Italy's 7% Flat Tax Towns Map

Any comune with 30,000 residents or fewer in one of eight southern regions (Sicily, Calabria, Sardinia, Campania, Basilicata, Abruzzo, Molise and Puglia) qualifies, as do the towns on the official 2016–17 central-Italy earthquake lists and the 2009 L'Aquila crater list (parts of Lazio, Marche, Umbria and Abruzzo), under the same 30,000 cap. On ISTAT's current population figures that is 2,535 towns, from well-known places like Taormina, Ostuni and Tropea to hundreds of small villages. Use the map above to check any town instantly.

30,000 inhabitants, for every qualifying area, since 7 April 2026 (Law 34/2026 raised it from 20,000). The figure that counts is ISTAT's resident population at 1 January of the year before you move. One common myth to ignore: many sites still describe a separate 3,000-resident cap for the earthquake-list towns. That cap was abolished back in March 2022, and today the single 30,000 ceiling applies everywhere.

Ten years in total: the tax year in which your Italian residence takes effect, plus the nine following years. It cannot be renewed or extended, and if you revoke it, or lose it by moving to a non-qualifying town or missing the payment beyond the grace window, you can never opt in again. After the ten years, ordinary Italian taxation applies.

No. The law requires you to genuinely transfer your tax residence to the town, registering with the local anagrafe (population register) and actually making it your home. Renting is fine. Two timing points matter: your residence must be effective for more than half the tax year (in practice, move by 2 July or the regime starts the following year), and the town's population test is fixed at the ISTAT figure for 1 January of the year before your move.

Nothing changes for you. Your town is tested once, on ISTAT's figure for 1 January of the year before your move, and the Agenzia delle Entrate has confirmed that later population growth is irrelevant for as long as you stay. You can even move to another qualifying town mid-regime without restarting the ten-year clock; the new town just has to pass the population test at its own reference date. Moving to a non-qualifying town ends the benefit.

Yes. Any pension paid by a foreign entity qualifies: state pensions such as US Social Security or the UK State Pension, occupational and employer schemes, private pensions, and even certain lump-sum pension payouts. Your citizenship is irrelevant, and the regime is open to any nationality, including returning Italians. What does not qualify is a pension paid by the Italian INPS. Note for US citizens: you will still file US returns, and the 7% Italian tax may not be fully creditable there, so get advice on both sides.

No. A foreign-paid pension is the entry ticket, and each person must qualify individually (a spouse without their own pension cannot piggyback on yours). You must also not have been an Italian tax resident in the five years before opting in, and you must arrive from a country that exchanges tax information with Italy, which covers the EU, US, UK, Canada, Australia and most treaty partners. Non-pensioners have other options, such as Italy's €200,000 flat tax for high-net-worth individuals.