A practitioner's checklist for relocation

Before the decision

The first question is whether the client wants to move his life or only his tax position. A relocation that the family does not share, or that leaves the client working in Italy on most days, cannot succeed under the Italian rules in force since 2024 and should be discouraged. Where the client is prepared to move, the adviser should establish the facts that will later be examined: the family's composition and plans, the children's schooling, the real estate in both countries, the client's role in each company, his expected days in Italy and the timing of any sale. The adviser should also identify the income that will remain taxable in Italy after the move, such as Italian real estate income, Italian director's fees for work done in Italy and Italian pensions.

For the practitioner. - Family: confirm that spouse and minor children will live in Ticino, and document schools, doctors and social life there. - Days: plan presence in Italy below half of the year and keep a log supported by objective data. - Roles: decide which offices in Italian companies the client keeps, and transfer day-to-day management to persons resident in Italy where appropriate. - Registrations: deregister from the Italian population register, register with the AIRE, obtain the Swiss permit and register with the commune within fourteen days. - Treaty: assess residence under Article 4 of the convention and use the split-year rule of Article 4 paragraph 4 by moving definitively at a clear date. - Exit and sale: confirm that no Italian exit tax applies to private shareholdings, and keep any planned sale well apart from the move in time. - Social security: determine the applicable legislation under Regulation (EC) No. 883/2004 and obtain A1 certificates. - Swiss taxes: choose between ordinary taxation and taxation according to expenditure (Chapter E.V) and obtain rulings on dividends, holding structures and indirect partial liquidation.

The company

For the company, the first decision concerns the route: new Swiss company, transfer of assets, branch or transfer of seat. The transfer of seat triggers the Italian exit tax with immediate payment and should be chosen only where the latent gains are small or where continuity of the legal person has a value that justifies the tax. In all other cases a new Swiss company is usually preferable. The adviser must then ensure that the Swiss company has a real place of management in Ticino: directors who live there, board meetings held there, staff who conduct the business there, premises, contracts and a bank relationship. Italian staff who continue to work for the Swiss company from Italy must not conclude contracts for it.

For the practitioner. - Structure: compare the four routes and model the Italian exit tax, the Swiss step-up and the valuation on both sides. - Management: appoint at least one director resident in Ticino with real authority, and record strategic decisions in Ticino. - Holding: test Article 73 paragraph 5-bis TUIR for any Swiss holding of Italian companies and document its management. - Controlled foreign company rules: test Article 167 TUIR for every Swiss company controlled by Italian residents during the transition (Chapter F.II). - Permanent establishments: review the activities of employees and agents in Italy and of managers in Switzerland. - VAT and customs: register for Swiss VAT, appoint an Italian fiscal representative where needed and plan the import of assets. - Employment: obtain permits, apply Swiss minimum wages and collective agreements and comply with the posting rules. - Promotion: assess eligibility for relief under the LInn and for support from Fondazione AGIRE before incorporation, since relief is reserved for new companies.

After the move

Relocation is not a single act. The facts that support residence must remain true in each following year, because the authorities can examine any year that remains open for assessment. The adviser should review the client's position annually, update the log of days, check that the companies' management practices still match their documents and consider whether changes in the family, such as a child's return to university in Milan, alter the analysis. Where the client decides to return to Italy, the Italian regimes for new residents and returning workers described in Chapter E.V and the entry values under Article 166-bis TUIR should be examined before the return.

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of August 2025.