Spain's Beckham Law in 2026: 24% Tax, Who Qualifies and the Catch
Spain's Beckham Law taxes your salary at 24% up to €600,000 and foreign investment income at 0% for 6 years. Who qualifies, what you pay, and what happens to your company.
Spain's Beckham Law lets you move to Spain and pay 24% on your salary instead of up to around 50%, and your foreign dividends, interest and investment gains are taxed at 0% in Spain. It runs for 6 years.
There are catches. Freelancers don't qualify. Above €600,000 the 24% becomes 47%. And if you run your company from Spain, Spain taxes the company too, with one of the strictest tax offices in Europe watching. For entrepreneurs, high earners and investors, it is a good deal for a few years if the setup is right.
- Salary
- 24% to €600,000, then 47%
- Foreign investment income
- 0% in Spain
- Spanish investment income
- 19% to 28%
- Wealth tax
- Only on assets in Spain
- How long
- The year you arrive plus 5 more
- Condition
- Not tax resident in Spain in the 5 years before
- Deadline to apply
- 6 months from the start of the job
Living in Spain
Spain is an easy sell on lifestyle: Madrid, Marbella, Barcelona, good weather, and you are in Europe.
With an EU passport you don't need a visa, you just move. Without one, there are 3 main ways in.
- The digital nomad visa. You work remotely for companies or clients outside Spain, earn at least about €2,850 a month, and have a university degree or 3 years of experience in your field. It is renewable, and after 5 years you can get permanent residence.
- A job in Spain. A Spanish company hires you. Senior and highly qualified roles have a fast-track work permit.
- The entrepreneur visa. You start an innovative business in Spain, and the government has to approve the business plan.
Spain's golden visa through buying property ended in 2025.
Whichever visa you get, it only lets you live there. The Beckham Law is a separate application.
Who qualifies
You can't have been tax resident in Spain in the 5 years before you move, and you need to move for a reason the law accepts. There are 4 main ones.
- 01
A job
A new job in Spain, a transfer with your employer, or a remote job you bring with you. The employer doesn't have to be Spanish. - 02
Becoming a director of a company
You can own the company, even 100% of it. It has to be a real operating business, not a company that mostly holds investments. - 03
Starting an innovative business
Spain's innovation agency has to approve it, and an ordinary consultancy or agency won't get through. - 04
Highly qualified work
For start-ups, or in research and development.
What doesn't qualify
- Freelancing. If you are self-employed with foreign clients, the Beckham Law doesn't cover you, even if your visa does.
- Living off your investments on its own. You still need one of the 4 reasons.
What you pay
Your salary
Your salary is taxed at 24% up to €600,000 and 47% above that. That covers all your salary, wherever in the world it is paid.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| First €600,000 at 24% | €144,000 |
| Next €400,000 at 47% | €188,000 |
| Total | €332,000, about 33% |
Social security comes on top of the 24%, unless you are still covered in another country.
Your foreign investments
Your foreign investment income is taxed at 0% in Spain: dividends from foreign companies, interest on foreign accounts, and gains when you sell foreign investments. With a large portfolio abroad, this is where the Beckham Law really pays off.
What Spain still taxes
- Spanish investment income. Dividends from a Spanish company, Spanish interest and gains on Spanish property are taxed at 19% to 28%.
- Wealth tax, but only on what you own in Spain, not on your assets abroad. Buy an expensive house in Marbella, and that part is taxed.
Your company
Say you move to Madrid and keep your company abroad. From your apartment you run the business, make the decisions and sign the contracts.
Then Spain taxes the company. A company is taxed where it is actually run, not only where it is registered. Your foreign company becomes a Spanish company and pays Spain's 25% corporate tax on everything it earns. Its dividends aren't foreign any more either: they are Spanish dividends, taxed at up to 28%. Together that is well over 40%.
So the Beckham Law doesn't make your company tax free. It only covers you.
Running it from abroad
The way around it is the same as in other countries: the company has to really be run from abroad, by people who live there. Someone runs it day to day, and the big decisions are made there.
Spain is one of the strictest places in Europe to do this. Its tax office is very aggressive. It checks how people on the Beckham Law actually earn their money, and it looks hard for companies abroad that are really run from Spain.
A lot of it comes down to opinion. Who really made the decision? Where was the work really done? It is easy to set something up, do most things right, and still end up paying Spanish tax because the tax office says the company is run from Spain.
An EU company, not Dubai
That is also why Dubai isn't the best choice here. Spain is much harder on companies in low-tax countries outside the EU. A company inside the EU, with a real business behind it, is protected by EU law and much easier to defend.
| Compared | Run from Spain | Run from Bulgaria |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate tax | 25% in Spain | 10% |
| Dividend to you | Up to 28%, as a Spanish dividend | 5% in Bulgaria, 0% in Spain |
| All in | Well over 40% | About 15% |
| What it needs | Nothing | A team and a manager in Bulgaria |
A company in Bulgaria, for example, pays 10% corporate tax and 5% when it pays you a dividend, about 15% in total. In Spain that dividend is foreign income, so it is 0% under the Beckham Law. You would take a director's salary on top, taxed at 24%.
This only works with a business you can hand over, with a team and a manager in that country who can actually run it. A one-person business doing all the work from Spain can't do it.
After 6 years
The Beckham Law runs for the year you become tax resident plus the next 5 years: 6 years in total, with no second round.
If you stay in Spain after that, you are taxed normally on everything you earn worldwide, including the investment income that was 0% before. Spain with the Beckham Law and Spain for good are 2 very different things. For a few years it can be a good deal. For the long term, you are in one of the higher-tax countries in Europe.
Questions
What is the Beckham Law tax rate?
24% on employment income up to €600,000 and 47% above that, including salary paid from abroad. Foreign dividends, interest and investment gains are taxed at 0% in Spain. Spanish investment income is taxed at 19% to 28%.
Can freelancers use the Beckham Law?
No. Self-employed people with their own clients are not covered, even when their visa allows the work. You need a job, a director role in an operating company, an approved innovative business, or highly qualified work for a start-up or in research.
Can I own my company and still qualify?
Yes, as its director, even with 100% of the shares, as long as it is a real operating business and not a company that mostly holds investments.
When do I have to apply?
Within 6 months of the start of your job or director role, which is normally your registration with Spanish social security. The clock doesn't wait for your residence card.
Does the Beckham Law make my foreign company tax free?
No. It covers you personally. A company run from Spain is a Spanish company for tax: 25% corporate tax, and its dividends are Spanish dividends. The company has to be run day to day and decided on abroad, by people who live there.
What happens after the 6 years?
The regime ends and there is no second round. If you stay, Spain taxes your worldwide income at the normal rates, including the foreign investment income that was 0% before.
Who Spain is right for
Spain works well if you really want to live there and your income is a salary or passive income from abroad. If you want to keep a business running abroad while you live in Spain, it can work, but it is one of the strictest places in Europe to try it, and one of the easiest to get wrong.
If you live in a high-tax country now, leaving it properly has to be handled first, and that is specific to you. If you run a business at 7, 8 or 9 figures, book a call and we will work out the setup that fits.
