For a well-paid professional who moves to Spain with savings and investments abroad, the Beckham Law usually saves money. For others it does not, and they only find out once the choice is made. The regime replaces Spain’s progressive income tax on your salary with a flat 24% up to 600,000 € and keeps most of your foreign income out of the Spanish return. It also removes the personal and family allowances and deductions of the ordinary system. You cannot rejoin once you leave. Whether it pays depends on four things: how much you earn, what you earn outside your salary, who is in your family, and how long you plan to stay.
Beckham Law: opt in on time
The opt-in application within the deadline and your yearly returns under the regime.
450 € + VAT to opt in, 250 € + VAT per yearly return.
Prices exclude VAT. Spanish VAT (21 %) applies to clients resident in the EU. If you live outside the EU, our advisory services are not subject to Spanish VAT; we confirm it in your quote.
What you gain and what you give up
| Beckham Law (modelo 151) | Ordinary system (modelo 100) | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary | Flat 24% up to 600,000 €, 47% above | Progressive national and regional scales |
| Foreign investments and rent | Mostly not taxed in Spain | Taxed in Spain, with treaty relief for tax paid abroad |
| Personal and family allowances | Not applied | Applied: minimums for you, children and dependants |
| Deductions | Not applied | Applied where you qualify |
| Joint return | Not possible | Possible for married couples |
| Duration | Year you become resident and the next five | Indefinite |
When it usually pays
- High salaries. Spain’s top marginal rates, national plus regional, are well above 24%. The higher the salary, the more of it would fall into those brackets under the ordinary system, and the bigger the difference.
- Significant income abroad. Dividends from a foreign portfolio, interest, or rent from a home you kept would all be taxed in Spain as a resident under the ordinary system. Under the Beckham Law most of it stays out.
- A move of several years. The regime lasts the year you become resident and five more. The longer you stay within that window, the more the flat rate is worth.
When the ordinary system costs less
- Moderate salaries. At lower incomes, the first brackets of the progressive scale are below 24%, and the personal allowance takes part of the income out of tax altogether. A flat 24% from the first euro can mean paying more.
- Families with one main earner. The ordinary system gives minimums for each child and dependant and allows a joint return. The Beckham Law gives none of that.
- Income that is Spanish anyway. If you own and rent out property in Spain, that income is taxed under non-resident rules within the regime, without the reductions residents can get on it.
- Losses you would want to offset. Under non-resident rules each income is taxed separately, so there is little room to offset one against another.
A method to compare, before the deadline
You have six months from the start of your work in Spain to opt in on modelo 149. Use part of that time to run the numbers:
- List your income for a normal year: gross salary, bonuses, equity compensation, and every income abroad (dividends, interest, rent, pensions).
- Calculate the ordinary tax on modelo 100 terms: the progressive scale for Catalonia, your allowances, and the credit for tax paid abroad on foreign income.
- Calculate the Beckham tax: 24% on the salary up to 600,000 € and 47% on anything above, plus non-resident tax on Spanish income other than salary. Foreign non-employment income generally stays out.
- Compare year by year, not only the first one. Bonuses, a partner starting work or a sale of foreign investments can change the answer.
- Add in the family. Your spouse and children may opt in too, each with their own modelo 149 and conditions. That changes the comparison for the household.
Our Beckham Law service starts with exactly this comparison, done with your real figures, before anything is filed.
Things people forget
- The six months do not stop. They run from the start of the activity (the Social Security registration date or the certificate of coverage), not from the day you decide.
- Leaving is final. A voluntary waiver is filed in November or December and takes effect the next year. After that you cannot opt in again, even if your salary rises.
- Losing the conditions ends it. Changing to a job or activity that does not qualify means filing an exclusion within one month.
- Your home country still matters. Income you keep outside the Spanish return may still be taxed where it arises. Check both sides.
- The visa is a separate step. Non-EU citizens need the right to live and work here first, for example through the digital nomad visa or the EU Blue Card and highly qualified visa. Neither gives the tax regime automatically.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Beckham Law still in force in 2026? Yes. The Start-ups Law widened it from 2023: the required period without Spanish tax residence dropped from ten years to five, and remote workers, entrepreneurs and highly qualified professionals were added.
Can I try it for a year and then decide? Not really. You can leave, but you cannot come back. Deciding with the comparison done is much safer than trying it out.
What if the numbers are close? Then look at the years ahead: expected salary growth, foreign investments you plan to keep, and whether your family will have income in Spain. If you stay in the ordinary system, our income tax service for foreigners files your modelo 100.
Tax rates, regional scales, allowances and the conditions of the regime are set by law and change, so we confirm the ones in force for your case before you file.
