Tax for new residents in 2026: Italy, Greece, Portugal, Turkey and the UAE

In brief

• Italy: for those who move their tax residence from 1 January 2026, the flat tax on all foreign income is EUR 300,000 a year plus EUR 50,000 for each family member. The regime lasts up to 15 years. Those who moved earlier keep the previous amounts.
• Greece: EUR 100,000 a year for all foreign income and EUR 20,000 for each relative, for up to 15 years, with an investment from EUR 500,000. The procedure was simplified in 2026.
• Portugal: IFICI applies instead of NHR. Foreign income is largely exempt for 10 years, while local income from qualifying work is taxed at 20%. Pensions are not exempt.
• Cyprus: non-dom gives 0% defence contribution on dividends, interest and rent for 17 years. From 2026 the status can be extended for two 5-year periods at EUR 250,000 each.
• Turkey: Law No. 7582 of 21 May 2026 exempts from income tax, for 20 years, the foreign income of those who became residents from 1 January 2026. The UAE has no personal income tax.
• My conclusion: the incentives are not disappearing, but they are getting more expensive and more conditional. The choice should follow your income profile and way of life, and the entry should happen under today's rules.

What we know today: country by country

I will start with Italy, because it set the tone for the whole market. The new resident regime appeared in 2017: a person who moves their tax residence to Italy and has not been an Italian resident for 9 of the previous 10 years may pay a fixed amount instead of ordinary tax on all foreign income. At first the amount was EUR 100,000; in August 2024 it was raised to EUR 200,000. The 2026 Budget Law, Law No. 199 of 30 December 2025, raised it to EUR 300,000 and the amount for each family member from EUR 25,000 to EUR 50,000. According to the Italian Revenue Agency, those who moved by 31 December 2025 keep the previous EUR 200,000. How the regime works in detail is covered in our article on the Italian flat tax, and the other taxes of the country in the overview of Italian taxes.

An important detail: income from Italy itself is still taxed on the ordinary scale. The fixed amount covers only foreign income, but it does not depend on its size. With foreign income of EUR 3 million the tax is the same as with EUR 400,000. That is why the Italian regime only makes sense with genuinely large income from abroad. This tax is not needed for the right to live in Italy: the residence permit is obtained separately, for example for investors or under the programme for financially independent people.

Greece offers a similar mechanism, but three times cheaper. Article 5A of the Income Tax Code allows a new resident to pay EUR 100,000 a year for all foreign income, whatever its size, for up to 15 tax years. Each relative included in the regime adds EUR 20,000. The conditions: not having been a Greek tax resident for 7 of the 8 years before the move and investing at least EUR 500,000 in Greek real estate, companies or securities within three years. In 2026, Greek Law No. 5313/2026 and decision A.1147 of the Greek Tax Authority of 17 July 2026 simplified the filing of the application and documents. How this works in practice is explained in our article on the Greek non-dom tax. Greece also has a separate regime for retirees: 7% on a foreign pension.

Portugal took a different path. The former NHR regime is closed to new entrants; its history and transitional rules are described in our article on Portuguese NHR. In its place is IFICI, the tax incentive for scientific research and innovation under Article 58-A of the Tax Benefits Statute. It is designed not for rentiers but for professionals and entrepreneurs in fields listed in the law: income from such work in Portugal is taxed at 20%, and most foreign income is exempt for 10 years. Pensions from abroad are not exempt. The condition is not having been a Portuguese resident for 5 years before the move. For living in Portugal on passive income, the D7 visa still works, but taxes are then ordinary.

Cyprus offers a non-dom regime that is simpler than the Italian and Greek ones. A tax resident without Cypriot domicile does not pay the special defence contribution on dividends, interest and rental income for 17 years out of 20. The tax reform in force since 1 January 2026 added the option to extend the status after 17 years: two 5-year periods at EUR 250,000 each. For those with Cypriot domicile, the contribution on dividends was cut to 5%; details are in our news item on the defence contribution. How to become a resident and confirm the status is described in our article on non-dom in Cyprus. The concept of domicile is key here: it decides whether the benefit is available.

Malta taxes foreigners without Maltese domicile only on income remitted to the country. Under the programmes for wealthy foreigners, the rate on remitted income is 15% with a minimum tax. From 1 January 2027, under Legal Notice 195 of 2026, four statuses are merged into one, the minimum tax rises from EUR 15,000 to EUR 35,000 a year, and the property purchase threshold to EUR 700,000. The changes are covered in our news item on the Maltese tax programme from 2027, and the status itself in our article on non-dom in Malta and the overview of the Global Residence Programme.

Turkey is the biggest news of the year. Law No. 7582 was adopted on 21 May 2026 and published in the Official Gazette on 4 June 2026. It added Article 20/D to the Income Tax Law: income earned abroad by people who became Turkish tax residents is exempt from income tax for 20 years. The condition is that in the three calendar years before the move the person had no residence and no tax liability in Turkey. The rule applies to those who became residents from 1 January 2026; a resident is someone whose domicile is in Turkey or who stays in the country for more than 6 continuous months in a calendar year. Citizenship plays no role, and passive Turkish income in the three test years does not remove the right to the benefit, unlike a Turkish salary or business. Under Tax Communique No. 333 of 4 July 2026, the benefit certificate must be obtained from the tax office by the end of the year in which you became resident, or by the end of February for moves in November or December; late applicants are not issued a certificate. No return has to be filed for this income, and foreign tax cannot be credited in Turkey. The same law cut the inheritance tax for such residents to 1% within the exemption period. Income from Turkey itself is taxed as usual. More in our news item on the 20-year exemption and our article on Turkish tax residency.

The UAE operates without personal income tax: salary, dividends, interest and capital gains of a private individual are not taxed. Corporate tax of 9% has applied since 2023, and an individual falls under it only when running a business with annual turnover above AED 1 million. To confirm the status abroad you need a tax residency certificate; the conditions are in our article on UAE tax residency.

What this means for you. The rate is not the only criterion. A flat tax pays off only with large income, an exemption only with real residence, and zero tax only if you are ready to live where it applies.

Why countries compete on tax

The logic is the same everywhere. A wealthy newcomer buys a home, spends money in the country, hires people, often moves a business or sets up an investment company. The country would hardly have received their foreign income anyway: without the incentive the person would simply choose another jurisdiction. So a fixed EUR 100,000 or EUR 300,000 a year is net budget revenue plus additional spending inside the country.

The tools differ. Italy and Greece sell predictability: you know the amount of tax for 15 years in advance. Cyprus and Malta tax only part of the income or exempt certain types of income. Portugal attracts professionals rather than rentiers. Turkey has bet on the longest exemption among the countries listed. The UAE builds a model with no personal income tax at all and earns from other levies and from business activity.

The flip side of competition is a rising price. Italy has tripled its flat tax in nine years, and Malta more than doubles its minimum payment from 2027. That is a signal: demand for such regimes is high, and EU countries believe they can charge more. The practical conclusion for a client is that the earlier you enter a regime, the cheaper the entry, because increases usually do not affect existing participants.

What to choose for your profile

I always start not with the rate but with a question: what is your income, where does it come from, and where do you really want to live. The answer decides which regime makes sense at all.

Passive income. If dividends, interest and investment income exceed a million euros a year, the Greek or Italian flat tax gives predictability for 15 years. Greece is almost always cheaper but requires an investment from EUR 500,000; it can be combined with the Greek Golden Visa. With income of a few hundred thousand euros the fixed amount is too high, and it makes more sense to look at Cyprus, where non-dom gives 0% on dividends and interest, or at Turkey with its foreign income exemption. For living in Cyprus there is Cyprus permanent residence, for Turkey a Turkish residence permit.

Business. For an entrepreneur the UAE remains the simplest option: no personal income tax, a clear corporate system and a wide choice of residence permits, for example for investors. Cyprus suits those who hold a company in the EU and receive dividends. In both cases one rule applies: the tax benefit is recognised only if the business is really managed from where you live. A registration without people and decisions does not protect you from questions from the tax authority of the country you left. A company in the Emirates can be set up through company registration in the UAE.

Retiree. Europe has separate regimes for foreign pensions: 7% for 15 years in Greece, and 7% in Italy when moving to small towns in the south of the country. Portuguese IFICI does not exempt pensions, which is a common mistake when choosing. Programmes for living on passive income are collected in the section for financially independent people.

Family. The Italian regime is expensive for a family: each adult family member adds another EUR 50,000 a year. In Greece the surcharge is EUR 20,000 per person. In the UAE and Cyprus there is no separate family surcharge; tax is calculated for each person under the general rules.

What this means for you. The same regime can be ideal for one client and pointless for another. The decision is made on the figures of your income, not on a ranking of countries.

Possible developments: EU pressure and my view

Within the EU, regimes for new residents are not prohibited: personal income tax remains a national matter for each country. But pressure is growing from three sides. The first is the automatic exchange of financial information under the CRS standard: banks report accounts to the country of tax residence, and formal residence without real life in the country is visible at once. The second is budgets: countries are looking for new revenue, and Hungary's draft wealth tax, which we covered in our news item on the wealth tax, shows where governments are looking. The third is politics: incentives for wealthy newcomers cause friction with local taxpayers.

An example of how this can end is the United Kingdom. From 6 April 2025 it abolished the non-dom regime, which had existed for more than two hundred years, and replaced it with a four-year exemption for arrivals. I do not expect such an abrupt step from Italy, Greece or Cyprus in the coming years: these countries have just confirmed or expanded their regimes. But the price of entry will most likely keep rising and the conditions tightening.

Countries outside the EU, by contrast, have gained a window of opportunity. Turkey offered 20 years of exemption, and the UAE keeps its model without income tax. Here the main question is not the rate but stability: how stable the rules are, how banks work with new residents, and whether there are double tax treaties with the countries you need.

What this means for you. My base case for 2027-2028: the regimes will survive but become more expensive and stricter. It pays most to enter now, under the current rules, and to back up the status with documents.

What a client should do now

First, break down your income by type: dividends, interest, employment income, pension, capital gains, rent. For each regime it matters exactly which income is exempt. Second, check when you stop being a tax resident of the country you are leaving. The concept of tax residency differs from country to country, and dual residence in the first year of a move is the most common problem. An overview of options is in our article on countries for tax residency.

Third, watch the entry deadlines. In Italy the amount depends on the year of the move, in Turkey the exemption applies to those who became residents from 2026, and in Cyprus the extension requires a separate decision. Fourth, do not confuse a residence permit with a tax regime. A residence permit gives the right to live in the country; the tax regime is claimed separately, often with its own filing deadlines. Fifth, think about family and inheritance, not only annual tax: Turkey has cut inheritance tax, and in Italy the regime also affects taxes on foreign assets. Sixth, if your income and assets are spread across several countries, you need tax coordination between them; otherwise savings on one tax are easily lost on another.

If you want to go through your situation, book an online consultation. Why zero tax alone does not solve the task I explained in detail in my analysis on zero tax. The UAE as a country to live in is covered on the UAE page, and flat taxation as such in the glossary: lump-sum taxation.

How this material was prepared

Sources: the Italian Revenue Agency, guidance on the new resident regime under Article 24-bis of the Consolidated Income Tax Act, and Italian Law No. 199 of 30 December 2025 in the Official Gazette of Italy; the Greek Independent Authority for Public Revenue, guidance on tax incentives for new residents and decision A.1147 of 17 July 2026, Greek Law No. 5313/2026; the Portuguese Tax Authority, Portal das Financas, guidance on IFICI and Article 58-A of the Tax Benefits Statute; the Tax Department of the Cyprus Ministry of Finance, Circular 2/2026 and the tax reform law in force from 1 January 2026; Maltese Legal Notice 195 of 2026; the Official Gazette of Turkey No. 33270 of 4 June 2026, Law No. 7582, and No. 33300 of 4 July 2026, Tax Communique No. 333; the UAE Ministry of Finance, guidance on corporate tax and Cabinet Decision No. 49 of 2023; HM Revenue and Customs on the replacement of the non-dom regime from 6 April 2025. Data as of 31 October 2026. This material does not replace individual tax advice.