The Beckham Law

The Beckham Law (officially the régimen especial de impatriados, Article 93 of the Spanish income-tax law) lets people who move to Spain for work be taxed like non-residents for their first years in the country: a flat 24% on employment income instead of progressive rates that reach ~47%. It got its nickname when David Beckham signed for Real Madrid and became one of its first famous users.

For a well-paid professional relocating to Madrid or Barcelona, the regime is often worth five figures a year. It is also one of the most misunderstood parts of moving to Spain — the eligibility rules are narrow, the deadline is brutal, and below a certain salary it costs you money.

• 24% flat on Spanish-taxable employment income up to €600,000 per year
• 47% on the portion above €600,000
• Savings income (dividends, interest, capital gains from Spanish sources) is taxed on the non-resident scale (19–28%); most foreign-source income stays outside Spanish tax during the regime

Compare that with standard IRPF, where marginal rates pass 37% at around €35,000 and reach ~47% (region-dependent) at €300,000.

Three conditions, all required:

• You were not a Spanish tax resident in the five tax years before the year you move.
• The move happens because of work: a Spanish employment contract, an intra-company transfer, a directorship, or — since the 2023 Startup Law reform — remote employment for a foreign company (the digital-nomad case).
• Your income isn't earned through a Spanish permanent establishment of your own (i.e. you're not simply self-employed in Spain).

The regime covers the tax year you become resident plus the five following years— six tax years in total. You can renounce it early (for example, if your income drops and standard IRPF becomes cheaper), but you can't re-enter later, and being expelled for non-compliance is permanent.

• File Form 149 (Modelo 149) with the Agencia Tributaria within six months of registering with Spanish social security (or of the start date on your posting documentation).
• The deadline is strict: a single day late and the option is gone for your entire stay. Make it the first piece of paperwork you deal with after getting your social-security number.
• Once admitted, you file an annual return on Form 151 instead of the standard IRPF return, and your employer withholds at the flat rate.

Approximate annual income tax for a single filer with no special deductions (standard IRPF varies by region — Madrid is at the low end, Catalonia higher):

Want to see your own numbers net of everything? Use our salary & cost planner and the salary guide for what employers actually pay.

• Below ~€55,000–60,000: standard IRPF with personal and family allowances usually beats a flat 24%.
• No allowances or joint filing: under Beckham you lose the personal minimum, family deductions, and most credits.
• Double-tax treaties: as a Beckham taxpayer you're resident in Spain but taxed like a non-resident, which can complicate treaty relief on foreign income — a real issue for Americans, who file US returns regardless.
• Wealth & exit considerations: the regime doesn't exempt you from Spanish wealth tax on Spanish assets, and planning matters as the six years run out.

Since 2023 the two work together: a remote employee of a foreign company who moves on the digital nomad visa can elect Beckham and pay 24% on that employment income. The pairing is the strongest financial case for keeping your foreign job while living in Spain: foreign-market salary, Spanish cost of living, flat 24% tax.

If instead you take a job with a Spanish employer — say through the visa-sponsorship route — Beckham applies the same way, as long as the five-year non-residence condition holds.