As of April 7, 2026, the population threshold to qualify for Italy’s flat tax regime for foreign pensioners has risen from 20,000 to 30,000 residents, unlocking 74 new municipalities across Southern Italy. One sentence. That is all it took. Article 26, paragraph 1, of Law No. 34 of March 11, 2026, replaces the words “20,000 inhabitants” with “30,000 inhabitants” in Article 24-ter of Italy’s Consolidated Income Tax Code (TUIR).
The change takes effect today, and its consequences are more significant than the brevity of the provision might suggest. Italy’s 7% flat tax for foreign pensioners, one of the most competitive tax regimes available to retirees anywhere in Europe, now covers a substantially broader swath of the country’s south.
