Spain's Beckham Law: requirements, deadlines and what it actually saves you

Spain's Beckham Law: requirements, deadlines and what it actually saves you

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Taking a job in Spain raises one question very quickly: how much tax will you actually pay. For a lot of expats, the answer depends on a single regime — the impatriate regime, better known as the Beckham Law.

The idea is straightforward: instead of being taxed as a Spanish resident on Beckham law requirements in Spain your worldwide income, you are taxed like a non-resident on the income you earn in Spain, at a fixed rate of 24% up to 600,000 euros and 47% above that. For higher earners, the difference is substantial.

Not everyone qualifies. As a general rule, you must not have been a Spanish tax resident in the five years before the 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. Recent reforms opened the door to remote workers and certain entrepreneurs.

Timing is the part people get wrong. You have to apply within six months of starting the activity that triggers residence. Let that window close and the regime is lost for the whole assignment. The benefit then runs for the year of arrival and the following five.

It does not suit every case. Where a large part of your wealth sits abroad, the interaction with wealth tax and reporting duties needs to be modelled first. Running the numbers in advance avoids an expensive mistake.

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