Spain's Beckham Law: requirements, deadlines and what it actually saves you
Spain's Beckham Law: requirements, deadlines and what it actually saves you
Blog Article
Relocating to Spain raises one question very quickly: how much tax will you actually pay. For many incoming professionals, the answer depends on a single regime — the special expat tax regime, better known as the Beckham Law.
The mechanism is simple: instead of being taxed as a Spanish resident on your worldwide income, you are taxed like a non-resident on the income you earn in Spain, at a flat rate of 24% up to 600,000 euros and 47% above that. For higher earners, the saving can be considerable.
Not everyone qualifies. In broad terms, you must have been non-resident in Spain for the previous five tax years, the move has to be tied to a job offer, a posting or a ver más company directorship, and the work must be carried out mainly in Spain. The latest changes have widened the scope to remote workers and certain entrepreneurs.
The deadline is where most applications fail. 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. Once granted, it applies for the year of arrival and the following five.
It is not automatically the better option. Where a large part of your wealth sits abroad, the effect on wealth tax and on the 720 declaration needs to be modelled first. A short analysis before applying is usually time well spent.
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