Twelve points to review before relocating to Spain under the Beckham regime

Relocating to Spain under the special tax regime of article 93 of the Personal Income Tax Act (LIRPF), widely known as the Ley Beckham, is an option for executives, founders, directors and, since Law 28/2022, international remote workers. The regime taxes all employment income obtained during the regime (deemed obtained in Spain) at 24% up to EUR 600,000 and 47% above, Spanish-source savings income at 19% to 30%, and leaves other foreign-source income outside the Spanish tax base for the year of the move and the following five years. The headline rate is only part of the picture. These are the twelve points we consider should be reviewed before the move.

1. The non-residence test. Article 93.1.a) LIRPF requires that the taxpayer has not been resident in Spain during the five tax periods preceding the period of the move. The test is applied by calendar years: a single year of Spanish residence within that window, for instance because a visiting fellowship exceeded 183 days of presence, rules out the regime. The first period of the regime is the first calendar year in which, after the move, presence in Spain exceeds 183 days (article 115 RIRPF). Documenting residence in each of the previous five years is the first file to prepare.

2. The qualifying circumstance. Article 93.1.b) LIRPF requires the move to result from an employment contract, including a secondment or international remote work (b.1º), the acquisition of the position of director of an entity (b.2º), an entrepreneurial activity with a favourable ENISA report under article 70 of Law 14/2013 (b.3º), or activity as a highly qualified professional serving start-ups, or in training, research, development and innovation, with that remuneration exceeding 40% of total employment, business and professional income (b.4º). Only routes b.3º and b.4º allow an economic activity during the regime (article 113.2 RIRPF). Each route has its own evidential requirements and risks, including, for remote workers and senior employees of foreign employers, the risk of a Spanish permanent establishment of the employer, which the DGT rulings on access to the regime do not address.

3. Home-country exit taxation. The home country may tax on departure: for instance, the French exit tax on article 167 bis CGI assets or the German Wegzugsbesteuerung on substantial shareholdings. Other rules, such as the US expatriation regime (on renunciation of citizenship or long-term residence) or the UK temporary non-residence provisions (on return), operate differently. We recommend reviewing this exposure well before the move, since the available mitigation options usually need time.

4. Equity compensation and vesting schedules. Under article 93.2.b) LIRPF, all employment income obtained during the regime is deemed obtained in Spain, wherever the work was performed; article 114.2.a) RIRPF carves out income deriving from activity performed before the move, which may still be taxed in Spain if it is Spanish-source under the Non-Resident Income Tax Act. Where the income is also taxed abroad, the double taxation credit is limited to 30% of the relevant gross tax (article 114.2.b’) RIRPF). RSUs, stock options and performance shares that vest during the regime are therefore taxed in Spain at 24% or 47%, except for the portion attributable to work before the move. The vesting schedule should be mapped against the date of the move, taking into account both the home-country treatment and these rules.

5. Real estate in Spain. Existing or planned Spanish real estate has three consequences under the regime: (i) Wealth Tax by real obligation on the Spanish property; (ii) Personal Income Tax, under Non-Resident Income Tax rules, on rental income or on income imputed for a property kept for personal use; and (iii) Inheritance and Gift Tax on the property when it passes, by personal or real obligation depending on the residence of the heirs. The holding structure (direct ownership, a Spanish sociedad limitada or a foreign vehicle) should be decided before purchase, bearing in mind that article 338 of Law 6/2023 on Securities Markets may subject certain transfers of shares in real-estate-rich entities to transfer tax (ITP) or VAT as if the underlying real estate were transferred. For non-residents, gains on such shares may also be Spanish-source under the Non-Resident Income Tax Act.

6. Foreign trusts and foundations. Spain does not recognise the trust as a legal institution. The DGT applies a transparency approach: contributions to a foreign trust have no effect for these purposes, and the transfer to the beneficiary is treated as made directly by the settlor. For a beneficiary resident in Spain, including one under the regime, the settlor’s death gives rise to Inheritance and Gift Tax by personal obligation, with access to the regional rules of the region where the greatest value of the Spanish-situs estate is located or, absent Spanish assets, of the beneficiary’s region of residence (DGT V1700-25). The trust documentation, the beneficiary’s position and the location of the trust assets should be reviewed before arrival.

7. Reporting obligations. According to the Tax Agency’s published criterion, taxpayers under the regime are not required to file Form 720 on foreign assets. Each year they file the special-regime return (Form 151) under article 114.4 RIRPF, not Form 100. Other reporting obligations may apply, such as foreign-investment or external-transaction reporting to the Bank of Spain or the Ministry of Economy, depending on amounts and holdings. Banking relationships, custody arrangements and securities holdings should be inventoried and checked against these obligations.

8. Social security. Which social security system applies is governed by Regulation (EC) 883/2004 within the EU, by bilateral totalisation agreements with non-EU countries and, where neither applies, by Spanish domestic rules. The A1 certificate (or its treaty equivalent) evidences that the home-country system continues to apply during the assignment. Without an A1 (or treaty equivalent), Spanish social security will normally apply; outside the EU and absent a totalisation agreement, double contributions are a risk. The relevant document also matters for the regime itself: the six-month deadline to opt runs from the start date shown in the Spanish registration or in that document (article 116.1.a) RIRPF).

9. Day-counting and travel records. Spanish residence is determined by the 183-day test of article 9.1.a) LIRPF and the economic-interests test of article 9.1.b) LIRPF, together with the family presumption in article 9.1, and, where another State also claims residence, by the tie-breaker rules of the applicable treaty. The Supreme Court has addressed the value of the foreign tax-residence certificate under treaties in STS 778/2023 and STS 971/2025, which we have analysed separately. A contemporaneous record of travel, supported by boarding passes, invoices, calendar entries and evidence of the home in the other country, is the taxpayer’s main evidence in any later audit.

10. Wealth Tax and Solidarity Tax. Under the regime the taxpayer is subject to the Wealth Tax and the Temporary Solidarity Tax on Large Fortunes by real obligation only, that is, on Spanish-situs assets. Regional wealth-tax relief (for instance, Madrid’s 100% allowance) may apply under the rules of the region where the greatest value of the Spanish assets is located. The Solidarity Tax, however, is a State tax that cannot be ceded to the regions and only allows a deduction for the Wealth Tax actually paid; where the Wealth Tax is reduced by regional relief, the Solidarity Tax applies in full to Spanish net assets above EUR 3 million. The composition and location of the asset base is therefore a central planning variable.

11. Succession planning before arrival. On arrival the individual, as a Spanish tax resident (the special regime does not alter this for Inheritance and Gift Tax purposes), becomes liable to Spanish Inheritance and Gift Tax by personal obligation on worldwide acquisitions received. On the individual’s own death, the Spanish tax position of the heirs depends on their residence, while the individual’s residence in Spain determines which regional rules apply. Where the existing succession plan is structured under another legal system (a UK will with trusts, a US revocable living trust or a civil-law family foundation), its validity, recognition and tax treatment in Spain should be reviewed before the move. Updates to wills and beneficiary designations usually follow.

12. Family coverage under article 93.3 LIRPF. Law 28/2022 extended the regime to the spouse (or, absent marriage, the other parent of the children) and children under 25 (or of any age if disabled), provided they move with the principal taxpayer or later, before the end of the first tax period in which the regime applies to the principal. Each family member files their own Form 149 within six months of their own arrival (or within the principal’s deadline, if later), and the sum of the family members’ taxable bases must remain below the principal’s in every year. Where the spouse has significant income or wealth of their own, this condition should be modelled before the move.

This checklist does not replace individual analysis; each point involves doctrinal nuance and judgement on the facts. It is, however, a useful structure for reviewing a relocation before it takes place.

Further reading on this journal

• On international remote workers: International remote work from Spain opens the Beckham regime to the foreign executive, but leaves unresolved the risk of permanent establishment of the employer (DGT V0476-26 and V1115-25).
• On company directors: The DGT consolidates the operative map of the Beckham regime in the administrator modality: causation, passive-wealth filter and continuity (DGT V1208-25, V1209-25 and V1622-24).
• On the 100% quasi-shareholder: The 100% quasi-shareholder may benefit from the Beckham regime since Law 28/2022, unless the entity is a passive-wealth entity (DGT V1983-24).
• On foundations: The DGT confirms that the office of trustee and general director of a Spanish foundation qualifies as administrator for the purposes of the Beckham regime, and clarifies compatibility with foreign board appointments (DGT V2095-24).
• On the foreign tax-residence certificate under treaties: The Spanish Supreme Court closes the door on AEAT (STS 778/2023) and The Spanish Supreme Court reiterates the doctrine on the foreign tax residence certificate (STS 971/2025).
• On foreign trusts and Spanish inheritance tax: The DGT consolidates the tax transparency of the foreign trust (DGT V1700-25 and V0022-25).
• In general: Frequently asked questions about the Beckham Law.