Ley Beckham
20 de January, 2025

Law 28/2022, of December 21, 2022, on the promotion of the start-up ecosystem (or “law for start-ups“), aims to define a regulatory framework that helps and encourages the creation and growth of start-ups in Spain, while attracting talent and investments from abroad in order to create an optimal environment for entrepreneurs or remote workers, as well as to attract investors specialized in this field.

To attract foreign talent, article 93 of law 35/2006, of November 28, on the income of natural persons was modified so that it would be easier for workers displaced to Spanish territory to access the special tax regime (also known as “Beckham law” or “special regime”).

  1. Characteristics of the special regime
  2. Requirements for the application of the special regime
  3. Material requirements: absence of abusive conditions
  4. Extension of the application of the special regime
  5. Option, waiver and exclusion from the special regime

Characteristics of the special regime

The special regime for workers displaced to Spanish territory, commonly known as the Beckham Law, is a fiscal instrument designed to attract international talent to Spain. This regime allows workers who change their tax residence to Spain to benefit from more favorable taxation, applying the Non-Resident Income Tax (IRNR) instead of the Personal Income Tax (IRPF), with a series of particularities that make it especially attractive.

Under this regime, workers displaced to Spain are taxed only on their income obtained in Spanish territory (income from Spanish sources) instead of being taxed on their worldwide income, as is the case with habitual tax residents. This translates into a potentially lower tax burden for specific taxpayer profiles, although certain particularities must be taken into account.

The tax savings offered by this regime are mainly derived from the application of a fixed rate of 24% on the first € 600,000 of the tax base, which is a much more predictable and reduced burden compared to the progressive scale of income tax. This difference is especially advantageous for professionals with high incomes, who, under the ordinary regime, would be subject to a higher tax burden.

Requirements for the application of the special regime

  • In order for this regime to be applied, the applicant cannot have been a tax resident in Spain during the last five tax years.
  • The transfer to Spanish territory must take place the previous year or the same year in which the special regime applies, provided that certain conditions are met. One of them is that there is a causal link between the transfer to Spain and the professional circumstances that allow eligibility for this regime. This causal link must be clearly documented and justified to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Beckham Act. The main conditions that must be met are the following:
  1. The applicant has an employment contract.
  2. The applicant meets the requirements to be considered a “digital nomad” (as defined in Law 14/2013).
  3. The applicant leads an entity, regardless of their participation in that entity.
  4. The applicant carries out a business activity qualified as innovative, which must be endorsed by the Empresa Nacional de Innovación, S.A. (or “ENISA“) before the applicant moves to Spanish territory. This business activity must be innovative in nature and of special interest to Spain, so it must have a favorable report from the competent Spanish body, which will give priority to the creation of jobs in Spain. In addition, the professional profile of the applicant, the business plan (market, service, or product analysis, as well as financing), and the added value for the Spanish economy or in the field of innovation or investment opportunities will be taken into account.
  5. The applicant carries out an economic activity in Spain carried out by highly qualified professionals who offer services to emerging companies or who carry out training, research, development, and innovation activities.

The last requirement to adhere to the special regime is that the taxpayer cannot obtain income that can be considered obtained through a permanent establishment located in Spanish territory, except for those derived from sections d) and e) above.

Material requirements: absence of abusive conditions

European law prohibits abusive practices. In the case of Spain, the application of this rule is done through mechanisms that reverse situations of abuse when applying tax regulations.

If fraudulent use of the Beckham Act is detected for not complying with the established requirements, or if compliance with said requirements is not accurate, the tax authorities may be able to correct these situations.

Extension of the application of the special regime

In this regard, the children of the taxpayer who are less than twenty-five years old (or any age in case of disability) and their spouse (or the parent of their children in the absence of a marriage bond) will be allowed to benefit from the special regime, provided that they meet certain conditions.

Option, waiver and exclusion from the special regime

  • Workers have the right to request the application of the special regime. For this, they must exercise that right through a communication to the tax authorities (form 149).
  • Taxpayers to whom the special regime applies will have to submit personal income tax according to the rules of non-resident income (form 151). The deadline for submission coincides with the submission of personal income tax (from April to June).
  • Taxpayers who have requested that the special regime be applied to them may waive said application in the months of November and December prior to the beginning of the calendar year in which the waiver must take effect (form 149). If they do so, they will no longer be able to request the application of the special regime again.
  • Taxpayers who benefit from the special regime and who do not meet any of the mandatory requirements for its application will be excluded from the regime. The exclusion will be effective in the fiscal period in which the breach occurs and said taxpayers would not be able to request the application of the special regime again.

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