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

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

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Relocating to Spain raises one question very quickly: what your tax bill will aquí look like. For a lot of expats, the answer comes down to one special rule — 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 taxed like a non-resident on the income you earn in Spain, 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. 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. The latest changes 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. Miss it and you cannot recover it later. 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 interaction with wealth tax and reporting duties should be calculated before deciding. Running the numbers in advance is usually time well spent.

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