The Flat Tax Ruling: How to Get Certainty Before You Move to Italy
Italy has a dedicated ruling for the flat tax. What it confirms and what it does not, when to file, the 90-day answer and silent approval, and who really needs one.
The flat tax for new residents is simple on paper: pay €300,000 a year and your foreign income is covered. The difficulty lies in proving that you qualify, and in proving it about years that have already passed. That is why many of our clients ask the Revenue Agency to confirm their eligibility before they move. As Avv. Marco Mesina explained in his article for IMI Daily on pre-approval for the flat tax, an advance ruling turns the most uncertain part of the regime into a written answer.
The flat tax ruling does not create the right to the regime; it removes the doubt about whether you have it. This article explains what the ruling covers, how and when to file it, what it does not cover, and who really needs it. For our assistance with rulings in general, see our tax rulings service.
A Ruling Designed for the Flat Tax
Article 24-bis of the Income Tax Code originally required a favourable ruling before the option could be exercised. In 2017 the Revenue Agency made it optional: the option can be exercised directly in the tax return, and it remains valid even if the ruling has been filed and no answer has yet arrived. The reform of the Taxpayers’ Statute in 2023 gave the flat tax its own category of ruling: article 11(1)(f) covers the existence of the conditions, and the adequacy of the evidence, required for the flat tax.
It is a so-called evidentiary ruling. You do not ask the Revenue Agency how a rule should be interpreted; you show it your facts and your documents and ask it to confirm that they meet the conditions.
What the Ruling Confirms
The core question is eligibility. Above all, that you were not Italian tax resident for at least nine of the ten years before the option starts, applying the residence tests that were in force in each of those years. The ruling can also confirm the eligibility of the family members you want to include, and the jurisdiction of your last residence, which must be indicated when the option is exercised.
What It Does Not Confirm
The flat tax ruling is about you, not about your assets. It does not confirm how a particular trust distribution, the liquidation of a foreign company or a payment from a foreign pension plan will be treated. Those are questions of interpretation, which belong to an ordinary ruling under article 11(1)(a) or (b) of the Statute, and they are admissible only where there is genuine uncertainty: if the Revenue Agency has already answered the point in a published document, the ruling is inadmissible.
Two rulings can be filed in parallel. For clients with complex structures we often recommend exactly that: one on eligibility, one on the treatment of the structure that matters most.
Timing: When to File and How Long It Takes
The ruling can be filed before you move and in any case by the deadline for the tax return of the year in which you transfer your residence. Filing before the move is usually better: if the answer raises doubts, there is still time to adjust the plan, the date or the structure.
The Revenue Agency has 90 days to answer, suspended between 1 and 31 August. If it asks for additional documents, it answers within 60 days of receiving them. If no answer arrives in time, silence counts as agreement with the solution you proposed. Any assessment contrary to the answer, express or tacit, is voidable. In practice, filing six months before the planned move leaves a comfortable margin.
Recent Procedural Changes
The reform of the Statute introduced two features that clients should know about. First, for rulings on particularly complex cases, filing is subject to a fee, whose amount and method of payment are set by a Ministry of Economy regulation according to the type of taxpayer and of ruling; Legislative Decree 192/2025 rewrote the rule. Second, for individuals, prior use of the Revenue Agency’s simplified consultation database is a condition of admissibility of rulings once the service is fully operational. Neither changes the substance of the flat tax ruling, but both should be checked at the time of filing.
Who Really Needs It
Not everyone. A foreign national who has never lived in Italy, owns nothing here and is moving with the whole family has little to prove, and many such clients opt directly in the tax return. The ruling earns its cost when the past is less clean:
Our View
For a regime that costs €300,000 a year and lasts up to fifteen years, a ruling is inexpensive insurance. File it when your past contains any doubt, file it before the move, and pair it with an interpretive ruling when a structure, not your residence, is the real question. Then combine the answer with the right timing of the move and, where relevant, the order of the regimes in different years, as part of an entry strategy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a ruling required to use Italy's flat tax?
No. The law originally required one, but since 2017 it has been optional: the option can be exercised directly in the tax return.
How long does the Revenue Agency take to answer a flat tax ruling?
90 days, suspended in August. If additional documents are requested, 60 days from their receipt. If no answer arrives in time, silence counts as agreement.
Can I file the ruling before moving to Italy?
Yes, and it is usually advisable. It must in any case be filed by the deadline for the tax return of the year in which you transfer your residence.
Does the ruling cover my trust or foreign company?
Not by itself. The flat tax ruling confirms eligibility; the treatment of specific income or structures requires an interpretive ruling, which can be filed in parallel.
Is the answer binding?
Yes, for the Revenue Agency, limited to the applicant and to the facts described. Assessments contrary to the answer are voidable.
Is there a fee for filing?
The law provides for a fee for particularly complex cases, set by a Ministry of Economy regulation. It should be checked at the time of filing.
Avv. Marco Mesina
Founder, Move to Dolce Vita · Avvocato, Milan Bar (Ordine degli Avvocati di Milano)
Marco is an Italian tax lawyer who advises individuals and families relocating to Italy on tax regimes, residency, citizenship, real estate and succession planning. Before founding Move to Dolce Vita he worked at Watson Farley & Williams, Withers and Deloitte in Milan.
- Milan Bar
- Citywealth Top 50 Italian Advisors 2025 & 2026
- Profiled by Forbes (2024)
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