Tax residence in Albania: what counts

In short

Registering for AIRE is a registry step. It is not, on its own, proof that you are no longer tax-resident in Italy. Italian law looks at substance: where you actually live, where your ties are, how many days you spend in each country.

For someone moving their residence to Albania the practical consequence is simple: it is best that the move is real and well documented, and best to discuss it with a commercialista before moving, not after. It is the step where a professional truly earns their cost.

Two different things: the registry and tax

AIRE is the register of Italians resident abroad, run by the comune and the consulate. It concerns the registry. Tax residence, by contrast, follows the rules of the income tax code (the TUIR). They are two distinct planes, and the second counts more than the first when it comes to tax.

You can see it clearly in the law: registering for AIRE removes the presumption tied to the registry, but does not settle the matter on its own.

What the law says (article 2 of the TUIR)

Since 2024 a person is considered tax-resident in Italy if, for most of the year (more than 183 days, including non-consecutive ones), they meet at least one of these conditions:

• they have their habitual abode in Italy;
• they have their domicile in Italy, now understood as the place where personal and family relationships mainly develop;
• they are physically present in Italian territory;
• they are registered in the register of the resident population (this is a presumption, which admits proof to the contrary).

Registering for AIRE takes you out of the register of residents, so that presumption no longer works against you. But the other criteria remain. If your main family ties, your actual home or most of your days stay in Italy, tax residence may still be Italian, regardless of the AIRE stamp.

Why the difference matters

If residence is genuinely in Albania, the picture changes: for example a private pension may be taxable only in Albania, as the guide on pension taxation explains.

If, instead, residence is considered still Italian, the obligations of a resident apply: taxation on income wherever produced and tax monitoring of assets and accounts held abroad (the RW form). It is the difference between a solid move and a fragile one, and the consequences, in the case of a fragile position, can be significant.

What makes a move solid

The key word is substance. A move holds up when the centre of your life genuinely shifts: the home you live in, the time you spend on the ground, the daily ties. An address on paper is not enough.

It also counts to be able to show all this, calmly and in good time: the home contract in Albania, utilities in your name, the traces of your days of presence, the gradual rooting of life there. The more consistent and documented the situation, the clearer your position. This is not a tax trick: it is simply living where you say you live, and keeping proof of it.

When the two countries disagree

It can happen that both states consider you resident. For these cases the convention between Italy and Albania provides tie-breaker rules, based on elements such as the permanent home and the centre of vital interests, which serve to identify a single state of residence. It is technical ground, and not territory to tackle alone.

The honest advice

This is the guide where the most useful thing we can tell you is just one: before moving your residence, talk to a commercialista. Planning done in advance, on your real situation, is worth far more than any arrangement attempted after the fact.

This guide explains the general rule and is not tax or legal advice. For your position the reference is a qualified professional. If you like, we can help you put together the questions to take to them: write to us, with no obligation.