This guide is what worked for us and the people we've helped — it is not tax advice, and we are not tax professionals. Rules change, every situation is different, and the cost of getting it wrong (denied visas, double taxation, fines, missed deadlines) is real.
Before you act on anything here, speak with a qualified tax professional — an immigration lawyer (abogado de extranjería), a cross-border tax accountant, or a licensed gestor — who can review your specific facts. Use this guide to know what questions to ask, not as a substitute for paid advice.
The Régimen Especial para Trabajadores Desplazados (Spain's special tax regime for inbound workers, popularly called the Beckham Law after David Beckham, its first famous user) lets qualifying new arrivals pay a flat 24% Spanish income tax on Spanish-source earnings up to €600,000 — instead of the normal progressive 19–47% scale — for up to six years.
Equally important: most foreign-source income is exempt during the regime, and you're treated as a non-resident for the Modelo 720 foreign-asset reporting requirement. For a US remote worker earning €80,000+, the regime usually saves €5,000–€20,000+ per year vs the standard Spanish tax scale.
The 2023 Startup Law-A-2022-21739) opened Beckham eligibility to Digital Nomad Visa holders and self-employed innovators, which is what makes it relevant to most readers of this guide. Pre-2023, it was almost exclusively for company-sponsored employees.
You must not have been a Spanish tax resident in the last five tax years (the 2023 law cut this from the previous ten years).
Your move to Spain must be triggered by one of: (a) an employment contract with a Spanish or foreign employer where the work is mostly performed in Spain, (b) appointment as a director of a Spanish company (with stricter ownership rules), (c) carrying out an innovative or highly qualified self-employed activity, or (d) Digital Nomad Visa status working remotely for non-Spanish employers/clients.
Your spouse and children under 25 (or any age with a disability) can also opt in, as long as the total taxable income of family-member applicants doesn't exceed the main applicant's. Seguridad Social (or, for DNV holders, within 6 months of starting your residency). Miss this window and you cannot apply later for the same move.