Before you start

Codice fiscale
A determination of whether you are tax resident for the year
Employment or business records, and details of foreign income and assets
SPID or CIE for the Agenzia delle Entrate portal

Step-by-step

1
Establish when tax residence begins
Registration in the anagrafe for more than half the year, or having your habitual abode or main centre of interests in Italy for more than 183 days, makes you resident for the whole calendar year. An autumn arrival usually leaves you non-resident for that year.
OnlineWho: You
2
Test the impatriate regime against the post-2024 rules
For transfers from 2024, 50% of qualifying employment and professional income is exempt up to €600,000 a year for five tax periods, conditional on high qualification or specialisation, three prior years of non-residence — six or seven if returning to the same employer or group — mainly working in Italy, and a four-year residence commitment.
Via employerWho: YouBefore the first payroll run
3
Consider the forfettario if you are self-employed
A 15% substitute tax — 5% for the first five years of a genuinely new activity — on revenue up to €85,000, with a profitability coefficient applied by sector so the taxable base is well below turnover. It replaces IRPEF, the surcharges and IRAP, and it is why so many consultants and researchers here hold a partita IVA.
OnlineWho: You
4
Register for INPS as well as for tax
Self-employed people must enrol in the appropriate social security scheme — the Gestione Separata for most professionals without their own pension fund — and contributions are due from the first euro of income, not above a threshold. This is the cost that surprises people who modelled only the 15%.
OnlineWho: You
5
File the right return
The 730 is the simplified return for employees and pensioners, due in September. Redditi PF covers the self-employed and anyone with foreign income and runs to a later autumn deadline.
OnlineWho: YouMay–October
6
Declare foreign assets on the RW section
Residents must report foreign financial assets and property and pay IVAFE on foreign financial assets and IVIE on foreign property. The obligation applies whether or not the assets produced income.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Codice fiscale and SPID or CIE
Certificazione Unica from the employer
Records of foreign income, accounts and property
Deduction receipts — medical, mortgage interest, renovations, university fees
Registered lease, for tenant deductions and the TARI declaration

Things most newcomers don’t know

The impatriate regime most guidance describes is the pre-2024 one, which exempted 70% rather than 50%.

Until transfers of residence in 2023 the regime exempted 70% of qualifying income, and 90% in the southern regions. From 2024 it is 50%, capped at €600,000 of income, with a high-qualification test, three prior years of non-residence and a four-year commitment to remain resident. The old numbers still dominate search results, and academic and corporate relocation packages have been negotiated on them by mistake.

Source: Agenzia delle Entrate; D.Lgs. 209/2023

The forfettario's 15% is not the whole cost, because INPS contributions start at the first euro.

Self-employed people in Italy pay social security from the first euro of income, not above a threshold, through the Gestione Separata or a professional fund. On top of the 15% substitute tax that is a substantial additional percentage, and it is the number people leave out when they compare the forfettario with taxation at home. It is still often the best available regime — but model it with contributions in, not just the headline rate.

Source: INPS; Agenzia delle Entrate

The forfettario excludes people whose income comes mostly from a former employer.

The regime is closed to anyone whose revenue derives predominantly from an employer they worked for in the previous two tax periods, or from an entity connected to one. This is aimed squarely at people converting an employment relationship into a consultancy for tax reasons — a common pattern in a university and engineering city. Someone leaving a Bologna employer and immediately invoicing them as a freelancer will fail the test.

Source: Agenzia delle Entrate

TARI follows the occupier, so tenants inherit the waste bill and sometimes the previous tenant's arrears.

Unlike IMU, TARI is charged to whoever occupies the property, and you must file a declaration with the comune when you move in and again when you leave. In a market with the turnover of Bologna's student flats, unclosed accounts are common — and an unclosed one becomes your bill to argue about. Ask the landlord for evidence the previous occupier's TARI position was closed before signing.

Source: Comune di Bologna

Common mistakes to avoid

Modelling a package on the pre-2024 70% impatriate exemption.
Comparing the forfettario's 15% with foreign tax rates while ignoring INPS contributions.
Leaving an employer and immediately invoicing them as a forfettario freelancer.
Skipping the RW declaration because the foreign assets produced no income.
Failing to file the TARI declaration on move-in and move-out.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.