7% Tax Towns in Sicily

With the population cap now at 30,000, 359 of Sicily's 391 comuni qualify for the 7% regime, better than nine towns in ten across the island. The places that don't qualify are the cities and larger centers: Palermo, Catania, Messina, Siracusa, Marsala, Ragusa, and a handful of others sit above the cap. Almost everything else does, from fishing ports on the Tyrrhenian coast to grain-country hill towns in the interior, with a median eligible-town population of about 3,900.

The range on the eligible list is unusually wide. On the Ionian coast, Taormina (about 10,500 residents) qualifies, as does Castelmola, the village of about 1,100 on the ridge above it. Cefalù (about 13,900), on the north coast an hour from Palermo by rail, qualifies too. In the southeast, the baroque towns rebuilt after the 1693 earthquake are now largely covered: Noto (about 24,600) and Scicli (about 26,800), both UNESCO-listed, joined the list in 2026. So did Erice (about 25,800), the medieval town on the mountain above Trapani.

The April 2026 cap increase added 22 Sicilian towns, more than any region except Campania. Alongside Noto, Scicli, and Erice, the additions include working towns that had long sat just over the old 20,000 line: Milazzo (about 29,800), the ferry gateway to the Aeolian Islands; Giarre, between Mount Etna and the sea; Termini Imerese, east of Palermo; hilltop Enna, Italy's highest provincial capital; and Piazza Armerina, home of the Villa Romana del Casale mosaics.

Practically, Sicily is one of the easier regions on this list to live in. Palermo and Catania airports both offer year-round international connections, and most eligible towns sit within about 90 minutes of one of them. The main hospitals are concentrated in Palermo, Catania, and Messina, so weigh drive times as you shortlist. Browse every eligible comune on the interactive 7% tax towns map. And remember that eligibility is only half the decision; the town also has to suit the way you actually want to live.