Ley Beckham: the 24% tax rate for professionals who move to Spain

What the impatriate regime is and why it is called Ley Beckham

Formally it is the special tax regime for posted workers, set out in article 93 of the IRPF law. The essence: you live in Spain and are a Spanish tax resident, but you are taxed under non-resident rules (IRNR). In practice that means a flat rate instead of the progressive scale, and tax mainly on Spanish income rather than worldwide income.

The informal name comes from David Beckham: the footballer was one of the first well-known users of the relief after joining Real Madrid in 2003. The rules have changed several times since then: sportspeople were excluded from the regime, while it was widened for tech professionals, managers and entrepreneurs.

Rates: 24% against the progressive scale

The main benefit of the regime is a flat rate on employment income:

A benchmark example: on a salary of 80,000 euro a year the effective rate under the general scale is around 30% or more (depending on the region and your deductions), while under Ley Beckham it is exactly 24%. The higher the income, the bigger the gap; on salaries up to 25,000-30,000 euro there is barely any benefit, and the regime can even cost more because there are no deductions.

Bonuses people often forget: while the regime applies, modelo 720 is not filed for foreign assets, and wealth tax is calculated on Spanish property only.

Who can apply the regime in 2026

The basic conditions of article 93 LIRPF:

• 5 years of non-residence. You were not a Spanish tax resident for the 5 years before the move (before the Startup Law the period was 10 years).
• A qualifying ground for the move:
  • an employment contract with a Spanish company, or a transfer to a Spanish office;
  • remote work for a foreign company, a ground added by the startup law Ley 28/2022, which pairs perfectly with the digital nomad visa;
  • appointment as administrator of a Spanish company;
  • entrepreneurial activity recognised as innovative (through ENISA);
  • highly qualified work for startups, in training or in R+D.
• No income through a permanent establishment in Spain (except on the entrepreneurial ground).

Under the Startup Law a spouse and children under 25 who move with the applicant can also join the regime, provided the income conditions are met.

Timing: 6 years of the regime and 6 months to apply

The regime applies in the year of your move and the following 5 years. Move in 2026 and you pay 24% through to the end of 2031. You can opt out early, but you cannot come back.

The process:

1. The move and sorting out your status: contract, visa or residence permit, NIE.
2. Registration with Seguridad Social (or keeping your home country's social insurance under a bilateral agreement).
3. Filing modelo 149 with the tax office within 6 months of the social security registration date. This deadline is hard: miss it and the right to the regime is lost, with no exceptions.
4. Receiving confirmation from the Agencia Tributaria and the certificate for your employer, so that payroll withholding runs at 24%.
5. An annual return on the special form modelo 151, within the deadlines of the usual Renta campaign.

How the ordinary return works and how it differs is covered in our article on your first Renta in Spain.

The pitfalls of Ley Beckham

• No personal or family deductions. The allowances for children, deductions for rent, housing investment and the other reliefs of the general scale do not apply.
• Double taxation of dividends. Spain does not tax foreign passive income under the regime, but the source country may, and that tax cannot be credited in Spain.
• Double taxation treaties apply to impatriates only to a limited extent: some countries do not treat them as Spanish residents and refuse to issue a residence certificate.
• Selling assets. Capital gains on Spanish assets are taxed, and foreign assets follow their own rules, so any large transaction needs to be calculated in advance.
• Low salaries. On income up to 25,000-30,000 euro the general scale with deductions is often better than a flat 24%.

The conclusion: the regime is a powerful tool, but the decision on whether to enter it is made on the numbers, not on hearsay.

How Krepko helps

We arrange Ley Beckham for you: we check that you meet the conditions, calculate the benefit against the general scale, prepare and file modelo 149 on time, set up withholding with your employer and file modelo 151 every year. The legally significant steps are performed by licensed specialists - lawyers, gestores and sworn translators.

The whole tax practice is on our Business and taxes page. Not sure whether you qualify? Leave a request and we will review your situation free of charge.

Sources

• Agencia Tributaria - regime for posted workers (modelo 149)
• BOE - the IRPF law (article 93, the impatriate regime)
• BOE - Ley 28/2022 on startups (the extension of the regime)