Spain · Tax regime
Special regime for workers posted to Spanish territory (Article 93 LIRPF)
Open. Rates unchanged for 2026. Eligibility was materially widened by the Startups Law (Law 28/2022): the prior non-residence period fell from 10 years to 5, and digital nomads, directors and certain family members were brought in.
Beckham is the reason Spain remains viable for a high-earning executive despite the wealth taxes — and its underrated feature is what it does NOT tax: foreign assets escape Modelo 720 reporting for the main beneficiary, and foreign passive income is generally outside scope. The trap is that it does not shelter you from the Solidarity Tax on worldwide assets in every reading, and it requires employment income to exist at all.
Qualifying routes
Income above EUR 600,000 is taxed at 47%
Foreign dividends, interest, rents and capital gains are generally outside the Spanish net; Spanish-source savings income is taxed on the non-resident scale
The facts
- Total landed cost
- no direct cost; requires an employment relationship or qualifying directorship in Spain and Modelo 149 filing
- Timeline
- 1–3 months — Modelo 149 must be filed within 6 months of Social Security registration or start of work, whichever comes first — the deadline is strict and missing it is fatal for the year
- Physical presence
- requires Spanish tax residence (183+ days or centre of economic interests)
- Family
- spouse and children under 25 (or any age if disabled) may elect in under the Startups Law, subject to conditions including that their combined taxable base is lower than the main applicant's
- Permanent residency
- not applicable — a tax regime, not an immigration status
- Citizenship
- not applicable
- Language test
- not applicable
- Dual citizenship
- Not permitted — you would have to renounce
- Requirements
- not have been Spanish tax resident in the 5 tax years prior to relocationrelocation must be triggered by an employment contract, a directorship, an entrepreneurial activity, or qualified professional activityno income obtained through a permanent establishment in Spain (subject to Startups Law exceptions)file Modelo 149 within 6 months of Social Security registration or start of workfile annual returns on Modelo 151
- It is not a wealth-tax shield in the way clients assume. Beckham filers are taxed as non-residents for income purposes, which limits Patrimonio and the Solidarity Tax to Spanish-situs assets — but the interaction is technical, contested, and depends on asset structuring. Do not rely on a blanket assertion either way without a written opinion.
- Six years only (arrival year plus five). There is no renewal. Plan the exit before the entry — year seven arrives with full Spanish worldwide taxation at up to 54%.
- The 6-month Modelo 149 deadline is absolute.
- Live controversy: TEAC Resolución 3697/2025 holds that Beckham filers must impute deemed rental income on their Spanish primary residence; TSJ Madrid 665/2025 holds the opposite. Until this resolves, budget for the TEAC position.
- Self-employed applicants generally do not qualify — the regime is built around an employment relationship (with narrow entrepreneur and highly-qualified-professional exceptions).
- Directors of asset-holding companies (entidades patrimoniales) face restrictions on the directorship route.