What the Beckham Law is
Its real name is the special regime for workers posted to Spanish territory — the régimen de impatriados, article 93 of the income tax act. Everyone calls it the Beckham Law because David Beckham was among the first high-profile people to use it after joining Real Madrid in 2003.
What it does
Normally, becoming a Spanish tax resident means paying Spanish progressive income tax on your worldwide income, at rates that climb past 45% at the top. This regime lets certain newcomers be taxed instead under the non-resident rules: a flat 24% on work income up to €600,000, and 47% above that.
It also means income arising outside Spain is generally left out of the Spanish net, which for people with assets abroad can matter more than the headline rate.
How long it lasts
The tax year in which you become resident, plus the five following years — 6 tax years in total. It is not permanent, and it does not renew.
Who it is for
People arriving in Spain to take up work: an employment contract, a company directorship, a formally classified entrepreneurial activity, or highly qualified work with start-ups or in research and development. You must not have been a Spanish tax resident in the 5 tax years before the move.
Two groups that people wrongly assume are in: ordinary self-employed people, and professional sportspeople — who were removed in 2015, which is a decent piece of trivia given the nickname.
The catch nobody puts in the headline
A flat rate is only a saving if your progressive rate would have been higher. Below roughly €30,000–€37,500 a year, depending on your region, Spain's normal tax charges you less than 24%. People apply anyway, because every guide presents the regime as a straightforward win, and then pay more tax for six years.
The calculator shows your break-even point by region.
The other catch
You have to ask for it, in time. Six months from your Social Security registration, via form 149. Miss it and qualifying does not help you. How the deadline works.
Is it worth it?
For someone on a good salary arriving from abroad, usually yes, and sometimes by a lot — tens of thousands of euros across the six years. For someone on a modest income, it is a way to pay more tax than necessary. The honest answer is that it depends on two numbers: what you earn and where you live. Both are in the calculator.
Written from the Spanish Tax Agency's published manuals for tax year 2025. Rules change, individual situations differ, and the expensive parts of this regime live in the details. Talk to a qualified Spanish tax professional before acting.