Spain's Beckham Law: who qualifies and how to apply

Spain's Beckham Law: who qualifies and how to apply

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Moving to Spain for work 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 everything you earn globally, you are treated as a non-resident for tax purposes on your Spanish-source employment income, at a flat rate of 24 percent on the first 600,000 euros with 47 percent applying beyond that threshold. If your salary is significant, the difference is substantial.

The conditions are strict. In broad terms, you must not have been a Spanish tax resident in the five years before the click aquí move, the move has to be tied to a job offer, a posting or a company directorship, and the work must be carried out mainly in Spain. The latest changes opened the door to digital nomads and some self-employed profiles.

Timing is the part people get wrong. You have to apply within six months of registering with Spanish social security. Miss it and the regime is lost for the whole assignment. The benefit then runs for the year of arrival and the following five.

It is not automatically the better option. If you have significant income outside Spain, the effect on wealth tax and on the 720 declaration should be calculated before deciding. Running the numbers in advance is usually time well spent.

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