Beckham Law Calculator 2026: Your Savings Under the Startups Law

Relocating to Spain for professional reasons? The special expat tax regime, known as the Beckham Law, lets you pay a flat rate of 24% up to €600,000 (47% on the excess) for 6 tax years, instead of the usual progressive IRPF. Calculate your savings with our 2026 simulator under the current rules of the Startups Law.

How Does the Beckham Law Work?

This special expat tax regime offers a unique optimization for international professionals:

• Key requirement: not having been a tax resident in Spain during the previous 5 years (it used to be 10; reduced by the Startups Act 28/2022 since 2023).
• Flat 24% rate: on employment income up to €600,000; the excess is taxed at 47%.
• Income sourcing: receiving income abroad does not establish an exemption. Article 93.2 LIRPF treats employment income and income from qualifying entrepreneurial activities during the regime as Spanish-source. Article 114.2.a RIRPF excludes activities before relocation or after the end-of-relocation notification from that rule, without removing any tax due under ordinary Spanish-source rules. Other income must be classified and sourced separately.
• Wealth Tax and ITSGF: Article 93 LIRPF provides real-obligation Wealth Tax treatment; ITSGF refers to the same taxpayers on the same terms. Analyse assets and rights situated, exercisable or enforceable in Spain, including statutory location rules for shareholdings. A foreign account or entity alone does not establish an exemption. This calculator does not calculate these taxes or their filing obligations.
• Valid for 6 tax periods: the tax year in which Spanish tax residence is acquired and the next five, under Article 115 RIRPF.
• Form 720: the AEAT states that the principal taxpayer validly applying Article 93 need not file it. Assess relatives' own status and other information-reporting obligations separately; this does not determine the treatment of Form 721.

Key Benefits

The Beckham Law is ideal for:

• International employees relocated by their company.
• Digital nomads and remote workers with international contracts.
• Foreign investors, entrepreneurs and startup directors.
• Executives with high salaries and global assets.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How many years must you have lived outside Spain to qualify?

You must not have been tax-resident in Spain during the five tax periods preceding relocation. You must also acquire Spanish tax residence, relocate for a qualifying reason under Article 93.1.b LIRPF and meet the other conditions. Form 149 communicates the election. The principal applicant has six months from the documented activity start date under Article 116 RIRPF, not a universal 180-day period or visa-based deadline.

Do I need a Spanish employment contract?

Not necessarily. Article 93.1.b LIRPF includes qualifying posted employees and employees working remotely using computer and telecommunications systems. Self-employed applicants must meet the separate conditions for a qualifying entrepreneurial activity or the specific highly qualified professional route; having foreign clients alone is insufficient.

Can I include my family?

Eligible relatives are the spouse, children under 25 or of any age with a disability and, where there is no marital bond, the parent of those children. Registered partners are not automatically included. Relatives may move with the principal or later before the end of the principal's first tax period under the regime. Article 113.3 RIRPF also allows an earlier move if they do not acquire tax residence before the principal's first tax period under the regime. They must acquire Spanish tax residence and meet the five-period prior non-residence and permanent-establishment conditions in Article 93.3. Their combined taxable bases (bases liquidables) must be lower than the principal's in each period. Each makes an individual election within six months of entering Spain or within the principal's deadline if longer (Article 116.1.b RIRPF). The principal's election must be filed before the relatives' elections (Article 7.1, Order HFP/1338/2023); this sequence does not itself require waiting for a favourable decision.

What is the deadline to submit Form 149?

For the principal, the maximum period is six months from the activity start date recorded in Spanish Social Security registration, documents allowing continued home-country Social Security legislation or, if registration is not compulsory, evidence of the activity start date (Article 116.1.a RIRPF). Six months is not 180 days. Check the applicable document and expiry date; do not assume NIE delays extend the period. Family applicants follow Article 116.1.b.

What happens to my Stock Options and financial assets?

Employment-related stock options are not automatically exempt because the employer is foreign. Review the work remunerated, its dates and sourcing under Articles 93.2 LIRPF and 114.2.a RIRPF. Where taxable as employment income under the regime, the applicable base is taxed at 24% up to €600,000 and 47% above that threshold. Dividends, interest and share disposals require their own classification and sourcing analysis.

Results are informative estimates and do not constitute binding tax advice. Calculations are based on the official IRPF 2025/2026 scales (state + regional, verified against the AEAT Personal Income Tax Manual and regional bulletins) and on the rates of the special expat regime (art. 93 LIRPF and art. 25 LIRNR). Social Security contributions are not deducted, nor are family minimums, regional deductions or other personal circumstances applied. Your final liability depends on your particular situation; always consult a qualified professional.