Head to head
London vs Milan.
Income tax on $1M lands within $15K in London and Milan, so cost decides it: Milan scores 78 on the Patrician.ch cost index and London 96, with Zurich at 100. 🇬🇧 United Kingdom against 🇮🇹 Italy, compared on tax, residence, cost and the life.
In short, current to October 2026
- On $1,000,000 of income, London takes an effective 43% and Milan takes 45%, so London leaves about $15K more in hand each year on the Patrician.ch 2026 model.
- On a capital gain realized after residence begins, London charges 24% and Milan charges 26%. On a $5,000,000 event that is a difference of about $100K.
- The United Kingdom operates a special regime for arriving foreigners: 4 year foreign income and gains regime for new arrivals. Italy operates: 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. Earlier entrants keep the 100,000 or 200,000 rate they joined on (2026 Budget Law, Law 199 of 30.12.2025).
- Inheritance, what a child pays: 40% in London, 4% above €1M in Milan.
- Route in: London by Founder & talent. Milan by Residence by investment, Lump sum residence, Founder & talent.
- Cost of the life is 96 in London against 78 in Milan on the Patrician.ch index where Zurich is 100, and safety 6 against 6 of 10. Both are Patrician.ch editorial indices scored by us, not published statistics.
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, London vs Milan: tax, residence and cost 2026, patrician.ch/compare/london-vs-milan/, October 2026.
