Current as at September 2026. Thresholds, fees, and tax rates are subject to change

• The Investor Visa for Italy is an immigration status. Tax residence is decided separately, by where you live and how long you spend in Italy, and the two rarely change on the same day.
• Italy’s substitute tax on foreign-source income costs €300,000 a year for the main taxpayer and €50,000 per family member for anyone who transferred residence to Italy from 1 January 2026, for up to fifteen years.
• The rate is fixed by the date you moved, not the date you elect: €100,000 for moves before August 2024, €200,000 for moves from August 2024 to the end of 2025, and €300,000 from 2026, each kept for the full term.
• Eligibility requires not having been Italian tax resident for at least nine of the previous ten years. The election is made in the first Italian tax return, with an advance ruling available.
• An Italy Golden Visa tax consultation should cover both countries: what Italy will tax, and what your current country taxes when you leave.

An Italy Golden Visa tax consultation is the conversation most applicants have too late. The Investor Visa for Italy is often approached as an immigration project with a tax question attached, when for most households the tax consequences of the move are larger than the cost of the visa and are decided by choices made before the file is submitted: when to move, who moves, and whether to elect Italy’s substitute tax regime. This page explains what a residence permit does and does not do to your tax position, sets out the 2026 figures for the regime, and lists the questions a consultation with a qualified adviser should answer before you commit.

The investor residence permit is granted for a qualifying investment and carries no minimum stay. Holding it does not make you Italian tax resident. Tax residence in Italy is a question of fact: spending more than half the year in Italy, being registered as resident in an Italian municipality, or having your domicile or habitual abode there will each bring you within Italian tax residence. It is possible to meet one of those tests without intending to.

That is why the two questions run on different timetables. An investor can hold the permit for years while remaining tax resident elsewhere, using it for stays in Italy and Schengen travel. An investor who moves the family to Italy becomes Italian tax resident from that year and is taxed on worldwide income, unless a special regime applies. The permit is the same in both cases; the tax outcome is entirely different. Where two countries both claim residence, the tie-breaker rules in the relevant tax treaty decide, and that analysis belongs in the consultation.

Italy’s regime for new residents, often called the flat tax or the Italian non-dom regime, replaces ordinary Italian tax on all foreign-source income with a fixed annual charge, for up to fifteen years. It also exempts foreign assets from Italian wealth taxes and foreign-held assets from Italian inheritance and gift tax. Italian-source income remains taxed at ordinary rates.

The charge depends on when residence was transferred to Italy. For anyone who moved from 1 January 2026 it is €300,000 a year for the main taxpayer and €50,000 for each family member brought within the regime, following the 2026 Budget Law. Those who moved between August 2024 and 31 December 2025 pay €200,000 and €25,000 per family member; those who moved before August 2024 pay €100,000 and €25,000. Each rate is kept for the remainder of that person’s fifteen-year term. The trigger is the date of transfer of residence under the Italian Civil Code, meaning habitual abode, and not the date the election is filed. A family that established its habitual residence in Italy in late 2025 keeps €200,000 even if its first year of Italian tax residence, and its election, fall in 2026, while a family arriving in 2026 pays €300,000.

Eligibility requires not having been Italian tax resident for at least nine of the ten tax years before the move. The election is made in the first Italian tax return. An advance ruling can be requested from the Italian Revenue Agency to confirm eligibility before relying on it. The regime is optional, independent of the investor visa, and can be revoked. The guide to Italy’s regime for new residents sets out the mechanics in detail.

One warning for anyone checking these figures themselves: much published material still quotes the €100,000 or €200,000 rates. The current figure is €300,000 and it has been in force since 1 January 2026.

At €300,000 a year the regime suits a narrower group than it did at €100,000. As a rough guide, it produces a saving over ordinary Italian taxation for a household with foreign income above about €700,000 a year; below that, ordinary treatment is often cheaper, particularly where foreign tax credits are available. The €50,000 family charge changes the arithmetic further, since a couple with two children who all join the regime would pay €450,000 a year. Each family member’s inclusion is a separate decision.

The regime also interacts with the country you are leaving. Some countries tax on departure, some continue to tax certain income of former residents. Some treaties limit how the substitute tax is credited. Those interactions are the reason the consultation must involve advisers in both countries.

A useful first consultation answers a defined set of questions. Whether and when you will become Italian tax resident under Italian law, and what the treaty with your current country says if both claim you. What ceasing residence in your current country triggers: exit taxes, deemed disposals, continuing filing obligations. Whether you meet the nine-of-ten-years test for the substitute regime, whether it saves money at your level of foreign income, and which family members, if any, should be included. How your existing structures (trusts, companies and pension arrangements) are treated once you are Italian resident. And, separately from the substitute regime, how the qualifying investment itself is taxed, since the income and gains from an Italian company or bond are Italian-source and outside the flat charge.

The consultation should also settle timing. The substitute tax rate is fixed by the year of the move. Italian tax residence is assessed by the calendar year, with residence for a whole year turning on presence for most of it. The difference between arriving in the first half of a year and the second can therefore be material. The immigration timetable can usually accommodate that choice, given the six-month and two-year windows after approval.

Family inclusion is the most common reason a tax consultation changes a plan. Each family member who becomes Italian tax resident is taxed in Italy in their own right. Each who joins the substitute regime adds €50,000 a year. A spouse with significant foreign income of their own may be better inside the regime. A child with none is better outside it. Where one spouse moves and the other does not, the treaty analysis has to be done for each. The family application guide covers the immigration side; the tax side is a separate exercise for each person.

Does the Italy Golden Visa come with a flat tax?

No. The substitute tax regime is a separate, optional election for new Italian tax residents who meet the nine-of-ten-years test. Holding the investor visa does not enrol you in it, and you can hold the visa without ever becoming Italian tax resident.

How much is the Italian flat tax in 2026?

€300,000 a year for the main taxpayer and €50,000 for each family member included, for anyone who transferred residence to Italy from 1 January 2026. Those who moved earlier keep the rate in force at the time of their move, €100,000 or €200,000, for their full fifteen-year term.

When should I get tax advice?

Before you fix the date of the move and before the immigration file is submitted. The rate you pay, the exit consequences in your current country, and which family members to include are all decided by choices made at that stage.

Will I become Italian tax resident if I get the visa?

Not automatically. Tax residence depends on where you actually live: more than half the year in Italy, registration as resident in a municipality, or domicile there. Many investor visa holders remain tax resident elsewhere.

Is the flat tax worth it at €300,000?

It depends on your foreign income. As a rough guide the regime saves money above about €700,000 a year of foreign income. The family charge and your current country’s rules can move that figure in either direction. Model it before electing.

The Investor Visa for Italy gives an applicant time to get the tax decision right: nothing has to be invested until approval, and the windows after approval allow the move to be dated with the tax year in mind. The consultation itself belongs with a qualified Italian tax adviser working alongside an adviser in your current country. It should happen before the immigration file is submitted rather than after the permit is in hand. If you would like help framing the questions before that conversation, the contact page is the place to start.

The substitute tax regime for new residents is optional, requires a formal election with the Italian Revenue Agency, and depends on eligibility conditions including not having been Italian tax resident for nine of the previous ten years. Whether it benefits you depends on the size and composition of your foreign income and on your position in the country you are leaving. It should not be treated as an automatic feature of the investor route.

The information on this page is general and educational. It is not legal, tax, immigration, or investment advice, and it does not take account of your circumstances. Italian immigration and tax rules change, and figures stated here reflect our understanding as at the date shown. Before acting, take advice from a qualified Italian immigration lawyer and a tax adviser in both Italy and your current country of residence.