Italy's New TUIR: What Changes for Foreign Taxpayers
Italy's new consolidated income-tax code is real: Legislative Decree 19 June 2026, no. 117. It entered into force on 4 July 2026, but its provisions apply from 1 January 2027. The core personal tax brackets and residence tests examined here are carried forward; several important article references change.
For a foreign founder, employee or consultant, the immediate task is to separate three questions: which year's income is being assessed, which tax regime actually applies, and which version of the legislation supports the advice. A new code does not, by itself, create a cheaper relocation opportunity.
This guide compares the provisions most relevant to a personal cross-border tax file. It does not claim that every one of the consolidated code's 377 articles is substantively identical to every earlier provision, or that future legislation cannot amend the published text.
First, Separate Publication from Application
The official Gazzetta Ufficiale record identifies D.Lgs. 19 giugno 2026, n. 117, published in Serie Generale no. 152 of 3 July 2026, Ordinary Supplement no. 26. Its title is Testo unico delle disposizioni legislative in materia di imposte sui redditi.
There are two different clocks:
| Event | Verified date | Meaning for your planning |
|---|
| Publication in the Gazzetta Ufficiale | 3 July 2026 | The enacted text becomes available in the official publication |
| Entry into force of the decree | 4 July 2026 | The decree approving the attached code enters into force |
| Application of the code's provisions | 1 January 2027 | Article 377 expressly sets this later starting date |
The distinction comes from the legislation itself. Article 1 of the approving decree provides for entry into force the day after publication. Article 377 of the attached code says its provisions apply “a decorrere dal 1° gennaio 2027.”
For an individual's calendar-year planning, that means distinguishing 2026 income from 2027 income, rather than treating every document prepared in 2027 as a new-code case. Ask your adviser to put the income period at the top of the calculation. The year of an invoice, payment or return may raise its own timing question; the cover date on an advisory memo does not resolve it.
The decree's preamble describes the exercise as bringing existing income-tax legislation into one corpus. That is a consolidation objective, not a blanket assurance that no individual provision, transitional rule or later amendment ever matters.
Do the Personal Tax Rates Change?
Not through the basic bracket schedule examined here. Article 11 of the new code reproduces the familiar 2026 IRPEF brackets:
| Slice of taxable income | Marginal rate |
|---|
| Up to €28,000 | 23% |
| Above €28,000 and up to €50,000 | 33% |
| Above €50,000 | 43% |
These are progressive brackets, not three alternative flat rates on all your income. The published new code therefore does not provide a second reduction from 35% to 33% in 2027: the 33% middle bracket is already part of the 2026 position.
For the wider context, our guide to Italian income-tax rates distinguishes the ordinary tax calculation from special regimes. Keep those two layers separate when comparing a move to Italy with remaining abroad.
Worked Example: The Same Taxable Base
Assume a foreign consultant has €60,000 of ordinary IRPEF taxable income, after any relevant adjustments to the tax base. This is not a turnover figure and does not assume eligibility for any expat relief.
- First €28,000 × 23% = €6,440.
- Next €22,000 × 33% = €7,260.
- Remaining €10,000 × 43% = €4,300.
- Total gross national IRPEF = €18,000.
Applying those same brackets to the same €60,000 base produces €18,000 in both comparisons. The exercise deliberately isolates the bracket schedule. It is not a take-home-pay forecast: it excludes tax credits, personal reliefs, local surcharges, social-security contributions and any foreign-country tax calculation.
A useful request to your accountant is therefore: “Show me what changed in my taxable base or entitlement, not just the title of the new law.” A different result can be legitimate, but a renumbered code is not itself an arithmetic explanation.
Residence: Article 2 Remains Article 2
A particularly important non-change is the residence provision. Article 2 of the new code expressly identifies its source as article 2 of D.P.R. 917/1986 and carries forward the residence framework.
For the greater part of the tax period, taking fractions of days into account, the provision examines civil-law residence, domicile in Italy, or physical presence in Italy. For this purpose, domicile is where the person's personal and family relationships principally develop. Registration in the resident-population registers for the greater part of the period creates a rebuttable presumption.
These are alternative connecting factors, not a checklist in which all boxes must be ticked. “I did not register” is therefore not a complete residence analysis. Equally, possessing a foreign passport does not tell your adviser where you actually lived, worked or maintained your family life.
Article 3 retains the basic distinction between residents' worldwide income and non-residents' Italian-source income, subject to the applicable exclusions and special regimes. A taxpayer who is not Italian is not necessarily a non-resident taxpayer: nationality and the residence analysis are different questions.
Use our Italian tax-residence guide for foreigners to organize the facts before asking about relief. Keep travel records, housing documents and a dated account of personal and family arrangements. Those are practical evidence recommendations, not new documents imposed by Legislative Decree 117/2026.
Impatriati and New Residents: New Addresses, Different Regimes
Inbound Workers Move to Article 225
Article 225 identifies its predecessor as article 5 of D.Lgs. 209/2023. It carries forward the inbound-worker framework for qualifying Italian-produced employment, equivalent employment and professional self-employment income.
The central parameters remain a €600,000 annual eligible-income cap, 50% taxable income, or 40% taxable income in the qualifying minor-child cases. The ordinary benefit period remains the transfer tax period and the following four periods. A person relocating in 2026 does not receive a fresh five-year clock merely because article 225 starts being cited in 2027.
Eligibility still needs a separate review. The provision includes previous non-residence, work in Italy and qualification requirements, with distinct prior-residence periods in specified same-employer or group situations. This guide is not a substitute for that review and does not turn every foreign business owner's earnings into eligible professional income.
For a move now, do not use pre-2024 promotional claims of southern-region enhancements as the parameters of the current inbound-worker regime. The new code's consolidation is not an invitation to mix historical and current cohorts. Our comparison of Italy's expat tax regimes provides the broader decision framework.
The Foreign-Income Election Moves to Article 246
The regime commonly called the neo-residenti flat tax, previously identified by article 24-bis of D.P.R. 917/1986, appears in article 246. It concerns an election for specified foreign-produced income, not an automatic discount on every euro earned after arrival.
For transfers from 1 January 2026, the established amounts are €300,000 per tax period, plus €50,000 for each eligible family member included in the regime. Article 246 reproduces those amounts. They are not a new surcharge first created for 2027 by changing the article number; the applicable amount is tied to the residence-transfer cohort.
Do not assume the latest headline amount resets an earlier entrant's position. Give your adviser the original residence-acquisition date and election file, rather than only the year of your next payment. That distinction is essential when reviewing continuing arrangements.
Article 246(7) expressly carries a non-cumulation rule for article 225 and article 226, paragraphs 1–5. Its timing must be read with article 2 of D.L. 38/2026, whose paragraph 2 applies that amendment to people transferring tax residence from the 2027 tax period. A new 2027 entrant should not model the foreign-income flat tax together with inbound-worker relief. This is not a blanket statement that every pre-existing arrangement stops in 2027, nor a guarantee that an earlier arrangement qualifies: historical cases need their own eligibility review.
The Article-Number Map Your Adviser Needs
The source references printed under the headings of the new articles provide a useful crosswalk. The following is deliberately limited to provisions checked in the official text:
| Topic | Earlier reference | Reference in the new code |
|---|
| Individual tax residence | D.P.R. 917/1986, art. 2 | Art. 2 |
| General personal-income tax base | D.P.R. 917/1986, art. 3 | Art. 3 |
| IRPEF bracket schedule | D.P.R. 917/1986, art. 11 | Art. 11 |
| Italian-source income of non-residents | D.P.R. 917/1986, art. 23 | Art. 25 |
| Calculation for non-resident individuals | D.P.R. 917/1986, art. 24 | Art. 26 |
| Foreign-income tax credit | D.P.R. 917/1986, art. 165 | Art. 185 |
| Current inbound-worker regime | D.Lgs. 209/2023, art. 5 | Art. 225 |
| New-resident foreign-income election | D.P.R. 917/1986, art. 24-bis | Art. 246 |
Notice the trap: old article 24 is not old article 24-bis. Simply adding two to an old number does not work across the code. Nor should an old memorandum quoting article 165 be dismissed as meaningless: first identify the year and issue it addressed.
Article 376(2) provides a reference-continuity rule for provisions expressly repealed by its first paragraph, subject to its exceptions. References in other rules are understood as referring to corresponding provisions of the new code. That helps legal continuity; it is not a reason to leave client-facing advice ambiguous about which enactment and period it means.
What to Do Now, and What to Do in 2027
During the 2026 Planning Review
Ask for a short written file containing your residence timeline, income categories, selected regime and supporting legislation. If you are already receiving relief, record the original first benefit period. If you are considering a move, request a comparison based on actual income sources rather than nationality or a generalized “expat” label.
Keep a copy of the advice and source version used. The official Normattiva record identifies updates to the enactment, so an original July publication and a later consolidated version are not interchangeable for every research purpose. The provisions cited here were checked for this guide; a transaction outside its scope needs its own review.
For 2027 Income and Ongoing Advice
Update the legal references in new calculations and ask whether intervening legislation changes the result. Carry forward the original eligibility history rather than treating 1 January as a universal restart date. Review payroll and advisory templates for clear references, but do not invent a new election, filing deadline or payment code merely because the TUIR has been reorganized.
When instructing a professional abroad, supply both the old and new article references. It avoids an unnecessary dispute in which two advisers describe the same rule using different numbers. Our guide to finding an English-speaking commercialista explains how to frame the engagement and questions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Legislative Decree 117/2026 only a proposal?
No. The Gazzetta Ufficiale records the enacted decree of 19 June 2026, its publication on 3 July and entry into force on 4 July. Article 377 separately provides for application from 1 January 2027. Both dates matter when interpreting headlines.
Will my personal tax bill automatically fall in 2027?
No reduction follows from the checked bracket schedule alone. Article 11 uses 23%, 33% and 43%, with the same €28,000 and €50,000 boundaries used for the 2026 comparison. Your actual outcome still depends on the tax base, reliefs and other relevant rules.
Do I have to establish residence again under the new code?
The residence provision is carried forward in article 2. The recodification is not a new relocation event. Continue documenting the facts relevant to your residence position rather than treating the change of enactment as a break in your history.
Does the new code restart my impatriati entitlement?
Article 225 links the benefit to the period of residence transfer and the following four periods in the ordinary case. It does not make 2027 a new first year for everyone already using the regime. Your original transfer date remains central.
Can I ignore older article references?
No. They remain necessary to understand earlier tax periods, historical advice and the origin of the consolidated provisions. Use the crosswalk, identify the enactment and verify the applicable version. A bare reference to “article 24” is insufficient where the topic may actually be article 24-bis.
Official References
Need a dated 2026–2027 review of your Italian position? Contact our team with your residence history, income breakdown and existing elections. The useful deliverable is a calculation supported by the correct rules, not a generic promise attached to a new code.
Giovanni Emmi|September 16, 2026
