In English · Fully Remote · Confidential · Flat-Fee Assessment
- A coordinated review of your Italian and U.S. tax position
- U.S. aspects reviewed in coordination with a New York CPA
- A clear Executive Summary: red flags, planning options, next steps
Americans relocating to Italy may face tax and reporting obligations in both countries.
Becoming an Italian tax resident can affect how your income, investments, retirement accounts, real estate, companies, and foreign financial assets are treated.
MG Law helps U.S. citizens and U.S. tax residents coordinate their Italian legal and tax position with their U.S. obligations
before a relocation, investment, property purchase, or restructuring creates an avoidable problem.
What They Don’t Tell You Before You Move to Italy
Three Common Tax Mistakes Americans Make
This isn’t just about large companies. We see it even among those who have just started their first LLC with €3,000.
You move to Italy. You keep filing only in the U.S.
You register as a resident and keep filing your Form 1040 as usual. But Italy now treats you as tax resident: your worldwide income and your U.S. accounts must also be reported in Italy (Quadro RW), with IVAFE potentially due - while your new Italian accounts may belong on your FBAR. Two systems, two sets of filings.
You pay tax twice on the same income.
Your U.S. pension, dividends or rental income are taxed in Italy - and again in the United States - because treaty relief was not applied and Foreign Tax Credits were claimed in the wrong country or the wrong year. These mechanisms exist to prevent double taxation, but they must be planned before the income arises.
You buy the house first. You plan the tax later.
You sign the preliminary agreement, pay the deposit and close the purchase before an Italian notary. Only then do you ask how rental income will be taxed in both countries, how IMU applies - comparable to U.S. property tax - and what a future sale or inheritance will cost. By then, the structure is set.
Already in one of these situations? Or about to be?
YOUR SCENARIO
Where Are You Starting From? The Path Changes. The Risks Don't.
MG Law assists U.S. citizens and U.S. tax residents at three different stages of their move to Italy.
Retirement · Remote work · Family
You are planning to move to Italy
Understand your Italian tax residency and U.S. obligations before you establish residence – and whether Italy’s special regimes, such as the 7% flat tax for qualifying foreign pensioners, may apply to you.
Already in Italy · Property owners
You already live or own property in Italy
Review your tax residency, your reporting
obligations (Quadro RW, IVIE, IVAFE, FBAR) and existing compliance arrangements – including Italian property you own, rent or plan to sell.
Investors · Entrepreneurs · HNW
You hold assets and companies in both countries
Cross-border portfolios, financial assets, companies and succession: coordinate Italian and U.S. planning including PFIC and CFC considerations – before you
move capital or restructure.
WHY MG LAW
Two Tax Systems. One Point of Coordination
The challenge is not finding an Italian accountant or a U.S. CPA. It is having someone
coordinate both positions before you move, invest or restructure, not after.
Italian tax residency, income and asset analysis, available tax regimes, real estate and succession – handled within the Firm by lawyers and tax specialists. After the Assessment: Italian tax returns, Quadro RW, IVIE/IVAFE, IMU and representation before the Agenzia delle Entrate.
U.S. aspects are reviewed in coordination with Giovanni lammarone, CPA, New York, engaged by MG Law as an independent U.S. tax consultant: filing obligations abroad, FEIE and Foreign Tax Credits, FBAR and FATCA, PFIC/CFC considerations and potential historical red flags.
Acquisition and sale of Italian property, legal due diligence, preliminary agreements and notarial coordination, company setup, residency and visas,
Italian wills and cross-border succession coordinated with your U.S. advisors.
“Our role is not to explain the U.S.-Italy tax treaty in theory. It is to make sure your Italian
position does not create problems in the United States – and that your U.S. position does not
create problems in Italy.”
MG Law Firm · USA Desk · Roma · Milano · New York · Lucca· Ostuni · Palermo
OUR ENTRY SERVICE
U.S.-Italy Cross-Border Tax Assessment.
A preliminary coordinated review of your Italian and U.S. tax position, designed to identify the principal tax consequences, compliance requirements, planning opportunities and matters requiring further analysis. Before you invest – not after.
U.S.-Italy Tax Treaty & Expat Tax Questions
Do U.S. citizens still have to file U.S. taxes after moving to Italy?
Yes. The United States taxes its citizens on worldwide income wherever they live, so U.S. citizens – and green card holders who remain U.S. tax residents – generally must keep filing a U.S. federal income tax return when their income exceeds the filing threshold. If the aggregate value of your foreign accounts, including Italian ones, exceeds USD 10,000 at any time during the year, an FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) is also required.
Will Italy tax my U.S. income, pensions and investments?
Once you are Italian tax resident, Italy generally taxes your worldwide income — including U.S. employment income, investment income, pensions and rental income — and may require you to report foreign assets in the Quadro RW section of your Italian tax return, with IVIE due on foreign real estate and IVAFE on foreign financial assets. How each item is taxed, including U.S. pensions and Social Security benefits, depends on the type of income and on the U.S.–Italy tax treaty.
How Does the U.S.–Italy Tax Treaty Help Prevent Double Taxation?
The treaty allocates taxing rights between the two countries for several types of income and contains tie-breaker rules for dual residents. U.S. persons can generally claim a Foreign Tax Credit for qualifying Italian income taxes, or use the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion for earned income, and Italy grants its own credit for foreign taxes under Article 165 TUIR. Whether double taxation is fully eliminated depends on the type of income, timing and how each country applies its rules.
Does the Assessment include preparation of my tax returns?
No. The Italy–U.S. Cross-Border Tax Assessment is a preliminary review that ends with a concise Executive Summary of findings, red flags, planning opportunities and recommended next steps. Italian and U.S. tax return preparation, international information returns, corrective filings and formal tax opinions are outside its scope and can be proposed under a separate engagement.
Can everything be handled remotely, in English?
Yes. Our team works in English and Italian, and the Assessment is carried out entirely remotely: you complete a questionnaire, share your documents and receive your Executive Summary without travelling to Italy.
Request Your Cross-Border Tax Assessment
Confidential · In English · Submitting this form does not create an engagement.
Prefer to write? info@mglawfirm.it · +39 06 86356054 WhatsApp +39 3280717706
Reviewed by MG Law's Cross-Border Team
MG Law assists international clients with Italian legal, tax, real estate, immigration, corporate, and succession matters. The Firm works with U.S. professionals where U.S. legal or tax expertise is required, allowing clients with interests in both countries to coordinate decisions across the Italian and U.S. systems.
U.S. tax matters coordinated with:
Giovanni Iammarone, CPA · New York
Last reviewed: 2026
Important: This page provides general information only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. The application of Italian and U.S. law depends on the facts and circumstances of each case.
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