Workers Moving to Italy: The new regulations for Impatriate Workers effective Jan. 1, 2024, and the unchanged regulations for Teachers and Researchers
As of the 2024 tax period, the new regime for So-called Impatriati workers is in effect. The access conditions are stricter than those of the previous regime. But, the old rules still apply to those who moved their Residenza Anagrafica to the State by December 31, 2023.
The old rules also apply to sports labor relations and employment contracts made by the same date. Specifically, individuals who transfer their tax residence to Italy as of 2024 must not have been tax residents in Italy in the three tax periods prior to the transfer and must undertake to be tax residents in the territory of the state for at least four years, work for the majority of the tax period in the territory of the state, and meet the requirements of high qualification or specialization.
Only when these conditions are met, income from employment and assimilated employment and income from self-employment within the limit of 600,000 euros per year will contribute to the formation of total income limited to 50 percent of their amount. On the other hand, the preferential regime in favor of Teachers and Researchers who transfer their tax residence to Italy (Article 44, Decree-Law No. 78/2010), the same restrictions of which were also feared, remains unchanged.
Article 5 of Legislative Decree No. 209/2023 provided for the repeal of the previous Special Regime for Impatriate Workers (Art. 16 of Legislative Decree No. 147/2015, as amended and supplemented),
introducing new provisions that are significantly more restrictive than the previous version in terms of access and permanence requirements, duration and breadth of the tax benefit. The new facilitating regulations apply to employment income, income assimilated to employment income, as well as self-employment income from the exercise of arts and professions, and no longer covers either business income (i.e., that produced by sole proprietorships) or self-employment income other than that produced by the impatriate worker as part of his or her specific work activity.
The new regime provides:
- A 50 percent abatement of the IRPEF tax base (and no longer from 70 to 90 percent);
- An IRPEF taxable base abatement of 60 percent if the worker moves to Italy with a minor child or in the event of the birth of a child, or the adoption of a minor during the period of use of the scheme;
- An annual taxable income ceiling of no more than 600,000 euros.
The relief is granted on condition that the worker:
- In the previous 3 tax periods has been registered with AIRE or has been tax resident in another state under a convention against double taxation on income;
- Undertakes to maintain tax residence in Italy for at least 4 tax periods;
- Performs his or her work activity mainly in Italy;
- Possesses high qualification or specialization requirements as defined by Legislative Decree No. 108/2012 and Legislative Decree 206/2007.
Restrictions related to employment:
The new Impatriati regime also allows the possibility of application of the relief for employment income received by workers who move to Italy on the basis of an employment relationship established with the same entity with which they were employed abroad or with an entity belonging to the same corporate group, however with the following restrictions:
- The minimum stay abroad requirement of 3 tax periods ordinarily provided for to access the relief increases to six tax periods, if the worker has not previously been employed in Italy in favor of the same entity or an entity belonging to the same corporate group;
- To seven tax periods, if the worker, prior to his transfer abroad, has been employed in Italy in favor of the same entity or an entity belonging to the same group;
The new regime applies in favor of individuals who transfer their tax residence to Italy as of tax year 2024, with full application of the new rules described so far.
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Transitional regime
In order to protect the legitimate expectations of those who had long since planned to return to Italy, also due to the possibility of taking advantage of the relief in comment, it was provided that those who transferred their Residenza Anagrafica to Italy by December 31, 2023 will have the possibility to benefit from the relief as originally provided for by the now repealed Article 16 of D. gs. n. 147/2015.
A second transitional regime is also provided for in favor of individuals who will transfer their Residenza Anagrafica to Italy in the year 2024 and who have purchased, by December 31, 2023 and, in any case, in the 12 months preceding the transfer, a property in Italy used as their main home. The latter are granted a time extension equal to an additional 3 tax periods of the relief provided by the new legislation (which therefore instead of lasting 5 tax periods would reach 8).
The concessional regime in favor of Teachers and Researchers (Art. 44, D.L. no. 78/2010)
On the other hand, as anticipated in the abstract of this article, the concessional regime in favor of Teachers and Researchers who transfer their tax residence to Italy remains unchanged.
The Incentives for the Return to Italy of Researchers Resident Abroad is an extremely favorable preferential tax regime granted to teachers and researchers who transfer their tax residence to Italy in order to carry out their work there.
Characteristics of the regime:
In the tax period in which the residence is transferred and in the following 5, the emoluments received contribute to the formation of employee or self-employment income to the extent of 10% of their amount and are excluded from the value of net production for IRAP purposes (the IRAP benefit concerns the employer in employment relationships).
For teachers and researchers transferred to Italy from 2020, the duration of the planned relief is extended to:
- 8 tax periods, in the case of taxpayers with a minor or dependent child or who became owners of at least one residential property unit in Italy after relocation or in the previous 12 months;
- 11 tax periods, in case of taxpayers with at least two minor or dependent children;
- 13 tax periods, in case of taxpayers with at least three minor or dependent children.
Those who carry out teaching and research activities in Italy and meet the following requirements are eligible for the preferential regime:
- Has obtained a university degree or its equivalent;
- Has been resident abroad not on an occasional basis;
- Has carried out documented research or teaching activities abroad for at least two continuous years at public or private research centers or universities;
- Acquires tax residence in Italy, maintaining it throughout the period of use of the benefit (in case of re-location abroad, the benefit ceases from the tax period in which tax residence in Italy is lost, therefore not retroactively).