what ranks for "impatriati" online still describes the old 70% version. If a guide promises 70%, or 90% in the South, or ten years, it is describing a deal you can no longer get. Here is the one you can.
TL;DR
- 50% of your income is exempt from Italian income tax for five years, up to €600,000 a year. Move with a minor child and the exemption rises to 60%.
- Worth about €17,875 a year on €90,000 in Milan: the effective rate falls from 42.4% to 22.5% by cityparity's engine.
- Qualifying is the hard part: three prior tax years outside Italy (six or seven if you rejoin the same employer group), a high qualification, and a four-year residence commitment. Leave early and you repay everything with interest.
- INPS is untouched. Social contributions run on your full gross salary. The exemption covers income tax and the addizionali only.
- Since 2024 the exemption is 50%, down from the old 70/90. Pre-2024 movers keep their old terms; everyone else gets this one.
What the regime actually does
Italian income tax (IRPEF) normally runs on your salary net of social contributions. Under the impatriati regime, only half of that income concurs to the taxable base at all. The math on €90,000 in Milan goes like this: employee INPS comes out first (9.19%, €8,271), leaving a fiscal base of €81,729. The regime halves it to €40,864, and the progressive brackets run on that.
The halving helps twice. Half the base is gone, and the half that remains sits lower on the curve: €40,864 tops out in Italy's 35% bracket, while the full €81,729 reaches deep into the 43% one. The regional and municipal addizionali (Lombardy 1.73%, Milan 0.8%) shrink with the base too, since they piggyback on the same taxable figure. IRPEF on this salary falls from €27,783 to €10,943. The full line by line is worked here.
The regime covers employment income and self-employment income earned in Italy, up to €600,000 a year. Business income sits outside it.
The 2024 reset, and why most guides are stale
Until the end of 2023, the impatriati regime exempted 70% of income, 90% for moves to the South, and could stretch to ten years with kids or an Italian home purchase. That version made Italy the most aggressive tax courtship in Europe, and it got cut for exactly that reason.
From January 2024 (D.Lgs. 209/2023), the deal is: 50% exempt, five years, a €600,000 annual cap, and tighter eligibility. People who moved before 2024 keep the old terms for their remaining years, which is why you will meet expats in Milan paying tax on 30% of their salary while the identical new hire beside them pays on 50%. Both are right about their own deal. Check the date on anything you read, this page included: these are the 2026 rules.
Who qualifies in 2026
- Three tax years outside Italy before the move. The bar rises if you are returning to a familiar desk: six years if you join the same employer or group you worked for abroad, seven if you had already worked for them in Italy before leaving.
- A four-year commitment to stay. You must commit to Italian tax residence for at least four years. Break it and the clawback is total: every euro of benefit repaid, with interest.
- High qualification or specialization. Degree-level credentials or equivalent experience, per the EU Blue Card standards. A tech, finance, or research salary at the levels where this regime matters will generally clear it, but it is a real filter, and your employer's paperwork has to support it.
- Work performed mainly in Italy. The role has to actually live there. Occasional travel is fine; a nominal Italian contract wrapped around a job you do elsewhere is exactly what the 2024 tightening was aimed at.
The family upgrade: move with a minor child, or have or adopt one during the regime, and the exemption rises from 50% to 60% while the child resides in Italy. On €90,000 in Milan that is worth about another €3,067 a year by the engine.
What it's worth at real salaries
Milan, single filer, income tax plus employee INPS, engine-computed. The ordinary column is what the same salary pays with no regime; the value column is the yearly difference in your pocket.
| Gross salary | Ordinary effective rate | Impatriati effective rate | Regime adds per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| €60,000 | 38.3% | 20.8% | +€10,492 |
| €90,000 | 42.4% | 22.5% | +€17,875 |
| €120,000 | 44.4% | 23.7% | +€24,815 |
| €150,000 | 44.6% | 23.5% | +€31,644 |
Figures rounded. Rome runs the same national regime with heavier local addizionali (Lazio plus Roma Capitale add about €1,400 a year to the ordinary-scale bill at €90,000, and about €700 under the regime, since the halved base halves those too). The higher the salary, the bigger the absolute value: the exemption keeps clipping euros that would otherwise be taxed at 43%.
What it does not touch
INPS social contributions are charged on your full gross salary, 9.19% up to the annual ceiling of about €119,650. The exemption never sees them. This is the same shape as Spain's Beckham Law and the Dutch 30% ruling: every one of these regimes discounts income tax and leaves social insurance alone, which is why the effective rate lands above what the headline exemption implies. If you are weighing Italy against those two, the Beckham-vs-30%-ruling comparison shows how the mechanics differ.
And mind the calendar, twice. Leave Italy before four years and the clawback erases the whole benefit, with interest. Stay the full five and year six still arrives: the exemption ends, the ordinary scale takes over, and take-home on €90,000 drops by about €17,875 a year at a constant salary. That is the expiry cliff, and the smart move is the same one we suggest for the Dutch and Spanish regimes: budget your life on the year-six number and treat the regime years as surplus.
Run your own numbers
- Run your salary in the calculator → (it models the impatriati regime as a toggle on every Italian city we cover)
- Worked: a €90,000 Milan salary under the regime: every line, ordinary rules against impatriati
- Expat tax breaks, decoded: every European regime and whether it is worth moving for
- NYC vs Milan: a US salary against Milan with the whole package counted
- How countries actually tax your salary: the ordinary Italian scale this regime discounts
FAQ
What is Italy's impatriati regime?
A special tax regime for workers who move their tax residence to Italy. For five years, only 50% of your employment or self-employment income counts toward Italian income tax (IRPEF), up to €600,000 a year. The share drops to 40% taxable (a 60% exemption) if you move with a minor child. Social contributions still apply in full.
How much tax do you pay under the impatriati regime?
By cityparity's Milan engine, a single filer on €90,000 pays an effective 22.5% (income tax plus employee INPS) under the regime versus 42.4% on the ordinary rules, keeping €69,753 instead of €51,878. That is worth about €17,875 a year, and close to €89,000 across the five-year term.
Who qualifies for the impatriati regime in 2026?
You need three tax years outside Italy before the move (six or seven if you return to the same employer or group), a high qualification or specialization, work performed mainly in Italy, and a commitment to stay Italian tax resident for at least four years. Leave before four years and the benefit is clawed back with interest.
Is the impatriati exemption still 70%?
No. The 70% exemption (90% in the South) applies only to people who moved before 2024. The current regime, in force since January 2024 under D.Lgs. 209/2023, exempts 50% of income, or 60% with a minor child. Many older guides still describe the pre-2024 rules, so check the date on anything you read.
How long does the impatriati regime last, and can it be extended?
Five tax years: the year you become Italian tax resident plus four more. The current regime has no general extension. One narrow transitional case gets three extra years: people who moved in 2024 having bought their primary home in Italy by the end of 2023. When the regime ends you move onto the full ordinary scale, which at €90,000 in Milan means take-home drops by about €17,875 a year.
What income does the impatriati regime cover?
Employment income and self-employment income earned in Italy, up to €600,000 per year. Business income is outside the regime. The exemption reduces income tax and the regional and municipal addizionali, but INPS social contributions are still charged in full on your gross salary.
Take-home figures come from cityparity's per-city engine (Milan, single filer, income tax plus employee INPS, before living costs) using Italy's 2026 brackets and Milan's addizionali, and are rounded. Eligibility rules summarize D.Lgs. 209/2023 art. 5 as applied in 2026 and turn on your circumstances, so confirm with an adviser who does Italian returns before you rely on any of it. General information, not tax advice. See the methodology.