7% flat tax for pensioners: which towns?

Few days ago, I was asked if the towns of L’Aquila and Spoleto were eligible for the 7% flat tax for pensioners.
Before answering this question, I think it is useful to remind what this scheme is about.

The 7% flat tax scheme for pensioners has been conceived to attract people receiving a pension from abroad.
Benefits of this tax scheme are:
• Taxes are capped at 7% for ten years on all your income produced abroad.
• No disclosure of any property nor financial assets held abroad
Requirements to access this tax scheme are:
• Be receiving a pension from abroad;
• Having been resident outside of Italy in the five years before moving to Italy.
• Be moving to a town with a population of less than 20,000, either in a region of Southern Italy (Abruzzo, Molise, Puglia, Campania, Basilicata, Calabria, Sicilia and Sardegna), or in one of the towns affected by the 2009, 2016, or 2017 earthquakes.
• There must be a treaty of collaboration between Italy and the country paying the pension.
Please note: some pensions are only taxable in the paying country, therefore, if you receive such a pension, you may not enjoy the benefits of this scheme.
Please also note that having a visa is not a requirement to be eligible for the scheme, and EU citizens, as well as Italians, can definitely enjoy the scheme.

I see a lot of discussion, and a bit of confusion, about which town is eligible and which is not, especially after last year government’s adding of some towns to the list.

The requirement reported above is clear: you need to move to a town with a population of less than 20,000, either in a region of Southern Italy (Abruzzo, Molise, Puglia, Campania, Basilicata, Calabria, Sicilia and Sardegna), or in one of the towns affected by the 2009, 2016, or 2017 earthquakes

The law which adds more towns to the list of eligible towns, refers to a list of comuni affected by the earthquakes in 2016 and 2017 and to the comunes affected by the earthquake in 2009. However, not all those communes listed there are eligible for the scheme.
In fact, the law says that the population of those towns must be, in any case, under 20.000 people.

Hence, to answer the question above: nope, L’Aquila and Spoleto, despite being affected by the earthquake, are not eligible for the 7% flat tax for pensioners, because their population is over 20.000 people.

Hope this clarifies things for all those people looking to relocate to Italy and to enjoy this very convenient tax scheme.

This article is not exhaustive and is a guidance only.

If you need assistance, please contact us.

 

Barbara De Benedittis Relocation and Legal in Italy