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Italian Tax Authorities Allow Cumulation of Different Special Tax Regimes for New Italian Residents in the Same Tax Period

In Ruling No. 16/E of 28 January 2025, the Italian tax authorities have, for the first time, granted an individual who transferred his tax residence to Italy the possibility of opting, in the same tax period, for more than one special tax regime.

The clarification issued yesterday evening is absolutely unprecedented (and, in the opinion of this author and other professionals, it came absolutely unexpected). In short, the Italian Revenue Agency has opened up the possibility for a taxpayer to benefit in the same tax period from different special income tax regimes provided for under Italian tax law for certain categories of new residents.

The implications of this ruling are various and, in the author’s view, extend well beyond the specific case at comment.

In order to support Italy’s economic, scientific and cultural development, the Italian legislator has, over the years, introduced various tax incentives for individuals who transfer their tax residence to Italy from abroad. Some tax incentives have been in force or have remained substantially unchanged for several years, while others have been enacted or modified more recently.

In particular, it is possible to distinguish four macro-categories of tax regimes that outline special and/or preferential tax measures compared to the ordinary tax treatment provided for ordinary Italian tax residents. These four regimes are:

  1. The special tax regime “inward” (impatriati) expatriates, laid down in Art. 5 of Legislative Decree 209/2023;
  2. The special tax regime for “university professors and researchers”, laid down in art. 44 of Law Decree 78/2010;
  3. The special tax regime for “new residents”, laid down in art. 24-bis of the Income Tax Code (ITC);
  4. The special tax regime for “foreign pensioners”, laid down in art. 24-ter of the ITC.

Ruling 16/E/2025 published yesterday specifically concerned the new “impatriati” regime, laid down in art. 5 of Legislative Decree 209/2023, and the special tax regime for “university professors and researchers”, laid down in art. 44 of Law Decree 78/2010.

The case concerns a person who, having moved to Italy during the second half of 2024, acquired tax residence in Italy starting from the 2025 tax period pursuant to Art. 2 of the ITC. The applicant, who had obtained a PhD abroad and was already a professor at a foreign university, transferred his tax residence to Italy by taking up the position of associate professor at an Italian university.

In addition to working as a university professor, the individual wanted to carry out self-employed work as a dentist. In this context, the applicant requested clarifications regarding the possibility of simultaneously accessing the tax benefits provided in the “new” special tax regime for “inward” expatriates (with regard to the activity of a dentist) and the special tax regime for university professors and researchers (with regard to the activity of university professor).

Unexpectedly, the Italian Revenue Agency replied positively to the taxpayer’s query. Notably, after having summarised the applicable regulatory framework, the Italian tax authorities concluded that “the various special tax regimes provided for individuals returning to Italy can be accessed simultaneously, for the same tax period, provided that all the requirements laid down in the relevant provisions are fulfilled (author’s unofficial translation).

These conclusions supersede the previous restrictive interpretation provided by the Italian tax authorities in Circular Letter No. 17/E of 2017 (Part IV, Paragraphs 1 and 2). In that document, the Italian Revenue Agency declared the impossibility for an individual to benefit simultaneously, i.e. in the same tax period, from two or more special tax regimes provided for new tax residents in Italy.

More specifically, with regard to the repealed regime of inward expatriates laid down in art. 16 of Legislative Decree 147/2015 (still applicable to individuals who transferred their residence to Italy by 31 December 2023), art. 2 of the Ministerial Decree of 26 May 2016 (laying down the implementing provisions of the old regime) established that this benefit was not compatible with the simultaneous access to the benefits provided for university professors and researcher laid down in art. 44 of Law Decree 78/2010.

The prohibition of cumulating various preferential regimes is also contained in art. 1(154) of Law 232/2016, concerning the regime for new residents laid down in art. 24-bis of the ITC, stating its incompatibility with the the old “impatriati” and university professors and researchers regimes.

However, in Ruling. 16/E/2025 published yesterday, the Italian Revenue Agency states that such incompatibilities do not apply with reference to the new “impatriati” regime. This is because the “new impatriati” regime is no longer regulated by art. 16 of Legislative Decree 147/2015 but by art. 5 of Legislative Decree 209/2023. For this reason, the Italian tax authorities affirmed the “absence of an express legal provision that precludes the possibility of applying multiple relief regimes at the same time” (author’s unofficial translation).

In light of this, the Italian Revenue Agency specifies that, provided all the other requirements are fulfilled, the taxpayer returning to Italy in 2025 can, from this tax period, benefit from the new “impatriati” regime laid down in Art. 5 of Legislative Decree 209/2023 (50% tax relief), with regard to limited to the self-employed activity as a dentist, and from the tax regime for university professors and researchers laid down in art. 44 of Law Decree no. 44/2010 (90% tax relief), with regard to the activity as a university professor.

The author believes that the Italian Revenue Agency’s conclusions have general applicationThey should cover the interplay between other special tax regimes, such as those between “new impatriati” and “new residents” (art. 24-bis of the ITC) or between “new impatriati” and “foreign pensioners” (art. 24-ter of the ITC), given the absence of any legal preclusion to that effect. Moreover, in both cases, there would be no overlap, given that the special tax regimes at issue concern income from different sources (Italian-source income in the case of new “impatriati” and foreign-source income for new domiciles or foreign pensioners).

Unless legislative amendments are made, the prohibition on cumulation remains in place, however, with regard to the simultaneous application of the regime for new residents, on the one hand, and the regime for university professors and researchers, on the other, given that art. 1(154) of Law 232/2016 continues to apply in this regard.

Finally, it is worth recalling the possibility for new residents to make alternative use of the tax relief regimes in different tax years, provided all the requirements laid down by each special tax regime are fulfilled (Circular No 17/E of 2017, Part IV, Paragraph 2, and Ruling no. 159/E of 2024).

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