Spain's Beckham Law: who qualifies and how to apply

Spain's Beckham Law: who qualifies and how to apply

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Relocating to Spain brings up an immediate concern: how much tax will you actually pay. For many incoming professionals, the answer comes down to one special rule — the impatriate regime, better known as the Beckham Law.

The idea is straightforward: rather than paying progressive resident rates on everything you earn globally, you are taxed like a non-resident on the income you earn in Spain, at a flat rate of 24% up to 600,000 euros and 47% above that. For higher earners, the saving can be considerable.

Not everyone qualifies. As a general rule, 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 activity must be performed principally on Spanish territory. Recent reforms opened the door to remote workers and certain entrepreneurs.

The deadline is where most applications fail. The election must be filed within six months of starting the activity that triggers residence. Let that window close and the regime is lost for the whole assignment. The benefit then runs for the year of arrival and the following five.

It is not automatically the better option. Where a large part of your wealth sits abroad, the effect on Beckham law requirements in Spain wealth tax and on the 720 declaration needs to be modelled first. Running the numbers in advance is usually time well spent.

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