Spain Beckham Law: conditions, 24% rate and forms 149 and 151

What this covers

Article 93 of Law 35/2006 on IRPF is titled the special regime for workers, professionals, entrepreneurs and investors posted to Spain. The person stays an IRPF taxpayer and a Spanish tax resident, but the tax is worked out with the rules of the non-resident income tax law (IRNR) for income obtained without a permanent establishment. Law 28/2022 on startups changed the regime from 1 January 2023. It cut the prior non-residence period from ten to five tax periods, added remote workers, company directors, entrepreneurs and highly qualified professionals, and extended the option to family members.

Understand what the regime changes

Spain normally taxes residents on worldwide income at progressive state and regional rates. A person becomes resident under article 9 of the IRPF law by spending more than 183 days in Spain in the calendar year, by having the main base of their activities or economic interests there, or through the family presumption. See the Spain country record.

Article 93 does not make the person non-resident. It keeps them as an IRPF taxpayer but computes the tax with non-resident rules. The Agencia Tributaria says this applies for the tax period in which the change of residence occurs and the five tax periods that follow.

Because the person is still a Spanish resident, questions about treaty residence, certificates and the other country's rules remain. Check them with an adviser in both countries, and see what happens when two countries claim you.

Check the conditions in article 93

Article 93(1) sets three conditions. First, the person must not have been resident in Spain in the five tax periods before the year of the move. Second, the move must happen in the first year of the regime or the year before, for one of the reasons in the list below. Third, the person must not earn income that would count as obtained through a permanent establishment in Spain, except in the entrepreneur and highly qualified professional cases.

An employment contract with an employer in Spain, or a move ordered by the employer with a posting letter. Professional athletes under Royal Decree 1006/1985 are excluded.
Remote work carried out exclusively with computer, telematic and telecommunication means, even when not ordered by the employer. The law names holders of Spain's international teleworking visa under Law 14/2013 as meeting this condition.
Becoming a director (administrador) of an entity. If the entity is an asset-holding company, the director cannot hold a stake that makes it a related entity under article 18 of the corporate tax law.
An economic activity in Spain qualified as entrepreneurial under article 70 of Law 14/2013.
An activity by a highly qualified professional who provides services to startups under article 3 of Law 28/2022, or carries out training, research, development and innovation, when that pay is more than 40% of their total business, professional and employment income.

Compare the rates set in article 93

Article 93(2)(e) sets two scales. Savings-type income listed in article 25.1.f of the non-resident income tax law, such as dividends, interest and gains from transfers of assets, has its own scale. All other income in the taxable base uses the general scale. Income is added up for the calendar year, and gains and losses cannot be offset against each other.

Article 93(2)(f) sets withholding on employment income at 24%, and 47% on the part of pay from one payer above €600,000 in the calendar year.

Article 93 IRPF scales (BOE consolidated text, savings scale as amended from 1 January 2025 by Law 7/2024, checked 9 November 2026)
Scale	Band	Rate
General (employment and other non-savings income)	Up to €600,000	24%
General (employment and other non-savings income)	From €600,000.01	47%
Savings (dividends, interest, gains)	Up to €6,000	19%
Savings	€6,000 to €50,000	21%
Savings	€50,000 to €200,000	23%
Savings	€200,000 to €300,000	27%
Savings	Above €300,000	30%

See how foreign income is treated

Article 93(2)(b) says all employment income, and all income from an activity qualified as entrepreneurial, obtained during the regime is treated as obtained in Spain. That includes salary for work done abroad. Article 114 of the IRPF regulation allows a deduction for international double taxation on that foreign employment and entrepreneurial income, limited to 30% of the part of the tax due on all of it.

Other income is taxed only if it is Spanish-source income under the non-resident rules. The Agencia Tributaria's manual says other income is taxed only when it comes from Spanish sources. So foreign dividends, interest, rent and gains on foreign assets generally stay outside the Spanish tax under the regime, while Spanish dividends or a gain on a Spanish property are taxed.

Income from work done before the move, or after the end of the posting reported on form 149, is not treated as obtained under the regime. Article 114 of the regulation says it is taxed only if the non-resident rules treat it as Spanish.

Note the wealth tax rule

Article 93(1) says a person who opts for the regime is subject to wealth tax (Impuesto sobre el Patrimonio) by real obligation. Real obligation is the basis Spain uses for non-residents, which looks at assets and rights in Spain rather than worldwide assets. Check the exact scope in the wealth tax law, and check regional rules and allowances for your region.

Other reporting duties for Spanish residents, such as form 720 on assets abroad, may raise their own questions under the regime. Ask an adviser whether they apply to you.

File form 149 within six months, then form 151 each year

The option is exercised with form 149. Article 116 of the IRPF regulation says the main taxpayer must file it within six months from the start date of the activity shown in the Spanish Social Security registration, or in the document that keeps the home-country social security in force, or in a document proving the start date where registration is not required. Family members have six months from their entry into Spain, or the main taxpayer's deadline if later.

Form 149 is also used to renounce the regime and to report exclusion. Article 117 says renunciation is made in November and December before the year it should take effect, and a person who renounces cannot opt again. Article 118 says a person who stops meeting a condition is excluded from that tax period and must report it within one month.

The yearly return under the regime is form 151, not the ordinary IRPF return. The Agencia Tributaria says the current form 149 has applied since 16 December 2023 under Order HFP/1338/2023, and the current form 151 is used from tax year 2023. Form 150 relates to people who moved before 1 January 2015 under the older version of the regime.

Check the 2023 changes and the family extension

The Agencia Tributaria says the current wording comes from the third final provision of Law 28/2022 of 21 December, with effect from 1 January 2023. Under the older rules, the person had to be non-resident for ten prior tax periods. The newer rules use five.

Article 93(3) lets the spouse, children under 25 (or any age with a disability) and, where there is no marriage, the other parent of those children opt as well. They must move with the main taxpayer or later, before the end of the main taxpayer's first regime tax period, become resident in Spain, meet the five-year and no-permanent-establishment conditions, and have combined taxable bases below the main taxpayer's in each period.

A visa does not decide any of this. Spain's teleworking visa is named in the law as one way to meet the remote-work condition, but tax residence and the article 93 option are separate questions. See digital nomad visas compared and the Beckham Law glossary entry.

Common misconceptions

Under the Beckham Law you are treated as a non-resident of Spain.Article 93 keeps the person as an IRPF taxpayer and Spanish resident. Only the tax calculation follows non-resident income tax rules, with special features.

Salary for work done abroad is outside the regime.Article 93(2)(b) treats all employment income obtained during the regime as obtained in Spain. A capped double taxation deduction under article 114 of the regulation may apply.

You need ten years outside Spain to qualify.That was the rule before 2023. From 1 January 2023, after Law 28/2022, article 93(1)(a) requires no Spanish residence in the five prior tax periods.

You can apply at any time during your first year.Article 116 of the IRPF regulation sets a six-month limit from the start date of the activity shown in the Social Security registration or equivalent document.

Questions to take to a professional

Was I resident in Spain in any of the five tax periods before the year of my move?
Which of the article 93 reasons for the move applies to me, and what documents prove it?
What start date will appear in my Social Security registration, and when does my six-month window for form 149 close?
Will any of my income count as obtained through a permanent establishment in Spain?
How will Spanish-source investment income and any work done abroad be taxed?
Do my spouse or children meet the conditions to opt as family members, and by when?
How do wealth tax, form 720 and my home country's departure rules apply to me?

Questions people ask

What is the Beckham Law tax rate in Spain?

Article 93 of the IRPF law sets 24% on general income up to €600,000 and 47% above that. Dividends, interest and gains follow a separate scale from 19% to 30%.

How long does the Beckham Law last?

The Agencia Tributaria says it applies for the tax period in which the person becomes resident in Spain and the five following tax periods, so up to six tax years in all.

Can digital nomads use the Beckham Law?

Since 2023, article 93 covers remote work done exclusively with digital and telecom means, and names holders of the international teleworking visa as meeting that condition. The other conditions, such as five years without Spanish residence, still apply.

What is the deadline to apply for the Beckham Law?

Form 149 must be filed within six months from the start date of the activity shown in the Spanish Social Security registration or an equivalent document, under article 116 of the IRPF regulation.

Is foreign income taxed under the Beckham Law?

Employment income earned during the regime is taxed even if the work is done abroad. Other foreign income, such as foreign dividends, interest or rent, is generally not taxed, because only Spanish-source income is taxed under the non-resident rules.

Which form is the Beckham Law tax return?

People in the regime file form 151 each year instead of the ordinary IRPF return. Form 149 is used to opt in, renounce or report exclusion.

Where this guide stops. A Spanish tax adviser (asesor fiscal) or tax lawyer checks the conditions, prepares form 149 with its supporting documents and files the yearly form 151. FlagSage does not decide whether you meet the conditions, file anything for you, or say whether the regime suits your situation.

Sources

Countries covered: Spain
Sources: 5 sources listed above
Tax year: Current rules as checked
Review: Not professionally reviewed
Sources checked November 9, 2026