Italy elective residence visa 2026: the income requirement for a single person or a couple, and why savings don't count
Written by Hans Goldstein, licensed insurance agent · CA 4273294Short answer: in 2026 Italy’s elective residence visa (residenza elettiva) asks for more than €31,000 a year of passive income per applicant (about $3,023 a month at $1.17 per euro). The Boston and New York consulates count about €31,000 per person, and a dependent spouse can come on the main applicant’s means if they cover both, so a couple should plan on about €62,000 a year. Savings balances are generally not accepted, while the Boston, New York, Chicago and Detroit consulates name annuities as qualifying income: at 62, a life-only annuity paying $3,023 a month costs about $458,000 to $519,000 of premium with no other income, much less once Social Security counts.
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Income rules and taxes by country: Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Malta and more, plus how a lifetime annuity fits.
Italy elective residence visa requirements
The elective residence visa is Italy’s retirement visa: the route for people who want to live there without working. The consulate wants to see income that arrives on its own, year after year, from sources other than a job. The Boston consulate asks for “passive income (totaling more than 31,000 euros yearly per applicant) originating from pensions, annuities, income from properties, trusts or investments funds.” The figure goes back to a 2000 Interior Ministry directive, which the Paris consulate calls “approximately 31,000 euros” and only one of the parameters considered.
| Item | What consulates ask for (2026) |
|---|---|
| Income per applicant | More than €31,000 a year (about $36,270, or $3,023 a month at $1.17 per euro) |
| Qualifying sources | Pensions, annuities, rental income from property, other stable passive income |
| Savings and investment balances | Generally not accepted on their own |
| Work in Italy | Not allowed on this visa; income from employment does not count |
| Proof | Award letters, contracts, bank statements; Boston, New York, Los Angeles and Detroit ask for the last two years of US tax returns |
Single or married: how much income you need for the Italy elective residence visa
USD figures use $1.17 per euro (a planning rate; the ECB reference rate was $1.1225 on 2 October 2026, so these dollar figures include about 4% of headroom).
| Household | Yearly | About USD a month | Who must earn it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single applicant | More than €31,000 | $3,023 | The applicant |
| Couple (both apply) | About €62,000 (€31,000 each) | $6,045 | The main applicant for both (a dependent spouse is allowed), or each spouse in his or her own name (Boston: “per applicant”; New York: “around €31,000 per person”) |
| Each child or other dependent | No separate figure published by these consulates | n/a | Boston wants a separate application packet for each dependent |
No spouse-of-citizen shortcut applies here: if your spouse is an Italian citizen, ask the consulate about family routes instead of the elective residence visa.
When only one spouse has the income
The Boston, New York and Los Angeles consulates all say the visa can also be issued to a dependent spouse, as long as the applicant shows adequate means to support them. Boston and New York put the figure at about €31,000 per person, and New York adds that the means “must be directly in the applicant’s name.” So if only one of you has a pension, plan it one of two ways:
- The earning spouse carries both. He or she applies as the main applicant and shows about €62,000 a year in his or her own name, and the other spouse applies as a dependent. If that spouse is short, a lifetime annuity in that spouse’s name closes the gap.
- Give the other spouse income of his or her own. A life-only annuity owned by and paying to the non-earning spouse, sized to about €31,000 a year, lets each of you show your own income. It is priced on that spouse’s age and sex, and it must be bought while you both still live in the US.
Consulates differ and have full discretion, so ask yours in writing which of the two it prefers before you buy anything.
Funding the other spouse’s annuity is a gift between spouses. General information, confirm with a tax adviser: gifts between two US-citizen spouses are unlimited; gifts to a spouse who is not a US citizen are excluded from taxable gifts up to $194,000 in 2026 (IRC 2523(i)), and above that you file Form 709, usually with no tax due.
Why savings fail and an annuity works
A brokerage account of several million dollars can still be refused, because a balance is not income. Four US consulates (Boston, New York, Chicago and Detroit) name annuities among acceptable income sources. A life-only single premium immediate annuity (SPIA) produces exactly the document the consulate wants: a monthly amount, payable for life, from a regulated insurer.
- Your Social Security and any pension count first. Size the SPIA only to the shortfall.
- A life-only SPIA has no cash value, so it reads as income, not as a disguised savings account.
- Payments in your US bank account create the statement trail the consulate checks.
Which annuity counts
The consulates want stable income, so the cleanest fit is a life-only SPIA or a joint and survivor SPIA, or an existing deferred annuity or MYGA converted to lifetime payments. A period-certain annuity, an income rider (GLWB) on an account you can still cash out, or an annuity still accumulating reads more like savings, and savings are what Italy tends to refuse.
Why I write about this. My mom is Norwegian, my dad is American, and they’re planning the move from the US to Norway. My mom is the sponsor (the host, or “reference person” in UDI’s words), so Norway’s income test falls on her income, not my dad’s. UDI told us in writing that money in an account does not count as income, and only lifelong income does. Their savings were not the problem; the paperwork wanted a monthly number in the host’s name. The rules in Italy are different, but the problem is the same one many retirees hit: the income test, not the net worth. I’m writing this to help others in the same boat as my parents. Read how we worked through the Norway income requirement.
In the same boat? Let’s run your numbers
See roughly what a lifetime annuity would cost to close your income gap, then get my personal read by email. I can help while you still live in the US.
Estimates use the September 9, 2026 ImmediateAnnuities.com payout survey (life only) and a 15% cushion. Illustrative, not a quote.
Example: a 62-year-old American moving to Italy
Premium = monthly target / payout per $100,000 x $100,000. At 62 the ImmediateAnnuities.com survey of September 9, 2026 (life-only, per $100,000 a month) averages $603 for a man and $582 for a woman; the best quotes were $660 and $637. Rounded to the nearest $1,000. Illustrative, not a quote.
| Household, age 62 | Monthly target | Premium, average rate | Premium, best rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single man, no other income | $3,023 | $501,000 | $458,000 |
| Single woman, no other income | $3,023 | $519,000 | $475,000 |
| Single man with $1,800/mo Social Security | $1,223 gap | $203,000 | $185,000 |
| Couple, both 62, no other income: one contract each | $3,023 each | $1,020,000 | $933,000 |
| Couple where he has $3,100/mo of pension: annuity for her only | $3,023 for her | $519,000 | $475,000 |
Social Security can start at 62 and counts, so most people need far less than the first rows. The euro bar moves with the exchange rate, so add 10 to 25% headroom. For a couple, a joint and survivor annuity keeps paying after the first death but pays less per dollar than single life; get a quote for both.
Timing: the two-year tax return rule
The Boston, New York, Los Angeles and Detroit consulates ask for the last two years of tax returns. A SPIA bought last month will not show on them yet. Two ways to handle that:
- Buy one to two years ahead, so the payments appear on your returns before you apply.
- Apply at a different consulate, but only if your US residence puts you in its jurisdiction. You can’t pick a consulate freely.
Everywhere, start payments at least 3 to 12 months before your appointment so you have deposit statements.
Does Italy have a wealth tax?
No general net wealth tax. Two narrower taxes apply to residents (PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries):
- IVAFE: 0.2% a year on financial investments held outside Italy (0.4% in listed low-tax jurisdictions). How a no-surrender annuity in payout is valued for IVAFE is unclear; ask an Italian tax adviser (commercialista). At 0.2% the amount is small either way.
- IVIE: 1.06% a year on real estate held outside Italy. If you keep your US house, budget for it.
How the annuity is taxed: Italy and the US
The Italian side. Italy taxes residents on worldwide income. Its income tax code lists life annuities bought for a price, other than “pension-type” annuities from insurers authorized to operate in Italy, as income similar to employment income (TUIR art. 50(1)(h)), counted at the amount received (art. 52(1)(c)). That points to the whole payment being taxed at ordinary IRPEF rates, which in 2026 are 23%, 33% and 43% (PwC), plus regional (about 1.23% to 3.33%) and municipal (0% to 0.9%) surcharges. Unlike Spain, there is no age-based slice in the text. How a US contract is classified is not settled in anything official I could find, so get a written view from an Italian tax adviser (commercialista).
The 7% flat tax. People who receive a foreign pension (the kind defined in TUIR art. 49(2)(a)) and move to a small town in Sicily, Calabria, Sardinia, Campania, Basilicata, Abruzzo, Molise or Puglia, or certain earthquake-affected towns in central Italy, can elect a 7% substitute tax on all foreign income for the year of the move and the next nine (art. 24-ter TUIR). A purchased annuity on its own probably does not make you eligible, because the law classifies it separately from pensions, but if you qualify through a pension, the 7% reaches foreign income of any kind, which would include the annuity. Confirm the town’s population limit and your eligibility with an Italian adviser before you rely on it.
The treaty. Under the US-Italy income tax treaty, annuities paid to a resident of Italy are taxable only in Italy (Art. 18(2)). The saving clause (Art. 1(2)(b)) lets the US tax its citizens anyway, the US credits Italian tax (Art. 23(2)), and the re-sourcing rule (Art. 23(4)(b)) treats the income as arising in Italy so the credit works.
The US side. As a US citizen you stay taxable on worldwide income wherever you live. A US single premium immediate annuity bought with after-tax savings is taxed under IRC 72: an exclusion ratio makes part of each payment a non-taxable return of your premium until the premium is recovered. If you bought it with IRA money, every payment is taxable. The foreign earned income exclusion does not cover annuities (IRC 911(b)(1)(B)(i)). Foreign tax on the payments can be credited on Form 1116 (passive category income), through the treaty’s relief article where there is one; claiming the treaty re-sourcing rule may also call for Form 8833. Since January 1, 2026, a US citizen with a foreign residence address cannot opt out of federal withholding, even if payments go to a US account (IRC 3405(e)(13), Treas. Reg. 31.3405(e)-1). Withholding is a prepayment, not extra tax. An annuity from a US insurer is not reported on FBAR or Form 8938, and it is not a PFIC.
Net result. At ordinary rates, Italian tax on the full payment is usually higher than US tax on its taxable part, so Italy is the binding tax and the US tax is mostly or fully offset. Compared with drawing down savings, the annuity is neutral to costly in Italy unless you qualify for the 7% regime. Italy will also want the contract on the RW section of your return.
Checklist to retire in Italy from the US
- Confirm the figure and couple rules with the consulate for your US address.
- Add up the pension income each of you already has in your own name (Social Security, pensions).
- Buy a life-only SPIA for each person’s gap plus 10 to 25% headroom, while you still live in the US.
- Have payments deposited to a US bank account for convenience, and plan for US withholding: since January 1, 2026 a US citizen with a foreign residence address cannot opt out of it, even on payments to a US account (IRC 3405(e)(13), Treas. Reg. 31.3405(e)-1). It is a prepayment, not extra tax.
- Get the insurer’s letter (“for the lifetime of the annuitant”), apostille it, and have it translated into Italian.
The trade-offs, once
A SPIA is irrevocable, its payments are level unless you add a cost-of-living rider, and they are in dollars while the bar is in euros. Payments are backed by the issuing insurer’s claims-paying ability. Sizing to the gap, not to your whole savings, keeps the rest of your money liquid.
Married? Make the income outlive either of you. In Italy the main applicant shows the income and the spouse joins as a family member, so the annuity sits with the main applicant. If a single-life annuity is on one spouse and that spouse dies first, the payments stop, and the surviving spouse may have to show income of their own at the next renewal. A joint and survivor annuity, which keeps paying until the second death, or a separate annuity on each spouse closes that gap. Joint and survivor pays less per dollar than single life, so ask for both quotes and compare.
Experts we point readers to
- Mazzeschi (Marco Mazzeschi): Italian immigration law; one of the most prolific writers on the elective residence visa
- Global Citizen Solutions: residency planning; Italy elective residence visa guide
We link to these because their guides are among the most useful we found. We receive nothing for listing them and are not affiliated. All experts by country.
Frequently asked questions
Free annuity gap analysis for Italy. Tell me your ages, your Social Security or pension, and whether you are single or a couple. I will show how far your income is from the Italy requirement and what a lifetime annuity would cost to fill the gap, in the sponsor’s or main applicant’s name where that matters.
Related reading
- Retire abroad: income requirements by country
- Spain non-lucrative visa income requirement
- Malta Retirement Programme and annuities
- How European countries tax a US annuity
- FBAR, FATCA and double taxation
- Immediate annuity calculator
Sources
- Consulate General of Italy in Boston: elective residency
- Consulate General of Italy in New York: elective residency
- Consulate General of Italy in Paris: residenza elettiva (Interior Ministry directive of 1.3.2000)
- Consulate General of Italy in Chicago: elective residence visa
- Consulate General of Italy in Detroit: elective residence visa
- US-Italy income tax treaty (IRS text)
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: Italy, taxes on personal income
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: Italy, other taxes (IVAFE, IVIE)
- IRS: 2026 inflation adjustments (gift exclusion for a non-citizen spouse)
- 26 U.S.C. 3405 (withholding on pensions and annuities)
- IRS: Comparison of Form 8938 and FBAR requirements
- ImmediateAnnuities.com: immediate annuity rates by age (survey of September 9, 2026)
- Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles: elective residency visa
- TUIR art. 24-ter (7% regime for foreign pensioners), text
- TUIR art. 50 (life annuities as income similar to employment), text
- 26 U.S.C. 72 (annuities, exclusion ratio)
- 26 U.S.C. 911 (foreign earned income exclusion; annuities excluded)
- 26 CFR 31.3405(e)-1 (withholding on payments to US citizens with a foreign address, from 2026)
Goldstein & Co. LLC dba Goldstein Insurance Services · Hans Goldstein, licensed insurance agent, CA lic. #4273294 · NPN 20602398 · 213-414-2808 · hans@hansgoldstein.com
Education, not tax, legal or immigration advice. Rules, thresholds and exchange rates change; confirm with the consulate or immigration authority and a local tax adviser before you act, and get answers in writing. Hans Goldstein is a licensed insurance agent (CA 4273294) and can only offer annuities to residents of states where he is licensed. Annuity payments are guaranteed by the issuing insurer’s claims-paying ability, not by any government. Payout figures are illustrations from a published survey, not quotes. Immediate annuities are generally irrevocable.