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Return to Italy due to the natural expiration of secondment abroad: when can the inpatriates regime be applied?

The inpatriates tax regime cannot be applied in the absence of the requirement of the so-called "discontinuity of the work activity

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With the reply to Tax ruling n. 683 published on 7th October 2021, the Italian Revenue Agency underlined that, in case of return to Italy after being posted abroad, the inpatriates tax regime cannot be applied in the absence of the requirement of the so-called “discontinuity of the work activity”.

What does the Italian Revenue Agency state?

As the Italian Revenue Agency has clarified with the answer to the tax ruling n. 683, the inpatriates tax relief cannot be applied to employees who return to Italy after being posted abroad if the repatriation is in presence of the same employment contract and with the same employer.

New work activity to benefit from the inpatriates tax relief

In the event that the work activity carried out by the inpatriate worker constitutes a “new” work activity, following the signing of a new employment contract different from the one in existence in Italy before the posting (assuming a different business role than the original one), then the employee will be able to benefit from the inpatriates tax relief from the tax period in which he transferred his tax residence in Italy.

Cases of non validity of the new employment contract

On the contrary, the inpatriates tax relief does not apply if, despite the presence of a “new” employment contract for a “new” business role at the time of the repatriation, it falls into a situation of continuity with the previous working position held in Italy before returning to the Italian territory.

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Regulatory Framework

Tax ruling n. 683/2021

Reference (Italian only)

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