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: how much tax will you actually pay. For a lot of expats, the answer comes down to one special rule — the impatriate 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 treated as a non-resident for tax purposes on your Spanish-source employment income, at a fixed rate of 24 percent on the first 600,000 euros with 47 percent applying beyond that threshold. If your salary is significant, the saving can be considerable.

The conditions are strict. 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 company directorship, and the work must be carried out mainly in Spain. 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. The benefit then runs for a total of six tax years.

It does not suit every case. If ver web you have significant income outside Spain, the interaction with wealth tax and reporting duties should be calculated before deciding. A short analysis before applying is usually time well spent.

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