The Beckham Law in Spain: requirements, deadlines and what it actually saves you

The Beckham Law in Spain: requirements, deadlines and what it actually saves you

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Relocating to Spain raises one question very quickly: what your tax bill will look like. For a lot of expats, the answer depends on a single regime — the special expat tax regime, better known as the Beckham Law.

The idea is straightforward: rather than paying progressive resident rates on ver web everything you earn globally, you are taxed like a non-resident on your Spanish-source employment income, at a flat rate of 24% up to 600,000 euros with 47 percent applying beyond that threshold. If your salary is significant, the difference is substantial.

The conditions are strict. As a general rule, you must have been non-resident in Spain for the previous five tax years, your relocation must be linked to an employment contract or a director role, and the activity must be performed principally on Spanish territory. Recent reforms opened the door to remote workers and certain entrepreneurs.

The deadline is where most applications fail. You have to apply within six months of registering with Spanish social security. Let that window close and you cannot recover it later. The benefit then runs for a total of six tax years.

It does not suit every case. Where a large part of your wealth sits abroad, the effect on wealth tax and on the 720 declaration needs to be modelled first. Running the numbers in advance is usually time well spent.

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