Tax residence of individuals

Previous rules on tax residence of individuals

Based on the previous reading of the law (art. 2 of the TUIR), an individual was considered to be tax resident in Italy if, alternatively;

• was enrolled in the Italian Register of the resident population (AIRE);
• had his/her domicile in Italy, being the centre of its vital interest, as defined by Art. 43 of the Italian Civil Code;
• had his/her residence in Italy, being the habitual abode as defined by the same Art. 43 of the Italian Civil Code,

for the greater part of any relevant fiscal year. As under Italian law, the fiscal year for individuals equates to the calendar year, an individual was considered to be tax resident in Italy if he/she met one of the three criteria above for at least 183 days in a given calendar year (184 days in case of a leap year).
There is no split-year provision under Italian tax law. Accordingly, this specific rule may only apply where a specific tax treaty provides for it (e.g the Italy-Switzerland tax treaty).

Amendments to the previous criteria

The Legislative Decree provides for certain amendments to the criteria just briefly described.
In particular, as of 2024 individuals shall be considered as tax resident in Italy if, for the greater part of the fiscal year, including fractions of a day, they alternatively;

• have their domicile in Italy, being the place where the individuals’ personal and family relations are primarily located;
• have their residence in Italy, being the habitual abode;
• are physically present in Italy.

The new rule goes further into setting a rebuttable presumption of residence where an individual has been enrolled Italian Register of the resident population for the greater part of the fiscal year.

Main differences between the new rule and the previous one

The main differences between the old and the new version are as follows:

• the term “domicile” has been defined as the place in which the personal ties can be found and no relevance is given to the definition contained in the Italian Civil Code nor to the business relationship of the relevant individual;
• express relevance has been given to the fraction of days in order to assess whether or not an individual has been present in Italy for the greater part of the fiscal year;
• the enrolment in the Italian Register of the resident population in Italy has become a factor that triggers a rebuttable presumption of residence and not an autonomous criteria;
• the mere physical presence of an individual in the Italian territory for the greater part of the fiscal year shall cause him/her to become Italian resident for tax purposes.