The Beckham Law: Spain's special impatriate regime
A flat 24% instead of the progressive income tax scale for six years. We work out whether it actually suits you, apply within the deadline and keep it alive.
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What it is and what it gives you
The so-called Beckham Law is Spain’s special tax regime for workers posted to Spanish territory. It allows someone who moves their tax residence to Spain to be taxed broadly as a non-resident during the year of arrival and the following five.
In practice: employment income is taxed at a flat 24% up to €600,000 and 47% above that, instead of the progressive scale. And apart from that employment income, you are not taxed in Spain on income earned abroad.
The Form 720 reporting obligation also does not apply while you are under the regime, which for someone with assets in several countries is not a small detail.
Main requirements
The six-month deadline is the one most people miss. Once it passes, there is no way back for that move.
- Not having been tax resident in Spain in the previous five years
- The move must be due to an employment contract, a posting, a directorship or a recognised entrepreneurial activity
- Applying within six months of registering with Spanish social security
- Not obtaining income through a Spanish permanent establishment, except in the cases allowed
- Filing Form 149 to communicate the election
- Filing annually on Form 151 instead of the standard return
When it pays off, and when it does not
It does not always work out better, however good it sounds.
It usually pays off if you have a high salary, meaningful assets or income outside Spain, and few personal circumstances that would generate Spanish deductions.
It usually does not if your salary is moderate, you have children, a pension plan, a mortgage on your main home or modest income. In those cases the ordinary scale with its personal and family allowances can leave you with a smaller bill than a flat 24%.
We run the numbers on your actual figures before applying for anything. It is a decision that stays with you for six years.
Frequently asked questions
Can digital nomads use it?
Yes. Since the Startups Law reform, access was widened to people relocating to work remotely for a foreign employer under the corresponding visa or authorisation, to company directors and to those carrying out a recognised entrepreneurial activity.
Can my family join the regime?
The reform allows a spouse and children under twenty-five, among others, to opt in as well, provided the requirements are met and the sum of their taxable bases does not exceed that of the main taxpayer.
Can I opt out before the six years are up?
Yes, during November and December of the year before you want it to stop applying. But once you opt out you cannot rejoin.
What if I change jobs?
Changing employer within Spain does not in itself end the regime as long as an employment relationship continues. What does end it is ceasing to meet the requirements, which must be reported on Form 149.
You may also need
Visa and residency for the move.
The alternative: ordinary Spanish tax.
If you are coming to start a business.
A calculation with no obligation.
Does the Beckham Law suit you?
Send us your figures and we will send back the comparison against ordinary Spanish tax before you decide.