Green light to combine “new impatriate regime” and “neo resident regime"

In a recent unpublished ruling, the Italian Tax Authorities confirmed that the “neo-resident regime" under art. 24-bis TUIR can be combined with the "new impatriate regime" introduced by art. 5 of Legislative Decree no. 209/2023.

The case concerned two UK taxpayers, tax resident in the UK, planning to move their tax residence to Italy in 2025. The taxpayers asked to:

• apply the substitute tax on foreign-source income under the neo-resident regime; and
• benefit, at the same time, from the new impatriate regime on Italian-source employment income.

In its analysis, the Italian Tax Authorities first referred to art. 1, paragraph 154, of Law no. 232/2016, which originally provided that the effects of the option under art. 24-bis TUIR (neo resident regime) could not be “combined” with those under art. 44 of Decree-Law no. 78/2010 (regime for researchers and professors) and art. 16 of Legislative Decree no. 147/2015 (old impatriate regime).

However, since art. 5, paragraph 9 of Legislative Decree no. 209/2023 has repealed the above-mentioned art. 16 and of Legislative Decree no. 147/2015, and in the meantime, the neo-resident regime has not been amended, the Italian Tax Authorities confirmed the possibility to apply concurrently the new impatriate regime and the neo-resident regime, given that “there is no explicit statutory provision preventing such combination”. 

This clarification – aligned with Ruling no. 16 of 28 January 2025 – is particularly relevant in a context where the Law no. 199/2025 (the so-called 2026 Budget Law) has increased the annual substitute tax for individuals who transfer their residence in Italy as from 1 January 2026, from Euro 200,000 to Euro 300,000, and confirms a policy trend in favour of coordinated use of Italy’s inbound tax incentives.

For tailored advice on how these regimes may apply to your relocation or investment plans, please get in touch with Osborne Clarke’s tax team.