Key facts at a glance
Beckham Law flat rate
24%
On Spanish-source income up to €600,000
Duration
6 tax years
Year of arrival plus 5 following years
Non-residency test
5 years
Reduced from 10 by the 2023 Startup Law
Here's the number before the mechanics: on a €60,000 salary, the Beckham Law's flat 24% rate saves you €3,501.50 a year over standard Madrid-scale IRPF. On €90,000, the saving grows to €9,801.50. On €150,000, it's €22,401.50. The gap widens as your salary rises because standard IRPF is progressive (it climbs toward 45% well before €150,000), while the Beckham Law rate stays flat at 24% all the way up to €600,000.
And despite its reputation as a footballers-and-executives perk, the 2023 Startup Law reform opened the Beckham Law to remote workers employed by non-Spanish companies, digital nomad visa holders, company directors, and qualifying entrepreneurs, not just traditional inbound assignees. If you're a software engineer relocating to Madrid or Barcelona and working remotely for a foreign employer, there's a real chance you qualify.
See your own Beckham Law vs standard IRPF numbers, side by side.
Open the Spain calculatorHow the flat rate actually works against progressive IRPF
Standard Spanish income tax (IRPF) is progressive and splits into a state scale plus an autonomous-community scale set independently by each region. Using Madrid's combined scale, the lowest in the country and the most commonly cited reference case, you pay 19% on the first €12,450, then 24%, 30%, and 37% in rising bands, 45% between €60,000 and €300,000, and 47% above that. Catalonia and Valencia run materially higher regional scales, so their combined top rate can exceed 50%, meaning a standard-tax comparison outside Madrid looks worse than the figures in this article.
The Beckham Law replaces all of that with one flat number: 24% on Spanish-source employment income up to €600,000, then 47% on anything above it. There are no bands to climb through and no regional variation, since the regime is set at the national level under Article 93 LIRPF. It only applies to Spanish-source employment income; foreign-source income like non-Spanish dividends, rental income, or capital gains is generally exempt under this regime, which is a separate benefit this calculator doesn't model since it's scoped to salary comparisons.
Both regimes sit on top of the same Spanish Social Security employee contribution, 6.50% of gross salary, capped at €61,214.40 of contributable earnings for 2026, so the tax-rate comparison above is the whole story for most tech salaries: it's Beckham Law's flat 24% against whatever band of standard IRPF your salary happens to land in.
Beckham Law vs standard IRPF, three salary levels
Social Security (6.50%, capped at €61,214.40/year contributable) is deducted identically in both columns, so the net figures below isolate exactly what the tax-regime choice is worth.
| Gross salary | Standard IRPF tax | Beckham Law tax | Net (standard) | Net (Beckham) | Annual saving |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| €60,000 | €17,901.50 | €14,400.00 | €38,198.50 | €41,700.00 | +€3,501.50 |
| €90,000 | €31,401.50 | €21,600.00 | €54,619.56 | €64,421.06 | +€9,801.50 |
| €150,000 | €58,401.50 | €36,000.00 | €87,619.56 | €110,021.06 | +€22,401.50 |
Figures use the 2026 Madrid-representative IRPF scale and 2026 Social Security rates. Run your own exact salary through the Spain Salary Calculator.
Who actually qualifies now, not who used to
The core test hasn't changed: you must not have been a Spanish tax resident during the 5 tax years before your move (down from 10 years since the 2023 Startup Law reform), and you must apply within 6 months of registering with Spanish Social Security. Miss that window and the regime isn't available for that move, there's no late-filing exception.
What has genuinely changed is who else qualifies beyond the traditional inbound-assignee case: remote workers employed by a company outside Spain, holders of Spain's digital nomad visa, company directors (with shareholding caps if the company isn't newly created), and entrepreneurs or highly-qualified professionals under the Startup Law. If you're relocating to work remotely for a UK or US employer rather than being formally posted by a Spanish company, that's exactly the group the 2023 reform was designed to bring in.
Six years, then a €600,000 ceiling to watch
The regime runs for six tax years total, the year you become a Spanish tax resident plus the following five, and then ends automatically. There's no extension, so it's worth planning any large bonus, equity vesting, or role change around that clock rather than after it's already run out.
Within those six years, the flat 24% applies to Spanish-source employment income up to €600,000; only the excess above that is taxed at 47%. For most tech salaries the ceiling is academic, but a large one-off bonus or a liquidity event that pushes total employment income past €600,000 in a single tax year is worth modelling explicitly rather than assuming the flat rate covers everything.
Model your own Beckham Law vs standard IRPF numbers
Enter your salary and toggle Beckham Law on or off to see the exact euro difference at your own income level.
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Frequently asked questions
What exactly is the Beckham Law in Spain?
It's the Régimen Especial para Trabajadores Desplazados (Article 93 LIRPF), a special tax regime that lets a qualifying foreign worker who moves to Spain pay a flat 24% on Spanish-source employment income up to €600,000 a year, instead of the standard progressive IRPF scale, which climbs to 45-47% well before that ceiling. Income above €600,000 is taxed at 47%. It's nicknamed after David Beckham, whose 2003 move to Real Madrid was one of the regime's first high-profile uses, but the name has stuck around for a rule that now covers a much broader group of people than football stars.
Who actually qualifies for the Beckham Law in 2026?
You need two things. First, you must not have been a Spanish tax resident during the 5 tax years before your move (that's down from 10 years, thanks to the 2023 Startup Law reform). Second, you need to file the application within 6 months of registering with Spanish Social Security. On top of the traditional case, an employee relocated to Spain by an employer, the 2023 reform opened the door to remote workers employed by a non-Spanish company, digital nomad visa holders, company directors (with shareholding caps if the company isn't newly created), and entrepreneurs or highly-qualified professionals under the Startup Law framework.
Isn't the Beckham Law just for footballers and executives?
That reputation is out of date. It was true before 2023: the regime mostly served senior executives and sports professionals sent to Spain by their employer. The Startup Law reform changed that by extending eligibility to teletrabajadores (remote employees of a foreign company), digital nomad visa holders, and founders. If you're a software engineer working remotely for a US or UK company and relocating to Madrid or Barcelona under Spain's digital nomad visa, you're now squarely in scope, provided you meet the 5-year non-residency test.
How much does the Beckham Law actually save you, in real numbers?
It grows with your salary, because the flat 24% doesn't move while standard IRPF keeps climbing. On €60,000, Beckham Law saves you €3,501.50 a year over standard Madrid-scale IRPF. On €90,000, that's €9,801.50. On €150,000, it's €22,401.50. The reason the gap widens isn't a quirk, it's the whole point of a flat-rate regime sitting against a progressive one: every extra euro above the standard scale's 45% band (which starts at €60,000) would normally be taxed at 45%, but under Beckham Law it's still taxed at 24%.
Why does my Beckham Law tax bill look lower than I expected compared to a colleague on standard tax?
Because you're likely comparing a flat rate against a progressive one without accounting for where you sit on the standard scale. Someone on €60,000 under standard IRPF pays 19% on the first €12,450, then 24%, 30%, and 37% in rising bands, before touching 45%. Their effective income tax rate ends up around 29.8%, well below the headline 45% top band. Beckham Law's 24% still beats that on every salary shown here, but the gap looks smaller at lower salaries and much larger at higher ones, exactly because standard IRPF's effective rate keeps climbing toward the marginal rate as income rises, while Beckham Law's effective rate stays close to 24% until you cross €600,000.
How long does the Beckham Law regime last, and what happens after?
Six tax years total: the year you become a Spanish tax resident, plus the following five. After that window closes, you automatically revert to standard progressive IRPF, using whichever autonomous community's scale applies to where you live at the time. There's no renewal or extension, so it's worth planning ahead, particularly if a salary increase or bonus is likely to land right as your six years run out.
What happens if my salary goes over €600,000 while I'm on the Beckham Law regime?
Only the portion above €600,000 jumps to 47%; everything up to that threshold stays at the flat 24%. So a €650,000 salary under Beckham Law pays 24% on the first €600,000 (€144,000) plus 47% on the remaining €50,000 (€23,500), for €167,500 total, still meaningfully below what standard IRPF would charge at the same income. The €600,000 ceiling rarely matters for a typical tech salary, but it's worth knowing if a large bonus, equity vesting event, or relocation package pushes you close to it in a given tax year.
Do I still pay Spanish Social Security if I'm on the Beckham Law?
Usually, yes. This calculator (and the figures above) apply the standard Spanish employee Social Security contribution, 6.50% of gross salary, capped at a €61,214.40 annual contribution ceiling for 2026, identically whether you're on Beckham Law or standard IRPF. There's a real exception: some Beckham Law beneficiaries stay covered by their home country's social security system instead, under EU coordination rules (Regulation 883/2004) or a bilateral totalization agreement, and in that case Spanish Social Security wouldn't apply at all. That's a genuine edge case worth checking with a Spanish tax adviser if you're moving from a country with a totalization agreement or EU coordination in place, since it changes your net figure beyond what's modeled here.