Italy Tax Residency Rules: The 183-Day Test
183-day threshold
How the 183-day rule works in Italy
Italy applies a 183 day calendar year test (184 in leap years). Registration in the civil registry also triggers residency.
Calendar year (January to December). This means your day count resets every January 1. Days from the previous year do not carry over.
If you exceed 183 days, Italy may tax your worldwide income as a tax resident. The exact consequences depend on your personal situation, any applicable tax treaties, and the type of income involved.
How the count works
Italian residency lives under Article 2 of the income tax code (TUIR). To be tax resident, you need to satisfy any one of four conditions for the majority of the tax year (over 183 days, or 184 in a leap year): registration in the Anagrafe, having your domicile in Italy, having your residence in Italy, or being physically present here. The fourth physical presence condition was only added in 2024.
What counts as a day
Since the 2024 reform, Italy counts physical presence days directly. Any day with even a fraction of presence in Italy is treated as a full day of presence.
Beyond the day count
Anagrafe registration used to be effectively conclusive: if your name was in the Italian civil registry for most of the year, you were resident, full stop. The 2024 reform softened that to a rebuttable presumption. Domicile remains as powerful as ever though; under the civil law definition, that means the centre of your main affairs and personal relationships, and it can pull you into Italian residency on its own.
Special tax regimes
Italy runs two inbound regimes worth knowing. The first cuts taxable employment and self employment income to 50% (or 40% in some cases) for new tax residents who spent the previous three years abroad, for up to five years. The second is a flat tax regime of €200,000 a year on all foreign source income, aimed at wealthy newcomers, and it runs for up to 15 years.
Tax treaties
Italian treaties follow the OECD model. When dual residency comes up, the tiebreaker works through permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode, and nationality in turn.
Frequently asked questions
What changed in Italian tax residency in 2024?
Physical presence became a fourth, independent residency test alongside Anagrafe registration, domicile, and residence. At the same time, Anagrafe registration was downgraded from a conclusive test to a rebuttable presumption.
Does deregistering from the Anagrafe end Italian tax residency?
Not automatically. If your domicile, habitual residence, or physical presence still points to Italy, the Agenzia will keep treating you as resident. The Anagrafe is one factor among four.
How does the flat tax regime for new residents work?
Wealthy individuals who become Italian tax residents, having spent at least 9 of the previous 10 years outside Italy, can elect to pay €200,000 a year on all foreign source income. The election runs for up to 15 years.
Official source: https://www.agenziaentrate.gov.it/portale/
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