The Beckham regime in Spain: who qualifies and how impatriates are taxed

The special regime for workers relocated to Spain, known as the Beckham regime, allows individuals who move their tax residence to Spain to be taxed under the rules of Non-Resident Income Tax for six tax years, at a rate of 24 % on employment income up to 600,000 euros. It is governed by article 93 of Law 35/2006 on Personal Income Tax (LIRPF, its Spanish acronym), which Law 28/2022 on the promotion of the startup ecosystem broadened with effect from 1 January 2023.

What the impatriate regime consists of

Article 93.1 LIRPF allows the individual to opt to pay Non-Resident Income Tax while remaining a Personal Income Tax taxpayer. The impatriate is still a Spanish tax resident, but calculates the tax liability under the non-resident rules for the tax year in which residence changes and the following five.

Under article 93.2.e).1.º LIRPF, the taxable base, except for the savings portion, is taxed at 24 % up to 600,000 euros and at 47 % from 600,000.01 euros, instead of the ordinary progressive scale. That portion, which the law calls the savings taxable base, follows the 19, 21, 23, 27 and 30 % scale of article 93.2.e).2.º, as worded by Law 7/2024 with effect from 1 January 2025. Withholding on employment income is 24 %, rising to 47 % on the amount above 600,000 euros paid by a single payer, under article 93.2.f). In exchange, article 93.2.c) taxes each year's income on an aggregated basis with no offsetting between items, so a loss does not reduce the tax on a gain.

Who qualifies: the requirements of article 93.1

Access requires three conditions to be met at the same time.

The first is temporal. Article 93.1.a) LIRPF requires that the individual has not been resident in Spain during the five tax years preceding the move. The period was ten years until final provision three, paragraph 5, of Law 28/2022 lowered it, a measure we examine alongside the rest of that law in our analysis of Spain's Startup Law.

The second concerns the reason for the move. Article 93.1.b) LIRPF requires the relocation to take place in the first year the regime applies or in the preceding year, and to arise from one of four circumstances. The list is closed: outside those four there is no access.

Point 1.º covers an employment contract, excluding the special employment relationship of professional athletes under Royal Decree 1006/1985. The condition is also met where the work is performed remotely using exclusively telematic means, and in particular by employees holding the international teleworking visa under Law 14/2013, the so-called digital nomads.

Point 2.º covers becoming a director of an entity. Law 28/2022 did not abolish the shareholding cap on this route; it narrowed it. Article 5.2 of Law 27/2014 on Corporate Income Tax (LIS) defines an entidad patrimonial, or asset-holding entity, as one where more than half of the assets are securities or are not used in a business activity. Under article 93.1.b).2.º LIRPF, where the entity is an asset-holding entity, the director may not hold a stake that makes the entity a related party under article 18 LIS. If the entity is not an asset-holding entity, the cap does not apply. The obligations of anyone managing a Spanish company from abroad are covered in our publication on non-resident directors.

Point 3.º covers an economic activity classified as entrepreneurial through the procedure in article 70 of Law 14/2013 on support for entrepreneurs and their internationalisation.

Point 4.º covers the highly qualified professional, with two requirements the label does not convey. Article 93.1.b).4.º LIRPF requires the professional to provide services to startups within the meaning of article 3 of Law 28/2022, or to carry out training, research, development and innovation activities, and the pay for that work must amount to more than 40 % of the individual's total business, professional and employment income. Below that threshold, this route is closed.

The third condition is negative. Article 93.1.c) LIRPF excludes anyone who obtains income through a permanent establishment in Spain, except in the cases of points 3.º and 4.º of letter b).

Which income is treated as obtained in Spain

Article 93.2.b) LIRPF sets an asymmetric rule: all employment income and all income from economic activities classified as entrepreneurial is treated as obtained in Spain, wherever it arises. All other income follows the Non-Resident Income Tax rules, which only tax income obtained in Spain.

The impatriate is therefore taxed on worldwide salary and on entrepreneurial income even when it comes from abroad, but not on foreign-source rents, dividends or interest. The rules of that tax for Spanish-source income are set out in our guide to non-resident taxation in Spain.

What happens with Wealth Tax?

The final paragraph of article 93.1 LIRPF makes anyone who opts into the regime subject to Wealth Tax on a limited (non-resident) basis, known in Spanish as obligación real. Under article 5.One.b) of Law 19/1991 on Wealth Tax, that liability only covers assets and rights located, exercisable or to be performed in Spain, not worldwide wealth. The same provision treats as located in Spain shares in unlisted entities whose assets consist, directly or indirectly, of at least 50 % Spanish real estate.

Can the spouse and children opt in?

Yes, under article 93.3 LIRPF. The taxpayer's spouse and children under twenty-five, or of any age where they have a disability, may opt in. The other parent of those children may only do so where there is no marital bond.

Letters a) to d) of article 93.3 add conditions: they must move with the main taxpayer or later, before the end of the main taxpayer's first tax year under the regime; acquire tax residence in Spain; meet letters a) and c) of article 93.1; and, under letter d), the sum of their taxable bases must be, in each tax year, lower than that of the main taxpayer. If the family members' bases, added together, equal or exceed that of the person who relocated, the extension falls away.

What is the deadline to opt in?

Six months. Article 116.1.a) of the Personal Income Tax Regulation, approved by Royal Decree 439/2007 and amended by Royal Decree 1008/2023, sets a maximum period of six months from the start date of the activity shown in the Spanish Social Security registration, in the documentation allowing the home country's social security legislation to continue to apply or, where registration is not mandatory, in the document evidencing that date. The option is exercised by individual notice to the tax authorities.

For family members, article 116.1.b) grants six months from their entry into Spain or the main taxpayer's period if longer, taking into account age, disability and relationship at the time of opting. Article 116.3 excludes those who have used the special withholding procedure of article 89.B) of the Regulation.

How we help you with the impatriate regime at RCM Legal

There are two points at which the Beckham regime is lost. The first is the deadline: once the six months of article 116.1.a) of the Regulation have passed, the option is no longer available. The second is fitting the rules: showing which point of article 93.1.b) covers the move, checking whether the company managed is an asset-holding entity, or documenting the 40 % threshold. And the regime does not always pay off: with moderate employment income, the ordinary scale may produce a lower bill, and the lack of loss offsetting, Wealth Tax and the double taxation treaty with the country of origin all need to be weighed.

At RCM Legal we assess whether the impatriate regime suits you, quantify your tax with and without it, document the requirements of article 93 LIRPF and file the option and the returns on time. As a law firm in Murcia advising non-residents and impatriates on tax, if you are about to move your residence to Spain or have just done so, tell us about your situation.