International remote work from Spain: the Beckham regime opens, but the risk zone is the employer

The Directorate-General for Taxes (DGT), in binding ruling V-0476-26 of 02/03/2026, in line with V-1115-25 of 26/06/2025, confirms that working remotely through the exclusive use of telematic means is sufficient to meet the circumstance of article 93.1.b).1 of the Personal Income Tax Act (LIRPF), a case the law itself has provided for since the reform made by Law 28/2022. A foreign executive who moves to Spain and keeps the employment relationship with a non-resident company, providing services entirely by digital means, may opt for the special inbound-expatriates regime (the so-called Beckham regime) without a contract with a Spanish employer or a visa under Law 14/2013 on support for entrepreneurs, provided that a genuine employment relationship exists, Spanish tax residence is acquired as a result of the move, and the requirements of article 93.1(a) and (c) LIRPF are met. According to the DGT itself, the existence of the employment relationship falls outside its remit.

The practical consequence, however, shifts the focus. In our view, the application of the regime to the taxpayer is reasonably settled at the doctrinal level, but sound planning of the move must address as a priority two risk areas for the foreign employer, neither of which the ruling deals with. The first is the characterisation of the employment relationship and the social-security legislation applicable to it. The second is the risk that the employee’s activity creates a permanent establishment of the employer itself in Spain, a risk whose tax cost may neutralise, or reverse, the overall economics of the move. Without that prior analysis, the taxpayer keeps the Beckham regime and yet the group may end up bearing an unexpected bill.

Full analysis in → International remote work from Spain opens the Beckham regime to the foreign executive, but leaves unresolved the risk of permanent establishment of the employer