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

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

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Taking a job in Spain brings up an immediate concern: what your tax bill will look like. For many incoming professionals, the answer comes down to one special rule — the special expat tax regime, better known as the Beckham Law.

The idea is straightforward: instead of being taxed as a Spanish resident on your worldwide income, you are taxed like a non-resident on your Spanish-source employment income, at a flat rate of 24 percent on the first 600,000 euros and 47% above that. If your salary is significant, the difference is substantial.

Not everyone qualifies. In broad terms, you must not have been a Spanish tax resident in the five years before the move, your relocation must be linked to an employment contract or a director role, and the activity must be performed principally on Spanish territory. Recent reforms have widened the scope 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 aquí residence. Let that window close and you cannot recover it later. Once granted, it applies for a total of six tax years.

It does not suit every case. 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 avoids an expensive mistake.

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