Beckham Law Spain (2026): The 24% Flat-Tax Regime for New Residents

The "Beckham Law" is the nickname of Spain's special tax regime for people who move to Spain for work: article 93 of the Income Tax Law (LIRPF). It got its name in 2005, when a newly arrived David Beckham was among the first to use it. Two decades later it is more relevant than ever: since the 2023 Startups Law reform, remote workers - including Digital Nomad Visa holders - qualify too. If you earn a good salary and you are moving to Spain, this regime can cut your Spanish income tax bill roughly in half. Here is how it works, with the tax agency's own manuals as the source.

1. What the Beckham Law is

People who become Spanish tax residents because they move to Spain for specific work reasons can opt to be taxed under the Non-Resident Income Tax (IRNR) rules - with special features - while keeping their status as IRPF taxpayers. In practice, instead of Spain's progressive income tax scale (which climbs past 45% for high earners), you pay a flat rate on your work income, and most of your foreign-source income stays out of the Spanish tax net.

The legal base: article 93 of the LIRPF and articles 113-120 of its Regulation, modified with effects from 1 January 2023 by the Startups Law (Ley 28/2022). The reform reduced the prior non-residence requirement from ten to five years and opened the regime to remote workers, entrepreneurs and qualified professionals, plus their close family.

2. What you actually save

• Flat 24% on employment income up to 600,000 EUR per year (47% above that, per payer). Compare with the general IRPF scale, which for a 120,000 EUR salary easily results in an effective rate well above 35% depending on region.
• Foreign-source income mostly untaxed in Spain. Under the regime you are taxed on Spanish-source income - but all your employment income, wherever earned, is deemed Spanish-source (an international double-taxation deduction is allowed). Dividends, interest and capital gains from abroad are generally not taxed in Spain during the regime.
• Wealth tax and solidaridad scope: as the regime taxes you as a non-resident, asset taxation follows the non-resident (Spanish-situs) logic rather than worldwide assets - a major difference for people with significant foreign wealth. Confirm your specific case with a tax adviser; regional rules vary.
• Treaty note: under the regime you are not considered treaty-resident for double-taxation agreements, because Spain only taxes your Spanish-source income. This matters when claiming treaty benefits elsewhere - check both sides with a professional.

3. Who qualifies in 2026

Core conditions, per the Agencia Tributaria manual (post-2023 rules):

• Not tax resident in Spain during the five tax periods before the move (reduced from ten by the 2023 reform).
• The move to Spain must happen because of one of these:
  • A work contract with a Spanish employer, or an employer-ordered relocation with a relocation letter. Professional athletes under the special regime of RD 1006/1985 are excluded.
  • Remote work performed exclusively through computer, telematic and telecommunication means - the Agencia Tributaria explicitly names holders of the international telework visa (the Digital Nomad Visa) as meeting this condition.
  • Becoming a company director, with participation limits (for asset-holding entities, your stake cannot make it a related entity).
  • An entrepreneurial activity in Spain under the procedure of article 70 of Ley 14/2013.
  • Highly qualified professionals serving startups (Ley 28/2022) or doing training/research/development/innovation work, when that remuneration is more than 40% of their total business, professional and employment income.
• No income through a permanent establishment in Spain (except for the entrepreneur and qualified-professional routes above).

Who is out: professional athletes (the original Beckham loophole is closed), people who were Spanish tax residents in any of the previous five years, and moves not tied to one of the listed reasons (for example, retiring to Spain on an NLV does not qualify).

4. Bringing your family into the regime

Since 2023 the regime extends to the main taxpayer's family nucleus: spouse, children under 25 (or any age with a disability) and, when there is no marriage, the other parent of those children. Conditions per the manual: they move to Spain with you or later (before your first regime year ends), they become Spanish tax residents, they meet the 5-year non-residence and no-PE conditions, and the sum of their taxable bases stays below yours in every year the regime applies to them. Their regime lasts only while yours does.

5. How long it lasts

The regime applies during the tax period in which you change residence and the following five tax periods - six years in total. After that you move to the general IRPF scale. You can also be excluded earlier (for example, if you stop meeting the conditions or obtain PE income), and exclusion is permanent: you cannot opt back in later for the same move.

6. How to apply (modelo 149)

• The option is exercised by filing modelo 149 (communication of option, waiver or exclusion), in the version approved by Orden HFP/1338/2023, attaching the documentation of article 119 of the IRPF Regulation.
• Deadline: within six months of the activity start registered with Social Security (or the start date in the documentation keeping your home-country social security, or the activity-start evidence when no registration is required). For family members: the later of six months from their entry into Spain or six months from the main taxpayer's activity start.
• Missing the deadline means losing the regime for that move - there is no late opt-in.
• You will need a Spanish tax number first: see our NIE guide.

7. Filing under the regime (modelo 151)

Regime taxpayers file an annual special return, modelo 151 (current version also from Orden HFP/1338/2023), instead of the normal resident return. Withholding during the year follows the IRNR logic: employers withhold 24% on employment income up to 600,000 EUR per payer, and 47% on the excess. Family members file their own modelo 149 to opt in and their own annual returns.

8. Pitfalls that void the regime

• Missing the 6-month modelo 149 window. The most expensive mistake; diary it from your Social Security registration date.
• Recent prior residence. Any Spanish tax residence in the previous five tax periods disqualifies you.
• PE income. Freelancing through what the AEAT considers a permanent establishment in Spain breaks the regime (unless you qualify via the entrepreneur/qualified-professional route).
• Assuming the NLV qualifies. Passive-income residents are not eligible - the regime is tied to work moves.
• Forgetting it ends. Year seven arrives at full IRPF rates; plan the exit (pension contributions, timing of asset sales) before it does.
• DIY edge cases. Equity compensation, carried interest, directors' fees and mixed-source income under this regime are genuinely specialist territory - get advice before filing, not after.

9. Step-by-step plan

1. Confirm your move fits one of the qualifying routes (Spanish contract, employer letter, remote work/DNV, director, entrepreneur, qualified professional).
2. Confirm no Spanish tax residence in the previous five tax periods.
3. Get your NIE and Spanish tax identification sorted on arrival.
4. Register the activity/Social Security start and diary the 6-month modelo 149 deadline from that date.
5. File modelo 149 with the article 119 documentation; keep the filing receipt.
6. Have each qualifying family member file their own modelo 149 within their window.
7. File modelo 151 annually; check employer withholding is at 24%.
8. Before year six ends, plan the transition to the general regime with a tax adviser.

This guide is free and independent. It currently contains no affiliate links; if we later add partner links we will label them clearly. This is not tax advice - the Beckham regime interacts with treaties, regions and personal circumstances, so confirm your case with a licensed tax adviser before filing.