Response No. 184/2026 – Subject: Substitute tax on IRPEF (Italian personal income tax) for individuals receiving foreign-source pension income: succession by an heir to a US Individual Retirement Account (IRA) – Article 24-ter of the TUIR
With Response No. 184/2026, the Italian Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) has clarified that distributions received by the heir of a US Individual Retirement Account (IRA) may retain the nature of pension income and allow access to the preferential regime provided for by Article 24-ter of the TUIR.
In the case examined, therefore, neither the succession to the ownership of the plan nor the fact that the IRA was funded through voluntary contributions causes the benefits to lose their pension nature.
Table of contents
- The case examined
- The 7% regime for recipients of foreign pensions
- Why an inherited IRA retains its pension nature
- The heir can access the 7% regime
- Points to verify for foreign pension plans
The case examined
The taxpayer, an Italian citizen resident abroad, succeeded her father, following his death, as holder of a US Individual Retirement Account (IRA).
The plan had been established and funded by the father during his working life in the United States through voluntary contributions for supplementary pension purposes. Following the succession, the daughter began receiving annual distributions from the IRA position.
Intending to transfer her tax residence to Italy from 2027, the taxpayer asked the Agency whether such sums can be classified as pension income under Article 49(2)(a) of the TUIR and thus allow her to access the preferential regime provided for by Article 24-ter.
The 7% regime for recipients of foreign pensions
Article 24-ter of the TUIR allows individuals receiving pension income paid by foreign entities, who transfer their tax residence to Italy in the municipalities identified by the provision, to opt for a 7% substitute tax on the foreign-source income covered by the regime.
The option takes effect from the tax period in which residence is transferred to Italy and may also apply for the following nine tax periods, for a total maximum duration of ten tax periods.
Among the main requirements, the taxpayer must:
- receive foreign-source pension income;
- not have been tax resident in Italy in the five preceding tax periods;
- transfer residence from a State with which administrative cooperation agreements are in force;
- move to one of the municipalities identified by Article 24-ter.
The regime concerns the municipalities of the Regions of Sicily, Calabria, Sardinia, Campania, Basilicata, Abruzzo, Molise and Puglia and the specific areas affected by seismic events indicated in the provision. From 7 April 2026, the population threshold set by the rules has been raised from 20,000 to 30,000 inhabitants.
Why an inherited IRA retains its pension nature
The central point of the ruling request concerns the tax classification of the sums received by the daughter after succeeding to her father’s IRA position.
The Agency first recalls the notion of “pensions of any kind and allowances equivalent thereto” set out in Article 49(2)(a) of the TUIR and already interpreted broadly by Circular No. 21/E of 2020.
The Agency’s practice has clarified that foreign pension benefits paid in the form of a lump sum may also fall within this category and that, for foreign pension funds, the voluntary nature of contributions does not in itself preclude pension classification.
Of particular importance is also the precedent contained in Response No. 290/2025, concerning the lump-sum payout of a US pension fund financed by voluntary contributions and received by the holder’s heir.
On that occasion, the Agency recalled Article 7(3) of the TUIR, under which income received by heirs essentially keeps the classification and the taxation rules that it would have had if received by the original holder.
Response No. 184/2026 applies the same principle to the periodic distributions of an inherited IRA: succession mortis causa does not automatically turn a pension benefit into income of a different nature.
The heir can access the 7% regime
On the basis of these principles, the Agency concludes that, in the case examined, the distributions from the IRA fall within the “pensions of any kind” referred to in Article 49(2)(a) of the TUIR.
The taxpayer will therefore be able to benefit from the regime provided for by Article 24-ter from the tax period in which she transfers her tax residence to Italy, indicated in the request as 2027, provided that all the further conditions required by the provision are also satisfied.
The clarification is significant because it confirms that the heir of a foreign pension position may also be the recipient of pension income relevant for access to the 7% regime, even though she did not personally establish or fund the plan.
Once the option has been validly exercised, the substitute tax covers not only the IRA distributions but, within the limits set by Article 24-ter, also the other foreign-source income included in the regime.
Points to verify for foreign pension plans
Response No. 184/2026 does not imply that any foreign investment account or financial product transferred by succession can be classified as pension income.
For the application of Article 24-ter, it is necessary to verify in concrete terms:
- the pension nature of the foreign plan;
- the foreign entity paying the benefit;
- the characteristics and purposes of the instrument;
- the contribution and payout arrangements;
- the classification of the benefit under Italian tax law.
In the case of the IRA examined by the Agency, the pension purpose of the plan and its classification as a pension arrangement allow the distributions received by the heir to retain their pension nature even after the transfer mortis causa.
The clarification thus broadens the practical scope of the Article 24-ter regime, confirming that the status of foreign pension recipient may also derive from succession to a foreign pension position, and not necessarily from a benefit accrued directly by the taxpayer during his or her own working activity.