The Beckham Law for digital nomads in Spain is the special tax regime in article 93 of the Spanish Personal Income Tax (IRPF) Act. It allows professionals who move to Spain (including international remote workers) to pay a flat rate of 24% on their employment income up to €600,000, instead of the progressive scale of ordinary income tax, for a maximum of six tax years.

Since the Startups Act reform took effect in 2023, the regime is no longer reserved for expatriate executives with a Spanish employment contract: it is also open to people who work remotely for a foreign company without changing employer. But not everything that glitters is a tax saving: the small print contains restrictions you should understand before applying.

What is the Beckham Law for digital nomads in Spain and how does it work?

“Beckham Law” is the popular name for the special regime for inbound workers (régimen de impatriados) set out in article 93 of Act 35/2006 on Personal Income Tax and developed in articles 113 to 120 of its Regulations. It owes its nickname to David Beckham, one of its first high-profile beneficiaries when he signed for Real Madrid in 2003, although today it applies to a much broader range of taxpayers than footballers.

The regime allows a person who moves their tax residence to Spain to remain an IRPF taxpayer while, in practice, being taxed under the rules of Non-Resident Income Tax (IRNR). This means a flat rate instead of a progressive scale, and tax on certain income only rather than on worldwide income.

The reform introduced by Act 28/2022 on the promotion of the start-up ecosystem (known as the Startups Act) significantly broadened its scope. Since it came into force, the Beckham Law for digital nomads in Spain also covers workers who move to Spain to work remotely, whether or not at their employer’s request, using exclusively telematic means, as set out in the consolidated text of Act 28/2022 of 21 December (in Spanish), published in the Official State Gazette.

This route, known as international remote work, is what makes the regime relevant for people who work for companies or clients outside Spain without a Spanish employment contract. At Riera Consulting we have spent years analysing this kind of international relocation through our international taxation service, assessing case by case whether the inbound workers regime fits the professional’s real situation.

Requirements for qualifying for the Beckham Law as a digital nomad in Spain

Not having been tax resident in the previous five years

The first requirement, and the one that generates the most questions, is not having been tax resident in Spain during the five tax periods before the move, as confirmed by the Spanish Tax Agency in its practical guide to the special inbound workers regime (in Spanish). The Startups Act reduced this period from ten to five years, opening the regime to people who lived in Spain in the past but have been abroad for several years. The burden of proof lies with the taxpayer, who must be able to show tax residence in another country during that period with official certificates.

Accepted routes into the regime

The move must take place for one of the following reasons:

• An employment contract with a Spanish company, or with a foreign company that transfers the worker to a workplace in Spain.
• International remote work, providing services remotely for a foreign employer with no presence in Spain.
• Appointment as a company director, with a 25% shareholding limit if the company is an asset-holding company.
• An entrepreneurial activity classed as innovative and scalable by ENISA.
• Professional services provided to certified start-ups.

As a general rule, self-employed workers operating as such and professional athletes are excluded from the regime, as is any income obtained through a permanent establishment in Spain.

How much tax you pay: rates compared with ordinary income tax

The regime’s central tax advantage is its flat rate. Before deciding whether the Beckham Law for digital nomads in Spain is worthwhile for you, it is worth comparing real figures against ordinary income tax:

Item	Beckham Law (inbound workers)	Ordinary income tax (IRPF)
Rate up to €600,000	24% flat	Progressive scale from 19% to 47% (up to ~54% depending on the region)
Rate above €600,000	47%	47% (top combined state and regional marginal rate)
Taxable income	Income obtained in Spain (except employment and entrepreneurial income, which is taxed worldwide)	Worldwide income
Form 720 (assets abroad)	Not required	Required above the thresholds
Wealth tax	Limited liability (Spanish assets only), with no main residence exemption	Unlimited liability (worldwide assets), with an exemption of up to €300,000 for the main residence
Duration of the benefit	6 tax years (year of arrival + 5)	Indefinite
Deduction of professional expenses	Not allowed	Allowed

A worked example: a professional with €150,000 of employment income would pay €36,000 under the Beckham Law (24%), compared with an approximate liability of between €45,000 and €52,000 under ordinary income tax, depending on the region and the deductions available. The gap widens as income rises, up to the €600,000 limit.

When the Beckham Law makes sense for digital nomads in Spain (and when it does not)

Situations where it usually pays off

• High employment income (generally from around €60,000-70,000 a year), where the saving compared with progressive income tax is significant.
• Significant assets or income abroad (dividends, rents, capital gains) that remain outside Spanish taxation during the six years of the regime.
• Profiles without significant deductible expenses, as the regime does not allow professional expenses to be deducted from the tax base.
• People with no plans to buy a home in Spain in the short term, given the tax conflict explained in the next section.

Situations where it may not pay off

• Freelancers who invoice directly: if a digital nomad registers as self-employed in Spain, they immediately lose the right to the regime, as the income is treated as obtained through a permanent establishment.
• Moderate income with high deductible expenses: for someone on a mid-range income with high professional expenses, ordinary income tax with its deductions may work out cheaper than a flat 24% with no deductions.
• Profiles looking for flexibility of residence: the Beckham Law requires you to be tax resident in Spain, whereas the digital nomad visa regulated by Act 14/2013 deals with the residence and work permit, not the tax regime. The two procedures are independent, although they can be combined.
• People who already have their main home in Spain: as explained below, the special regime can make the taxation of your main residence more expensive than under the ordinary rules.

The main residence conflict: Riera Consulting’s complaint to the European Commission

One of the most controversial aspects of the Beckham Law for digital nomads in Spain concerns housing. Although people taxed under the regime are legally tax resident in Spain (they live and work here, and in many cases have bought their home here), the rules applied to them for income tax and IRNR purposes treat their home as a second residence rather than a main residence.

In practice, this means they must declare imputed income of 2% of the property’s cadastral value and lose the main residence exemption in wealth tax, which can unexpectedly increase the tax burden of a taxpayer who otherwise benefits from a regime designed to reduce it.

Our managing partner, Víctor Riera, who holds a doctorate in Financial and Tax Law, has filed a formal complaint about this treatment with the European Commission, arguing that it may breach the free movement of persons and capital recognised in the EU Treaties. It is not the first time Riera Consulting has taken a similar conflict to Brussels: our firm prompted the European Commission to open infringement proceedings against Spain over the tax treatment of more than 2,000 EU officials living in Spain under a comparable special regime.

You can read more about this case in Información’s report on the Alicante lawyer’s complaint to the European Commission (in Spanish), and on our page about tax advice for digital nomads in Spain.

Until the European Commission reaches a decision, any digital nomad considering the regime who owns, or plans to own, a home in Spain should review this point carefully before deciding.

How to apply for the regime: deadlines and forms

The application is made on form 149, within six months of registering with Spanish Social Security or of the date shown in the documents evidencing the start of the employment relationship or activity. Once granted, the taxpayer must file form 151 every year (the specific annual return for inbound workers) instead of the ordinary form 100.

If the requirements stop being met at any point (for example, by registering as self-employed), this must be reported to the Tax Agency on the same form 149 within one month. It is also possible to opt out voluntarily, which some taxpayers do when their circumstances change and ordinary income tax becomes more favourable; the waiver must be filed in November or December of the year before it is to take effect.

Given the number of variables involved (the exact date of previous residence, the type of move, assets abroad, plans to buy a home), at Riera Consulting we always recommend an individual analysis before filing form 149. You can tell us about your case through our contact form.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Beckham Law for digital nomads in Spain?

The Beckham Law for digital nomads in Spain is the special regime in article 93 of the IRPF Act that allows employment income to be taxed at 24%, instead of the progressive income tax scale, for a maximum of six tax years.

Can a digital nomad who works remotely for a foreign company apply for the Beckham Law?

Yes. Since the 2023 Startups Act reform, international remote work for a foreign employer is an accepted route, with no need for a contract with a Spanish company.

How long does the inbound workers regime last?

The regime lasts six tax years: the year in which you become tax resident in Spain plus the following five calendar years.

What happens if I register as self-employed while under the regime?

You lose the regime immediately, as self-employed activity is treated as income obtained through a permanent establishment, which is incompatible with the Beckham Law.

Does the Beckham Law require filing form 720?

No. Taxpayers under the regime are not required to file form 720, the return declaring assets held abroad.

What happens to my main residence under this regime?

Your home is treated as a second residence for imputed income and wealth tax purposes, even if it is where you actually live. Riera Consulting has taken this conflict to the European Commission.

What is the deadline for applying for the regime?

Six months from registering with Spanish Social Security, or from the start of the relationship that gives access to the regime, using form 149.

Is the Beckham Law the same as the digital nomad visa?

No. The digital nomad visa is a residence and work permit; the Beckham Law is a tax regime. They are independent procedures, although in practice they can be combined.

Is the Beckham Law right for you as a digital nomad in Spain?

Whether the Beckham Law for digital nomads in Spain is worthwhile depends on your income, your assets abroad, your tax residence history and your plans for a home in Spain. It is a decision best made with real figures, not generic online calculators.

At Riera Consulting we analyse your specific case, help you apply for the Beckham Law with form 149 and support you throughout the six years of the regime. Contact our team and we will answer your questions before you make your decision.

Tax residence in Spain for digital nomads is determined, in most cases, by a single criterion: spending more than 183 days in a calendar year in Spanish territory. Once you cross that threshold, the Spanish Tax Agency considers you resident and you become taxable in Spain on your worldwide income (what you earn here and in any other country), regardless of where you invoice, your nationality or whether your clients are abroad.

What being tax resident in Spain means and why it matters to you as a digital nomad

Being tax resident in Spain means paying personal income tax (IRPF) on your worldwide income, not just on what you earn from Spanish clients or employers. For a digital nomad who invoices clients in the United States, gets paid in cryptocurrency or receives a salary from a German company while working remotely, this has a direct consequence: if the Spanish Tax Agency considers you resident, all that income goes into your Spanish tax return, wherever it was invoiced.

The Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) applies article 9 of Act 35/2006 on Personal Income Tax (in Spanish) to decide who is resident. This article sets out three independent criteria (meeting just one is enough to be resident): presence for more than 183 days, a centre of economic interests in Spain, or the presumption based on a resident spouse and minor children. The first is the most decisive and the one that most surprises digital nomads.

Anyone who meets none of the three criteria is taxed as a non-resident under Non-Resident Income Tax (IRNR), and only on income from Spanish sources. For a fuller picture of how this group is taxed, see our page on tax advice for digital nomads in Spain.

The 183-day rule: the criterion that causes digital nomads the most problems

The 183-day rule provides that anyone who spends more than half of the calendar year (1 January to 31 December) in Spanish territory becomes tax resident, without any other requirement having to be met. It does not mean 183 consecutive days: it is the sum of all the days of presence in Spain during that calendar year, whether or not they are spread across several stays.

What counts as a “day of presence” in Spain

A day counts as presence if you are in Spain at any point during that day, even if only in transit. The Spanish Tax Agency’s practical guide on tax residence (in Spanish) applies a strict physical presence test: it does not require an overnight stay or a minimum number of hours. Landing at a Spanish airport at 11 pm and leaving again the following day already counts as presence in Spain.

Sporadic absences also count towards your total

By default, sporadic absences from Spain are treated as days of presence in Spain for the purposes of the 183-day count, unless the taxpayer proves tax residence in another country with a certificate issued by the relevant tax authority. This means a two-week trip to your home country in the middle of the year does not automatically “subtract” days: if you cannot prove you are tax resident elsewhere, those days are added to your presence in Spain.

Where those absences are spent in a country or territory classed as a tax haven, the Spanish tax authorities may require proof of actual presence there for 183 days, a considerably more demanding standard of proof.

There is no partial residence: you are resident for the whole year or not at all

Tax residence in Spain always applies to the full calendar year, with no splitting. There is no such thing as “resident for six months and non-resident for the other six”: if you exceed 183 days between January and December, you are treated as tax resident for the whole year, including the months you spent outside Spain before settling here.

The other two criteria that determine tax residence in Spain for digital nomads

Although the day count is the criterion that most often applies to digital nomads, article 9 of the Income Tax Act provides two further, independent routes that also create tax residence.

Centre of economic interests

A person is considered tax resident in Spain if the main core or base of their business activities or economic interests is located in Spain, directly or indirectly. For a digital nomad, this can be triggered by setting up a Spanish company, invoicing mainly to Spanish clients or keeping the bulk of their investments or assets in Spain, even while spending fewer than 183 days in the country.

The presumption based on a spouse and minor children

The law presumes, unless proven otherwise, that the taxpayer is tax resident in Spain when their spouse (not legally separated) and dependent minor children habitually live in Spain. It is a presumption, not an automatic rule: it can be rebutted if the taxpayer proves effective tax residence in another country, but it shifts the burden of proof onto the digital nomad whose family has settled in Spain while they travel frequently.

Resident vs non-resident digital nomad: how your Spanish taxation changes

Item	Tax resident (IRPF)	Non-resident (IRNR)
Taxable income	Worldwide income (all income, wherever it arises)	Only income obtained in Spain
Tax rate	Progressive state + regional scale (approx. 19% to 47%)	24% general rate (19% for EU/EEA residents) on each item of income
Return	Annual, form 100 (income tax return)	Per transaction or quarterly/annual, form 210
Assets abroad	Must be declared on form 720 above the legal thresholds	Not applicable
Double tax treaties	Credits or exemptions may apply under the treaty with the country of origin	Taxed only on Spanish-source income, unless the treaty provides an exemption
Special inbound workers regime	Can be requested if the requirements are met (24% flat rate on the first band)	Not applicable (no longer taxed under IRPF)

The special regime for international remote workers: tax advantages if you become resident

The special regime for inbound workers allows people who move to Spain to work remotely for a foreign company to pay a flat rate of 24% for the first six years, instead of the progressive income tax scale, which can reach 47% in the top bands. This regime, widely known as the “Beckham Law”, was extended to international remote workers by Act 28/2022 (the Startups Act) (in Spanish), which amended article 93 of the Personal Income Tax Act and, in parallel, Act 14/2013 on support for entrepreneurs to create the residence permit for international remote workers.

To qualify, the digital nomad must become tax resident in Spain, must not have been resident in the previous five years and must move to work remotely as an employee of a foreign company; self-employed people invoicing on their own account are, as a general rule, excluded from the regime. In other words, this regime is not a way to avoid tax residence, but a tax benefit reserved for those who take it on.

The digital nomad visa is not the same as tax residence in Spain

The digital nomad visa (formally, the international remote worker permit; page in Spanish) is an immigration status that governs your right to live in Spain and work remotely from here, but it does not by itself determine your tax residence. These are two different legal regimes, managed by different authorities: the Immigration Office for the immigration side and the Tax Agency for the tax side. For self-employed applicants, one of its requirements is that work for Spanish clients must not exceed 20% of the total.

It is perfectly possible to hold a valid digital nomad visa and remain non-resident for tax purposes, if you spend fewer than 183 days in Spain and do not meet the other two criteria of article 9. Conversely, you can become tax resident through presence without any visa at all, simply by staying more than half the year. The most common mistake among digital nomads is assuming that having the visa automatically means being taxed as a resident, or that not having one protects them from it.

What happens if two countries claim you as tax resident at the same time

When Spain and your home country each apply their own rules and both consider you tax resident in the same year, there is a dual residence conflict, which must be resolved under the double tax treaty between the two countries, if there is one. Most treaties signed by Spain follow the OECD model and apply tie-breaker tests in this order: permanent home available, centre of vital interests (closest personal and economic relations), habitual abode and nationality.

To prove tax residence to the Spanish Tax Agency or to another country’s tax authority, the usual instrument is the tax residence certificate, which the Spanish Tax Agency issues to those who meet the requirements of article 9. Without this certificate, a digital nomad who splits their time between two or more countries may end up declaring the same income in both, without being able to claim the tax credit they would be entitled to.

The most common mistakes in managing tax residence in Spain as a digital nomad

• Confusing the visa with tax residence, assuming one automatically implies the other.
• Not counting sporadic absences as days of presence, when the law adds them unless residence in another country is proven.
• Forgetting form 720 after becoming tax resident, if you hold accounts, property or investments abroad above the legal thresholds.
• Thinking that invoicing foreign clients exempts you from Spanish tax, when what matters is not where the client is but where the service provider is tax resident.
• Mixing up the visa requirements with those of the tax regime: the 20% limit on work for Spanish clients is an immigration requirement for the self-employed, whereas the inbound workers regime requires you to work as an employee and, as a general rule, excludes self-employment.
• Not obtaining a tax residence certificate when splitting the year between two countries, leaving yourself open to avoidable double taxation.

Frequently asked questions

What is tax residence in Spain for a digital nomad?

Tax residence in Spain for a digital nomad is the tax status that requires you to declare all your worldwide income for Spanish personal income tax, mainly triggered by spending more than 183 days in Spanish territory during the calendar year.

How many days can I spend in Spain without becoming tax resident?

You can spend up to 183 days in the calendar year without triggering tax residence under this criterion, provided your centre of economic interests is not in Spain and the presumption based on a spouse and minor children does not apply.

Does the digital nomad visa automatically make me tax resident?

The digital nomad visa does not automatically make you tax resident. It is a separate immigration status; tax residence depends on the days of presence and the other criteria in article 9 of the Personal Income Tax Act.

Do sporadic absences from Spain count towards the 183 days?

By default, sporadic absences count as days of presence in Spain, unless you prove tax residence in another country with a certificate from the relevant tax authority.

Can I be tax resident in Spain and in my home country at the same time?

You can be, if both countries apply their own residence rules and both consider you resident. The conflict is resolved using the tie-breaker tests in the applicable double tax treaty, if there is one.

What is the special regime for remote workers and who can apply?

It is the extension of the inbound workers regime (the Beckham Law) that allows people who move to Spain to work remotely as employees of a foreign company to pay a 24% flat rate for six years, provided they have not been resident in the previous five years.

Do I have to declare my foreign bank accounts if I am tax resident in Spain?

You must declare them on form 720 if, as a tax resident, your accounts, securities or property abroad exceed the legal thresholds set by the regulations.

How do I prove I am not tax resident in Spain if the Tax Agency claims I am?

You prove it by providing a tax residence certificate issued by another country’s tax authority and, where appropriate, by invoking the tie-breaker tests of the relevant double tax treaty.

A simple rule that requires precise management

The 183-day rule is easy to state and hard to apply correctly when a digital nomad’s life is spread across several countries, currencies and sources of income. Getting your tax residence in Spain right as a digital nomad (and the IRPF and IRNR taxation that follows from it) is what makes the difference between planning with room to manoeuvre and regularising under pressure.

At Riera Consulting we handle these situations through our international tax advisory service and our dedicated tax residence service for digital nomads. If you would like us to review your case, contact our team.