Pension: the preferential tax regime for foreign pensioners who move to Southern Italy

With Ruling No. 292/2025, the Italian Revenue Agency once again addresses the special regime under Article 24-ter of the TUIR, which allows foreign pensioners who move to certain municipalities in Southern Italy to apply a 7% substitute tax on income produced abroad. This clarification concerns an issue of strong practical relevance: whether income derived from the liquidation of foreign companies owned and/or controlled by the taxpayer can also be included in the preferential regime. 

The case 

The applicant, currently a tax resident in France, informed the Agency that: 

• as of 1 January 2025, he receives a foreign-source pension pursuant to Article 49(2)(a) of the TUIR; 

• in 2026, he will move his residence to a municipality in Southern Italy with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants, where he will carry out self-employment or business activities; 

• he intends to voluntarily liquidate certain foreign companies (French and Luxembourgish) that he owns and/or controls, specifying that these companies: 

• do not own real estate in Italy, 

• do not hold interests in Italian companies, 

• do not generate taxable income in Italy under the ordinary regime. 

The taxpayer therefore asks whether the amount that may be received from the liquidation of the foreign companies—i.e., the liquidation surplus—can fall within the scope of the substitute tax under Article 24-ter TUIR. 

The taxpayer’s position 

The applicant maintains that such amounts constitute foreign-source investment income and can therefore benefit from the option under Article 24-ter. According to his interpretation, liquidation income corresponds to the difference between the amount received and the tax-recognized cost of the cancelled shareholding. Since the income is paid by non-resident companies, it should—he argues—be subject to the substitute tax replacing IRPEF and local surtaxes, at the preferential rate of 7% for each of the ten tax periods during which the option is valid.

The legal framework: the 7% regime for foreign pensioners 

Article 24-ter TUIR, introduced to attract foreign pensioners to Italy, provides that individuals receiving foreign-source pensions who move their residence to designated municipalities in Southern Italy may subject all income produced abroad to a 7% substitute tax, regardless of category (investment income, employment income, real estate income, etc.).

The Agency further recalls that:

• the determination of “foreign-source” income follows the mirror reading of Article 23 TUIR, which governs income produced in Italy by non-residents;
• if income, when applying these criteria inversely, is not considered produced in Italy, then it is deemed produced abroad under Article 165(2) TUIR;
• the substitute tax extinguishes any further taxation in Italy (no additional withholding or national taxes).

This same approach has been adopted for investment income, and specifically foreign dividends, addressed in earlier clarifications (e.g. Ruling No. 766/2021).

The interpretative issue: treatment of the liquidation surplus 

The question concerns the classification of income distributed upon liquidation of a foreign company. The Agency cites Article 47(7) TUIR, which states that “Amounts or the normal value of assets received by shareholders in the event of withdrawal, exclusion, redemption or reduction of excess capital, or upon liquidation—including insolvency liquidation—of companies and entities shall constitute income to the extent that they exceed the price paid for the purchase or subscription of the cancelled shares or units.”

Such income is therefore investment income, as also confirmed by Circular 52/E/2004.

Applying the “mirror” reading of Article 23(1)(b) TUIR, investment income is considered produced abroad when paid by non-resident entities.

It follows that income arising from the liquidation of a foreign company:

• is income produced abroad;
• is investment income;

and therefore falls within the scope of Article 24-ter TUIR.

The Agency’s conclusion: yes, the liquidation surplus is included in the 7% regime 

The Italian Revenue Agency fully upholds the taxpayer’s position. Provided all statutory conditions are met:

• actual relocation to municipalities in the South belonging to the regions Sicily, Calabria, Sardinia, Campania, Basilicata, Abruzzo, Molise and Puglia, or to one of the municipalities affected by the seismic events listed in relevant legislative decrees, with the mandatory condition that such municipalities have a population not exceeding 20,000 inhabitants;
• the nature of the pension income received, the income derived from the liquidation of the foreign companies may also be subject to the substitute tax at the 7% rate.

This means that, if the taxpayer validly exercises the option and meets all requirements, he may apply the preferential regime also to the capital gain realized upon liquidation.

Final considerations 

Ruling No. 292/2025 is significant because:

• it confirms a broad and favourable approach in identifying foreign-source income eligible for the 7% regime;
• it extends interpretive certainty to the increasingly frequent situations of returning pensioners who hold shares in foreign companies;
• it reaffirms the full consistency of the 7% regime with the general TUIR principles on investment income.

The Agency’s opinion provides a clear indication: the 7% regime applies also to income from the liquidation of foreign shareholdings, provided such income qualifies as produced abroad under the mirror structure of Article 23 TUIR. For foreign pensioners planning to relocate to Southern Italy, this represents an additional incentive.