Non-voting shares: when voting rights are restored (Supreme Court Ruling 440/2026)
Executive summary Supreme Court ruling STS 440/2026 (20 March 2026) establishes, for the first time, a clear criterion for a very common issue in private
If you are relocating to Spain to work — or if your company is considering bringing someone in from abroad — you have probably already heard of the Beckham Law. What you may not yet know is whether it applies to you, how long you have to apply, and what happens if you miss the deadline. We explain it all here. And if you are an adviser or want to dig into the regulation, you will find our full technical guide available to download at the end.
In 2003, David Beckham’s signing for Real Madrid popularised a tax regime designed to attract international talent to Spain. The official name is far drier — “special tax regime applicable to employees, professionals, entrepreneurs and investors relocated to Spanish territory” — so the nickname stuck.
What matters: this regime allows you to be taxed only on what you earn in Spain, at a flat rate of 24%, for six years. For someone who would pay up to 47% under the ordinary regime, the difference is very significant.
Imagine you earn €120,000 gross per year working in Spain:
| General regime
up to 47% Progressive rates on worldwide income (or more depending on the Autonomous Community) |
Beckham Law
24% Flat rate · Foreign passive income not taxed |
| And there’s more: if you have savings, investments or property outside Spain, you do not have to declare them or pay tax on them while you are under this regime. That includes dividends from foreign companies, interest on overseas accounts or gains on investments outside Spain. That said: your salary is taxed in full in Spain even if it is paid by a foreign company, because all employment income is deemed to be obtained in Spain under this regime. |
To apply for the Beckham Law you must meet these three conditions simultaneously:
| What if I’m Spanish? The Beckham Law is not only for foreigners. Anyone — Spanish or of any other nationality — can qualify if they meet the requirements. What matters is not having lived in Spain in the last five years, not your passport. |
The regime accepts the following situations:
Until 2023, the usual problem was this: the person who came to work was taxed at 24%, but their partner and children paid like any other resident. The Start-Up Law changed that.
Now your spouse and your children under 25 can also qualify if:
The regime lasts six years: the year in which you acquire residence plus the following five.
If you change company during that time, you do not automatically lose the regime. What matters is that your new situation continues to meet the requirements. If at any point you stop meeting them, you must notify the tax authorities within one month.
You can also waive it voluntarily if it stops being worthwhile, but only in November or December, with effect from the following year. It is worth reviewing each year.
| You have six months from when you start working in Spain to file the application (Form 149 with the Spanish Tax Agency). The reference date is registration with Social Security.
If you miss that deadline, the regime is lost forever for that period. There is no extension or remedy. Family members likewise have six months from their own relocation. |
The Beckham Law is not automatically advantageous for everyone. It makes more sense the more any of these situations apply:
| ✓ | You earn more than €60,000 gross per year. Below that figure, the advantage over the general regime shrinks considerably. |
| ✓ | You have money, investments or property outside Spain. Not paying tax on that in Spain is an enormous benefit. |
| ✓ | You have gains on foreign investments you have not yet sold. You can sell them while under this regime without paying Spanish tax on them. |
| ✓ | Your family relocates with you. Since 2023 they can also qualify for the regime. |
No. They have been expressly excluded since 2010. The regime’s name outlived them, but they can no longer apply it.
You do not have to file it while you are under this regime. Nor Form 721 for foreign crypto-assets.
If you invoice as a self-employed person, you cannot qualify. The regime requires that you have no economic activity of your own in Spanish territory.
Only on what you hold in Spain. Everything outside is excluded for the duration of the regime.
Yes, since the 2023 reform, provided you hold the international telework visa or equivalent permit.
Yes, but only in November or December, with effect from the following year. It is worth reviewing annually.
Not necessarily. What matters is that your new situation continues to meet the regime’s requirements, not that you stay with the same employer.
Thinking of relocating to Spain?
The application deadline is only six months from when you start working. The best approach is to carry out the analysis before the clock starts running. Contact our tax team and we will tell you in a first conversation whether the Beckham Law makes sense for you.
Prefer to dig in first? Download our full technical guide, with the regulatory analysis, DGT criteria and the most common scenarios in practice.
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