Dubai, UAE
Answers · current to October 2026

Moving to Dubai from Milan.

What a high earner from Milan keeps after income tax at home and in Dubai, on 2026 rules: $446K more a year on $1M in Dubai, and the Italian rule that changes the reading.

In short, current to October 2026

  • On $1M of income, a single filer in Milan owes $446K in income tax on the standard scale, an effective 45%, on Patrician.ch's 2026 model. In Dubai the UAE levies none.
  • Dubai keeps $446K more a year on $1M, $4.5M over 10 years.
  • Italy offers a flat tax for new residents on foreign income under Article 24-bis, a fixed 300,000 euros a year for anyone who becomes resident from 1 January 2026, plus 50,000 euros per family member, for up to 15 years. In figures: the fixed €300,000 a year on one person's income from abroad is about $342K, 34% of $1M and 11% of $3M. It covers income from abroad only.
  • For an EU passport the route into Dubai is a straightforward permit: Golden Visa via property of AED 2M or a company, or an employment visa in days. The property threshold is about $544K at the board's reference rate.
  • Figures are current to October 2026 and modeled on 2026 headline brackets for a single filer. Not tax, legal or immigration advice.

Official sources: UAE Government Portal, UAE Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship, Normattiva. Checked against them between and .

Source: the Patrician.ch board, an original ranking of 100 residence addresses across 47 countries and territories. Tax rates, thresholds and routes are sourced. Cost, safety, schools, sun and beauty are Patrician.ch editorial indices. Figures current to October 2026. Updated . Cite as: Patrician.ch, Moving to Dubai from Milan 2026: tax, visa and the catch, patrician.ch/answers/moving-to-dubai-from-milan/, October 2026.

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By the Patrician.ch research desk · Updated 23 October 2026 · 9 min read
Income tax, a year

Milan or Dubai, on the same income.

A single filer, income tax only, on Patrician.ch's 2026 model, converted at the board's reference rates. The Milan figure is Italy's standard scale. The UAE levies no personal income tax.

IncomeMilanDubaiDubai keeps more, a yearOver 10 yrs
$500K$219K (44%)$0 (0%)$219K$2.2M
$1M$446K (45%)$0 (0%)$446K$4.5M
$3M$1.4M (45%)$0 (0%)$1.4M$13.6M
See these 2 places for your own income.Dubai and Milan, side by side on your income, passports and family. Free, in the ranking of all 100. Then the Dossier: a written report in 10 chapters on the 3 places that rank first for you. The Dossier is $500. The founding price, $250, holds until 31 October.
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Sources: the Patrician.ch 2026 model of Italy's income tax and of Dubai, Milan's and Dubai's records on the board, UAE Cabinet Decision 85 of 2022 on tax residence, Italian Ministry of Finance decree of 4 May 1999. Social contributions and most deductions are not modeled. A US citizen in Milan or Dubai owes US federal tax on top, as the US citizen page sets out.

The catch

What the move does not settle.

Italy presumes the move is not real. An Italian citizen who moves to a country on Italy's 1999 tax haven list is presumed still resident and has to prove the move is real. The United Arab Emirates is on that list (Ministry of Finance decree of 4 May 1999, Gazzetta Ufficiale 107 of 10 May 1999, checked 23 October 2026), so an Italian citizen who moves from Milan to Dubai carries the burden of proof.

On the way out of Italy. No exit tax on private holdings. Italy's exit charge falls on business assets when a company or an entrepreneur moves abroad, not on shares a private person holds. Leaving Italy: the exit tax →

Italy has its own flat figure. In figures: the fixed €300,000 a year on one person's income from abroad is about $342K, 34% of $1M and 11% of $3M. It covers income from abroad only, and Italian source income is taxed at ordinary rates, so the standard scale above is the reading for income earned in Italy.

Dubai in 2026. What the year changed for Dubai is the risk, not the tax, set out on is Dubai still tax free.

The route in

Residence in Dubai.

For an EU passport, and for most passports on the board, the route into Dubai is a straightforward permit. Golden Visa via property of AED 2M or a company, or an employment visa in days. AED 2M is about $544K at the board's reference rate.

UAE tax residence takes 183 days in any 12 months, or 90 days for a UAE residence permit holder with a permanent home, a job or a business in the country (Cabinet Decision 85 of 2022).

Cost and life.

MilanDubai
Cost index (Zurich 100)7874
Safety6/1010/10
Schools8/108/10
Sun hours a year1,9003,610

Every Dubai figure: Dubai on the board. Milan on the board: Milan. The 2 regimes for new residents side by side: Swiss lump sum vs Italy's flat tax. Leaving Italy: the exit tax.

Moving to Dubai from the other cities: Los Angeles · Seattle · Austin · Dallas · Washington DC · Jersey City · Limassol.

Questions

The short answers.

How much tax do you pay in Dubai moving from Milan?

No UAE income tax. On $1M, a single filer owes $0 in Dubai against $446K in Milan on Italy's standard scale, so Dubai keeps $446K more a year.

Patrician.ch's 2026 model, income tax only.

Does Italy accept a move to Dubai?

Italy presumes an Italian citizen who moves to a country on its 1999 tax haven list is still resident, and the United Arab Emirates is on that list.

The citizen has to prove the move is real (Ministry of Finance decree of 4 May 1999).

What is Italy's flat tax for new residents in 2026?

Flat tax for new residents on foreign income under Article 24-bis, a fixed 300,000 euros a year for anyone who becomes resident from 1 January 2026, plus 50,000 euros per family member, for up to 15 years.

In figures: the fixed €300,000 a year on one person's income from abroad is about $342K, 34% of $1M and 11% of $3M. It covers income from abroad only.

How do you get residence in Dubai?

For an EU passport the route is a straightforward permit. Golden Visa via property of AED 2M or a company, or an employment visa in days.

AED 2M is about $544K at the board's reference rate.

Is Dubai more expensive than Milan?

On the Patrician.ch cost index, where Zurich is 100, Milan scores 78 and Dubai 74.

The index is an editorial judgment, not a published statistic.

The Dossier: your top 3, on your numbers.A written report on the 3 places that rank first for you, compared line by line on your income, a sale, your passports and your family. 10 chapters, written the moment you pay. Every tax figure carries its official source and the date it was last checked. The Dossier is $500. The founding price, $250, holds until 31 October. Refunded in full within 7 days of delivery, no reason needed.
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Income tax on the published 2026 rules. Social contributions, most deductions and treaties are not modeled. Figures are for a non-US single filer. Wealth tax, an exit and your passports are added when you run the engine on your own numbers. Not advice. Residence rules change often. Verify before acting.

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