Foreign pensioners eyeing Italy received a windfall on 28 April when a Substack briefing confirmed that 74 additional municipalities now qualify for the 7 % substitute tax, thanks to Article 26 of Law 34/2026. The reform, in force since 7 April, raises the population ceiling for eligible communes in Southern and quake-hit central regions from 20,000 to 30,000 residents. Early analyses by tax advisory portals calculate that the change adds mid-sized hubs such as Cosenza, Marsala and Olbia to the map—locations with hospitals, fibre-optic internet and direct flight connections that smaller villages often lack. Under Article 24-ter of the Income Tax Code, new tax residents who were abroad for at least five of the previous ten years can elect to pay 7 % on all foreign-source income—including pensions, dividends and capital gains—for ten consecutive years.
![Italy opens 74 new ‘flat-tax towns’, widening 7 % regime for foreign retirees]()
For retirees ready to make the leap, navigating the visa maze is the next hurdle. VisaHQ’s Italy team (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) can handle elective-residence visa applications end-to-end, arrange document translations and book consular appointments, saving newcomers weeks of paperwork so they can focus on choosing the perfect sun-kissed town.
The broader catchment solves a practical dilemma for mobility planners: executives nearing retirement liked the tax break but balked at the prospect of relocating to a hamlet with no international schooling or rail links. Mid-tier cities now in scope offer a compromise between lifestyle and infrastructure, making the regime genuinely competitive with Portugal’s NHR or Greece’s 7 % pension scheme. Local governments are moving fast. Calabria’s regional agency has launched English-language microsites showcasing qualified towns, while Puglia is drafting fast-track procedures for residency registration. Real-estate agents report a spike in enquiries for three-bedroom apartments in coastal cities newly added to the list, with prices still below €1,800 per square metre—far cheaper than Spain’s Costa del Sol. Advisers caution that the election must be filed with the first Italian tax return and is irrevocable: retirees who move to a non-qualifying city later will lose the 7 % rate. Companies offering pre-retirement packages should therefore help employees lock in housing before arrival and verify municipal population data via the national statistics office (ISTAT).
For retirees ready to make the leap, navigating the visa maze is the next hurdle. VisaHQ’s Italy team (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) can handle elective-residence visa applications end-to-end, arrange document translations and book consular appointments, saving newcomers weeks of paperwork so they can focus on choosing the perfect sun-kissed town.
The broader catchment solves a practical dilemma for mobility planners: executives nearing retirement liked the tax break but balked at the prospect of relocating to a hamlet with no international schooling or rail links. Mid-tier cities now in scope offer a compromise between lifestyle and infrastructure, making the regime genuinely competitive with Portugal’s NHR or Greece’s 7 % pension scheme. Local governments are moving fast. Calabria’s regional agency has launched English-language microsites showcasing qualified towns, while Puglia is drafting fast-track procedures for residency registration. Real-estate agents report a spike in enquiries for three-bedroom apartments in coastal cities newly added to the list, with prices still below €1,800 per square metre—far cheaper than Spain’s Costa del Sol. Advisers caution that the election must be filed with the first Italian tax return and is irrevocable: retirees who move to a non-qualifying city later will lose the 7 % rate. Companies offering pre-retirement packages should therefore help employees lock in housing before arrival and verify municipal population data via the national statistics office (ISTAT).
