Spain's Beckham Law, explained
Everything on Spain's impatriate regime (art. 93 LIRPF) in one place: what it is, who qualifies, the strict deadline, and the route that fits you. Written by a tax advisor, reviewed by a lawyer.
The Beckham regime lets eligible new residents pay a flat 24% Spanish income tax on employment income up to €600,000 (47% above), for six tax years, instead of the progressive IRPF. You must not have been a Spanish tax resident in the last 5 years, and you must file Modelo 149 within 6 months of the start-of-activity date shown in your Spanish Social Security registration (or, if you legally stay on your home country's social security, the start date in that paperwork). File late and the option simply has no effect: Spain's central tax tribunal has confirmed the deadline is strict (TEAC, 11 March 2019).
Cited with date: the edge nobody else gives
- §Art. 93 LIRPF (Law 28/2022, in effect from 1 Jan 2023): the impatriate regime itself.
- §Arts. 113–120 RIRPF (RD 439/2007): the regulation developing the regime, as rewritten by RD 1008/2023.
- §Modelo 149 (the election) and Modelo 151 (the annual return): Orden HFP/1338/2023.
- §Art. 116 RIRPF: the strict 6-month election window; filed late, the option has no effect (TEAC res. 11 March 2019, RG 3348/2017).
- §Law 7/2024: the savings-income scale rising to 30% from 2025.
The whole Beckham line
By situation
By nationality
Who qualifies after the latest DGT rulings
The 2022 reform widened the door, with four legal routes in (employment, including remote work; company directors; entrepreneurs; highly-qualified professionals), and binding DGT rulings in 2024–2025 have been drawing the fine lines: switching to self-employed means exclusion unless you use the ENISA route (V2248-24, 21 Oct 2024), and remote workers can qualify without the nomad visa (V2460-25, 11 Dec 2025).
Read more →When Beckham is NOT worth it
As a rough orientation from our own modelling (2025/2026 scales), below about €55,000 (or with heavy passive income, or as a US citizen), the regime can underperform ordinary IRPF. The break-even depends on your region and family situation: run the calculator, and we tell you straight.
Read more →149 vs 151
Modelo 149 is the one-time election within 6 months; Modelo 151 is the annual return you file each of the six years.
The home-imputation dispute
A live, unresolved question on whether Beckham taxpayers owe a small imputed-income tax on the home they live in, explained in plain English.
Read more →Going self-employed under Beckham: the default answer is exclusion, with one narrow exit
If you came as an employee and switch to freelancing, the general rule is exclusion from the regime in that same tax year. The DGT confirmed it in a binding ruling (V2248-24, 21 Oct 2024), even where all your clients are abroad. There is one narrow exit: activity that qualifies as entrepreneurial, with a favourable ENISA report obtained before you start. If self-employment is anywhere in your plans, that check comes first, not after.
Wealth taxes: Spain-only. Inheritances and gifts: worldwide.
Under the regime, wealth tax and the 'solidarity' wealth tax (for net wealth above €3 million) reach only your Spanish assets. The DGT confirmed both in a binding ruling (V0424-23, 24 Feb 2023). Inheritance and gift tax works the other way: as a Spanish resident you are taxed on what you receive worldwide (V2345-24, 12 Nov 2024). One asymmetry, two very different planning conversations. And one honest question we ask every client: do you expect an inheritance during your six years?
The fine print that changes outcomes
Your Modelo 149 certificate is not an approval
Within 10 working days of a valid Modelo 149, the tax agency issues a document stating that you have opted into the regime. That paper is not a review and not an approval: its legal job is to justify your status to your employer so they withhold at the flat rate. Whether you actually met the conditions can still be checked later, which is why we review eligibility before filing, not after.
If you break a condition, you must report it yourself
Losing a condition of the regime is not a quiet exit: exclusion takes effect in the same tax year the breach happens, and you are legally required to notify the tax agency within one month. Nobody sends you a warning first. Knowing exactly which moves break the conditions, before you make them, is most of the value of advice under this regime.
The 'no visa needed' ruling: what it actually says
In December 2025 the DGT confirmed that a remote employee can opt into the regime without the international-teleworker visa: the visa is one way to evidence the remote-work route, not a requirement (V2460-25, 11 Dec 2025). Two honest caveats from the ruling itself: the DGT expressly says whether your employment relationship is real is outside its remit (a favourable ruling doesn't validate a disguised freelance setup), and your employer's letter must state three things: the relationship, the start date, and the estimated duration of your work in Spain.
Per diems and travel allowances stay exempt
Good news hiding in the fine print: even though Beckham taxpayers are taxed under non-resident rules, employment income is computed with the ordinary IRPF rules, so exempt per diems and travel allowances stay exempt (DGT V0439-25, 21 Mar 2025). If your package includes real travel, that's money the headline 24% doesn't capture.
Studied in Spain before? That alone doesn't shut the door
A past stay in Spain as a student doesn't automatically disqualify you. What the DGT has rejected is converting the same student stay into the regime; a new move years later, with five clean years of non-residence you can evidence, can still qualify (V1690-25, 18 Sep 2025). The whole question is the five-year count, which is exactly what our checker asks first.
Retiring during the regime
Retirement ends the work link the regime rests on, so as a rule it means exclusion. But the DGT has accepted that starting a new qualifying employment or corporate relationship can keep you in (V1946-23, 5 Jul 2023). If retirement falls inside your six years, that's a planned conversation, not a surprise.
Cited with date: check us
Every figure and rule on this page traces to one of these. DGT rulings are binding (art. 89.1 LGT) and link to their official record; we only quote literally from sources we have read in the primary.
- §Art. 93 LIRPF (Law 28/2022, in effect from 1 Jan 2023): the regime.
- §Arts. 113–120 RIRPF (RD 439/2007, as rewritten by RD 1008/2023): the developing regulation.
- §Orden HFP/1338/2023: Modelo 149 and Modelo 151.
- §TEAC resolution of 11 Mar 2019 (RG 3348/2017): a late Modelo 149 has no effect.
- §Ley 7/2024: savings-income top rate of 30% from 2025.
- §DGT V2248-24 (21 Oct 2024): switching to self-employed; the ENISA route (art. 113.2 RIRPF). official record →
- §DGT V2460-25 (11 Dec 2025): remote work without the visa; the employer letter (art. 119.2 RIRPF). official record →
- §DGT V0424-23 (24 Feb 2023): wealth tax and the solidarity tax reach Spanish assets only. official record →
- §DGT V2345-24 (12 Nov 2024): inheritance and gift tax on worldwide receipts. official record →
- §DGT V0439-25 (21 Mar 2025): exempt per diems still apply. official record →
- §DGT V1690-25 (18 Sep 2025): a prior student stay doesn't block a new move. official record →
- §DGT V1946-23 (5 Jul 2023): retirement, with its nuance. official record →
Author: Daniel Bertomeu Quiles, tax advisor (AEDAF nº 06838 / APAFCV nº 3080). Reviewed by Juan Bertomeu, lawyer (ICALI nº 4643). Figures and rules are orientative, cited with date, and confirmed case by case by the firm; the live points are marked and kept up to date. This page is not, by itself, tax or legal advice.