Updated: October 2026

If you are moving to Spain for a job, to work remotely for a foreign company or to run a qualifying business, you may be able to pay income tax under a special regime instead of the normal progressive scale. It is known everywhere as the “Beckham law”, after the footballer who was one of the first high-profile people to use it. This guide explains who can apply in 2026, how the tax works, the deadlines that catch people out and when the regime is not worth it.

What the Beckham law actually is

The official name is the special regime for workers, professionals, entrepreneurs and investors relocating to Spain (régimen especial para trabajadores desplazados, article 93 of the Spanish income tax law). If you opt in, you are a Spanish tax resident, but you pay tax largely as if you were a non-resident.

In practice that means two things:

• A flat rate on work income: employment and qualifying business income is taxed at 24% up to €600,000 a year and 47% on anything above that. Under the normal system, rates climb progressively and the top band starts at a much lower income.
• Most foreign income stays outside Spanish tax: you are generally taxed on Spanish-source income only. Dividends, interest and gains from abroad are usually not taxed in Spain. The important exception is your work income: all employment income earned while on the regime is treated as obtained in Spain, wherever it is paid.

Spanish savings income (for example interest from a Spanish bank or gains on Spanish shares) is taxed on a separate scale, which the Tax Agency’s instructions put at 19% rising to 30% at the top from 2025 onwards.

Who can use it in 2026

The Startups Law (Ley 28/2022) widened the regime considerably, and those rules are what apply in 2026. The main conditions are:

• No recent Spanish tax residence: you must not have been tax resident in Spain in the five tax years before the year you move. Before 2023 it was ten years.
• A qualifying reason for the move: for example a new employment contract with a Spanish employer, a posting by a foreign employer, remote work for a foreign company (the route many digital nomad visa holders use), becoming a company director, or carrying out an innovative entrepreneurial activity or highly qualified professional work for start-ups.
• No permanent establishment: as a general rule you must not earn income through a permanent establishment in Spain, with exceptions for the entrepreneur route.
• Not a professional athlete: ironically, professional sportspeople under the special sports employment rules are now excluded.

Since 2023, your spouse and children under 25 (or children of any age with a disability) can also opt in, provided they move with you or later, and each meets their own conditions. Each family member files separately, after the main taxpayer.

Self-employed freelancers (autónomos) who simply move to Spain and invoice clients do not automatically qualify. The entrepreneur and professional routes have specific requirements, usually linked to an approved innovative project or work for a certified start-up. Get advice before assuming you fit.

How long it lasts

The regime covers the tax year in which you become Spanish tax resident plus the following five tax years, so up to six years in total. If you arrive late in the year and are not resident for that first year, you lose part of that window, which is why the timing of your move matters.

You can renounce the regime, and you can be excluded if you stop meeting the conditions. After it ends, you are taxed like any other resident on your worldwide income.

How to apply: Modelo 149 and the six-month deadline

The regime is never applied automatically. You have to opt in with Modelo 149, filed online with the Agencia Tributaria. The steps are roughly:

1. Get your NIE and make sure you are registered in the tax census (if you are not, a census declaration comes first).
2. Start work and be registered with Spanish Social Security (alta), or, for remote workers and other routes, have the relevant start date documented.
3. Upload the supporting documents electronically first (for example your contract, employer certificate or proof of the remote work arrangement). You receive a registration number.
4. File Modelo 149 with that registration number, generally within six months of the start of your activity as shown in your Social Security registration.
5. Keep the Tax Agency’s acknowledgement. Your employer can then withhold at the regime rate, and you can request a certificate confirming you are on the regime.

The deadline is strict. Filing late usually means you cannot use the regime at all, even if you meet every other condition. This is the single most common reason people miss out.

Each year after that, you file Modelo 151 instead of the normal income tax return (Modelo 100), during the usual spring tax campaign.

Other taxes and reporting while on the regime

• Modelo 720: according to the Tax Agency’s own FAQ, taxpayers on this regime do not have to file the informative return on assets abroad. Family members who are not on the regime may still have to. See our guide to Modelo 720.
• Wealth tax: you are generally only taxed on assets located in Spain, not your worldwide assets.
• Double tax treaties: because you are taxed like a non-resident, some treaty benefits and Spanish tax residence certificates work differently. Check this if you have income in another country.
• Social Security, IBI and VAT: the regime only affects income tax. You still pay Social Security contributions, local property tax and everything else. Our overview of the Spanish tax system covers the rest.

When the Beckham law is not worth it

A flat 24% sounds attractive, but it is not always cheaper. You lose most personal and family allowances and deductions that ordinary residents get, and the flat rate applies from the first euro. On a modest salary, the normal progressive scale with its allowances can work out lower. The regime tends to pay off for higher earners and for people with substantial investment income abroad.

Joint filing with a spouse is also not possible under the regime. Ask a tax adviser to run both scenarios with your real figures before you file Modelo 149, ideally before you sign your contract or decide your arrival date.

Useful links

• Agencia Tributaria: Modelo 149 (opting in to the special regime)
• Agencia Tributaria: Modelo 151 instructions (rates and rules)
• Spain’s digital nomad visa in 2026
• Work visas and permits in Spain
• Understanding the tax system in Spain

FAQ: the Beckham law

Disclaimer: This article is general information only and is not legal or tax advice. The rules of the special regime are detailed and depend on your personal situation – always check with the Agencia Tributaria and ask a gestor, tax adviser or lawyer before you apply.

Updated: October 2026

Once you become tax resident in Spain, you may have to tell the Spanish Tax Agency about bank accounts, investments and property you still hold in your home country. This is done on Modelo 720, an information return that worries many newcomers because of its once-notorious fines. This guide explains who has to file, the thresholds, the deadline and what has changed since the penalty regime was struck down.

What Modelo 720 is (and what it is not)

Modelo 720 is a declaración informativa: you report what you own abroad, but you pay no tax with it. The income those assets produce (interest, dividends, rent, gains) is declared separately on your annual income tax return, as for any Spanish resident taxed on worldwide income. If you are unsure about that side, start with our overview of the Spanish tax system.

The form is filed online through the Agencia Tributaria’s electronic office, using a digital certificate, Cl@ve or similar. Many residents ask a gestor or tax adviser to prepare it the first time.

Who has to file

The obligation applies to Spanish tax residents, including individuals and companies. Non-residents who only own a holiday home in Spain do not file it. You are usually tax resident if you spend more than 183 days a year in Spain or your main economic interests are here.

You must report not only assets you own outright, but also accounts on which you are an authorised signatory, a beneficiary or the beneficial owner. If an asset is jointly owned, each resident co-owner reports it: for bank accounts you give the full balance, not split, together with your ownership percentage.

One notable exception: people taxed under the special regime for new residents (the Beckham law) do not have to file, according to the Tax Agency’s own FAQ. Family members who are not on that regime are not covered by the exception.

The three blocks and the €50,000 thresholds

Assets abroad are split into three blocks. You only have to file for a block when its combined value is more than €50,000.

Each block is measured on its own. A person with €60,000 in a foreign savings account and €30,000 in foreign shares only reports the accounts block. Amounts in other currencies are converted at the exchange rate on 31 December.

Deadline and later years

Modelo 720 is filed between 1 January and 31 March for the situation on 31 December of the previous year. Assets held at the end of 2025 were reported by 31 March 2026, and assets held at the end of 2026 must be reported between 1 January and 31 March 2027.

You do not have to file every year. After your first Modelo 720, you file again only if:

• the value of a block you already declared has risen by more than €20,000 compared with your last return, or
• a block crosses the €50,000 threshold for the first time, or
• you have closed, sold or stopped holding an asset you declared before (this must be reported even if values fell).

Crypto goes on Modelo 721

Cryptocurrencies held with providers abroad are not included in Modelo 720. Since the 2023 tax year they go on a separate return, Modelo 721, which also uses a €50,000 threshold and the same January–March filing window. Crypto held on a Spanish platform or in your own private wallet follows different rules, so check with an adviser.

Penalties after the 2022 EU ruling

Modelo 720 used to carry some of the harshest penalties in Europe: fixed fines per missing item, a 150% penalty and the rule that undeclared assets could be taxed as unjustified income with no time limit. On 27 January 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union (case C-788/19) ruled that this system breached EU law because it was disproportionate.

Spain then passed Law 5/2022, which removed the special penalty regime. Since then, late or incorrect Modelo 720 returns fall under the general penalty rules of the Spanish tax code, which are much lower. That does not mean the form can be ignored: the Tax Agency receives a lot of data from foreign banks through automatic exchange of information, and penalties for missing information returns still apply.

If you realise you should have filed in earlier years, filing late on your own initiative, before the Tax Agency contacts you, usually leads to lower penalties. Our guide to tax audits and inspections explains what happens if they do.

Practical checklist for your first Modelo 720

1. List every account, investment, insurance policy and property you hold abroad, including ones you are only authorised on.
2. Ask each foreign bank or broker for a statement showing the 31 December balance and, for accounts, the fourth-quarter average.
3. Find the purchase deeds or documents for any foreign property.
4. Convert all amounts to euros at the 31 December exchange rate and add them up per block.
5. If any block is over €50,000, file between 1 January and 31 March, and keep a copy of your return as the baseline for the €20,000 rule.

Useful links

• Agencia Tributaria: Form 720 (assets and rights abroad)
• Agencia Tributaria: Modelo 720 FAQ (PDF, Spanish)
• Garrigues: the law that removed the Modelo 720 penalty regime (Spanish)
• Taxes for foreign property owners in Spain
• Investment strategies for expats in Spain

FAQ: Modelo 720

Disclaimer: This article is general information only and is not legal or tax advice. Reporting rules and thresholds can change – always check with the Agencia Tributaria and ask a gestor, tax adviser or lawyer about your own situation.

Updated: October 2026

A letter from the Agencia Tributaria (AEAT) can be unsettling, especially if you are still learning how Spanish taxes work. This guide is for foreign residents, freelancers and property owners who have been contacted by the Spanish tax office, or want to be prepared. You will learn the difference between a simple check and a full inspection, how to respond, which deadlines matter and how to appeal.

Audit, check or inspection: what is the difference?

Most contact from the tax office is not a full audit. Spanish tax law (Ley 58/2003, General Tributaria) sets out several procedures, and it helps to know which one you are in, because the rules and time limits differ.

• Requerimiento (request for information): the office asks you to send a document or explain an item on your return. Often this is the whole matter.
• Comprobación limitada (limited check): a desk review by the management department, usually about specific items such as a deduction, rental income or a missing return. The maximum duration is six months.
• Inspección (inspection): a deeper review carried out by the inspection department, which can cover several taxes and years. The general maximum duration is 18 months, extended to 27 months in certain larger or more complex cases.

The letter you receive states which procedure has been opened, which tax and which years are covered. Read that part first.

Why foreigners get contacted

Foreigners are not targeted as a group, but some situations are more likely to trigger questions. The tax office cross-checks your return with data from banks, employers, notaries, land registries and, through automatic exchange of information, tax authorities in other countries.

• Foreign income (pensions, salaries, dividends) that does not appear on your Spanish return
• Foreign bank accounts or assets that were not declared on Modelo 720 when required
• Rental income from a Spanish property that was not declared, or non-resident tax that was not paid
• Doubts about your tax residence, for example if you spend more than 183 days a year in Spain but file as a non-resident
• Freelance (autónomo) invoices and VAT returns that do not match each other

How to respond step by step

1. Check that it is genuine. Official notifications arrive by registered post or in your electronic mailbox at the AEAT Sede or DEHú. Be wary of emails or text messages asking you to click a link or pay; the tax office does not ask for card details that way.
2. Note the deadline. The letter states how long you have to reply, often ten working days for a request for documents. If you are signed up for electronic notifications (mandatory for companies), a notification you do not open within ten calendar days is treated as delivered, so the deadline still runs.
3. Gather the documents asked for and nothing more than what is relevant. Keep copies of everything you hand over.
4. Reply through the official channel mentioned in the letter, usually the online Sede using your digital certificate, Cl@ve or a reference number, or in person with an appointment. Keep the registration receipt.
5. Ask for more time if you need it. You can request an extension before the deadline ends, explaining why (for example, waiting for documents from abroad).
6. Read the proposal carefully. At the end of a check you normally receive a proposal (propuesta de liquidación) and a period to submit comments (alegaciones) before the final decision.

Documents you may be asked for

• Spanish and foreign bank statements
• Employment contracts, payslips, pension statements or freelance invoices
• Proof of residence: padrón certificate, rental contract, utility bills, travel records
• A tax residence certificate from another country, if you claim to be resident there
• Purchase and sale deeds, receipts for deductible expenses and proof of foreign tax paid

The general limitation period for tax debts in Spain is four years, so keep your records for at least that long, counted from the end of the filing period of each return. Keep documents about property purchases and investments for as long as you own the asset, plus four years.

Possible outcomes and how to appeal

A check can end with no changes, or with an assessment (liquidación) of extra tax plus late-payment interest. If the office considers that you committed a tax offence, a separate penalty procedure is opened. Penalties can be reduced if you accept the assessment and pay within the deadline, so ask your adviser to calculate this before deciding whether to agree.

Appealing does not automatically stop the debt from being collected. To suspend payment while you appeal, you normally have to request it and offer a guarantee.

Modelo 720 and foreign assets

Tax residents must file Modelo 720 by 31 March if they hold more than 50,000 euros in one of three categories abroad: bank accounts, securities and investments, or real estate. In January 2022 the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that the old, very high fixed penalties for late or missing 720 returns broke EU law, and Spain changed the system. However, undeclared foreign income can still be assessed, so if you have missed a 720 or not declared foreign income, get advice and consider correcting it voluntarily before the tax office contacts you.

Practical tips for expats

• Never ignore a letter, even if you have moved abroad. Keep your address up to date with the tax office.
• Get a digital certificate or Cl@ve so you can read notifications and reply online.
• Use a qualified adviser (asesor fiscal, gestor or tax lawyer) for inspections or anything involving foreign income. Many work in English.
• Stay factual and polite. Answer exactly what is asked and put your explanations in writing.

For the basics of income tax, residence and the main returns, read our guide to understanding the tax system in Spain.

Useful links

• Agencia Tributaria – official tax office website and online Sede
• Understanding the tax system in Spain
• Property taxes for foreign owners in Spain
• Investment strategies for expats in Spain

FAQ: Spanish tax audits

Disclaimer: This article is general information only and is not tax or legal advice. Procedures and deadlines can change – always check your notification and the Agencia Tributaria, or consult a qualified adviser, before you act.