The Beckham Law (Ley Beckham) can be used by people who move to Spain, become tax resident here and have not been so in the previous five years, provided the move is due to an employment contract (including remote work by digital nomads), a post as company director, an innovative entrepreneurial activity or work as a highly qualified professional for start-ups. Since 2023 the spouse and children who move with them can also apply it. We look at it case by case.

What the special regime for expats moving to Spain is

It is the technical name for the Beckham Law (in Spanish, régimen especial de impatriados): an optional regime, governed by art. 93 of the Personal Income Tax Act (Ley del IRPF), which allows anyone arriving in Spain to be taxed for six years under rules similar to those for a non-resident. Salary is taxed at 24% up to €600,000 a year (47% on the excess) and, apart from employment income, income obtained outside Spain is not taxed here. You will find the details of how it works, the rates and Form 149 (modelo 149) in our guide to the Beckham Law.

Who can apply for the Beckham Law, case by case

There is one condition common to everyone: not having been tax resident in Spain in the five tax years before the year of the move. In addition, the move must be for one of these reasons:

1. Employees

This is the classic case: you sign a contract with a Spanish company or your foreign employer posts you to Spain. It also covers anyone who joins a group company based here.

2. Remote workers and digital nomads

Since Ley 28/2022, the Startups Act, anyone who works remotely from Spain for a foreign company can apply, provided they do so as an employee and with the international teleworking visa. The digital nomad who works as self-employed, by contrast, is in general left out, unless they fit the case of the entrepreneur or the highly qualified professional.

3. Company directors

Anyone who becomes a director of an entity can apply. If the company is an asset-holding company, only if they do not hold a stake of 25% or more of its capital.

4. Entrepreneurs

Anyone who moves to carry on in Spain an economic activity classed as entrepreneurial, that is, innovative and of special economic interest, with a favourable report from the Empresa Nacional de Innovación (ENISA).

5. Highly qualified professionals

Anyone who provides services to start-ups, or carries out training, research, development and innovation activities, with remuneration that together represents more than 40% of their business, professional and employment income.

6. Spouse and children

Since 2023, the regime extends to the main taxpayer’s family: the spouse (or, if there is no marriage, the children’s other parent) and children under 25, or of any age if they have a disability. They must move with the main taxpayer or later, before the end of the first year in which he or she applies the regime; not have been resident in the previous five years; and the sum of their net taxable bases (bases liquidables) must be lower than the main taxpayer’s. Each one files their own Form 149.

Who cannot apply

  • Anyone who has been tax resident in Spain in any of the previous five years, even if they are now returning from abroad.
  • Anyone who obtains income through a permanent establishment in Spain, except entrepreneurs and highly qualified professionals.
  • Professional sportspeople: paradoxically, in 2015 they were excluded from the regime that bears a footballer’s name.
  • In general, the self-employed who do not fit the cases of entrepreneur or highly qualified professional.
  • Anyone who lets the deadline pass: the option is exercised with Form 149 within the six months following the start of the activity shown in the registration with Spanish Social Security, and it cannot be recovered.

When are you tax resident in Spain?

It is the gateway to the regime, and also the answer to a very common question: how long do you have to live outside Spain to stop paying tax here? Under art. 9 of the Personal Income Tax Act, you are tax resident in Spain if any of these conditions is met:

  • You spend more than 183 days in Spain during the calendar year. Occasional absences count as days in Spain, unless you prove tax residence in another country.
  • The main centre or base of your activities or economic interests is in Spain.
  • It is presumed, unless proven otherwise, if your spouse (not legally separated) and your dependent minor children habitually live in Spain.

So spending more than half the year abroad is not enough: if your economic interests or your family are still here, the Spanish Tax Agency (Agencia Tributaria) may treat you as resident. And if you move to a country or territory classed as a non-cooperative jurisdiction (what used to be known as a tax haven), you remain a personal income tax (IRPF) taxpayer that year and the following four. When two countries treat you as resident at the same time, the double taxation treaty between them decides.

If you are resident and work abroad

Residents in Spain are taxed on everything they earn worldwide, so the salary for work done abroad is also declared here. But art. 7.p) of the Personal Income Tax Act allows up to €60,100 a year to be exempt for work actually carried out abroad, with these requirements:

  • The work is done for a company or entity not resident in Spain, or for a permanent establishment located abroad.
  • In the country where the work is done there is a tax identical or similar in nature to IRPF and it is not a non-cooperative jurisdiction. This is deemed to be met if there is a double taxation treaty with an exchange of information clause.

The exemption is calculated in proportion to the days worked abroad: annual pay multiplied by the days spent abroad and divided by the days in the year, with the limit of €60,100. It is a different exemption from the Beckham Law and designed for the opposite case: residents in Spain who are posted abroad.

Is it worth it even if you can apply?

Not always. The Beckham Law does not allow you to apply the personal and family allowances or most deductions, so with mid-range salaries or with children ordinary taxation may work out better. It pays off above all with high salaries or with assets and income outside Spain. If you are thinking about the move, you can tell an adviser who specialises in the Beckham Law about your case: we’ll put you in touch with a professional who will run the numbers before the six-month deadline expires.

Frequently asked questions

Can a Spaniard returning to Spain apply for the Beckham Law?

Yes, if they have not been tax resident in Spain in the five years before the move and meet the other requirements. Nationality does not matter: what counts is tax residence.

Can a self-employed person apply for the Beckham Law?

In general no, unless they carry on an innovative entrepreneurial activity with a report from ENISA or are a highly qualified professional who provides services to start-ups or carries out research, development and innovation activities.

How long do you have to be outside Spain to stop being tax resident?

More than 183 days a year abroad is not enough on its own: you must also not have the centre of your economic interests in Spain or, unless proven otherwise, your spouse and minor children. If you move to a non-cooperative jurisdiction, you carry on paying tax in Spain that year and the following four.

What is Form 149?

The form (modelo 149) used to notify the Tax Agency that you are opting for the special regime for expats. It is filed within the six months following the start of the activity in Spain and, after that, each year you file Form 151.