Standard Spanish tax residency and the Beckham Law are not equivalents. Standard Spanish tax residency applies progressive IRPF rates from 19% to 47% (Art. 63 LIRPF), taxes worldwide income, requires annual Modelo 720 foreign-asset reporting, and applies wealth tax and the Solidarity Tax on Large Fortunes (ITSGF) to worldwide assets. The Beckham Law (Art. 93 LIRPF, as amended by Ley 28/2022) applies a flat 24% rate on Spanish employment income up to €600,000 and 47% above, treats foreign investment income — dividends, interest and capital gains — as outside the Spanish base, exempts the filer from Modelo 720, and limits wealth tax and ITSGF exposure to Spanish-located assets only. For most founders relocating to Spain, Beckham is materially better — but it lasts only six tax years and carries specific traps.
What is each regime? Side-by-side at a glance
Standard residency and the Beckham Law are two different tax statuses, not two settings of the same regime. Choosing between them changes the tax base, the rate, the reporting obligations, and the wealth-tax footprint.
Standard Spanish tax residency — the baseline
A person becomes a Spanish tax resident when any Art. 9 LIRPF trigger fires: more than 183 days in Spain in a calendar year, the centre of economic interests in Spain, or the rebuttable presumption based on the location of a non-separated spouse and minor children.
Standard residents pay IRPF on worldwide income. General income (employment, business, rental, pensions) follows the progressive state-plus-autonomous scale at a national reference range of 19% to 47%, the top 47% tier applying above €300,000 of taxable base. Savings income (dividends, interest, capital gains) follows the separate 19% / 21% / 23% / 27% / 30% scale, the top 30% bracket applying above €300,000 since 1 January 2025 per Ley 7/2024.
Standard residents must also file Modelo 720 on foreign assets above €50,000 per category each year, and are subject to wealth tax (Modelo 714) and the Solidarity Tax on Large Fortunes (ITSGF, Modelo 718) on worldwide net wealth.
The Beckham Law — the special regime
The Beckham Law (formally the Régimen Especial para Trabajadores, Profesionales, Emprendedores e Inversores Desplazados) is opted into within six months of Social Security registration via Modelo 149, and lasts six fiscal years — the year of arrival plus the five following. Once elected, the filer is treated as a non-resident for foreign-source income purposes while remaining a Spanish IRPF contributor for Spanish-source income.
The headline mechanics: a flat 24% rate on Spanish employment income up to €600,000, 47% on the excess (Art. 93.2.f LIRPF). Foreign-source investment income — dividends, interest, capital gains from non-Spanish assets — sits outside the Spanish tax base entirely. Foreign-source employment income earned during the regime period, by contrast, is deemed Spanish-source under Art. 93.2.b LIRPF and taxed at the same 24% / 47% rates. The filer is exempt from Modelo 720 and from Modelo 721 (foreign crypto). Wealth tax and ITSGF apply only to Spanish-located assets (obligación real).
The 2022 founder-specific reform
Ley 28/2022 (the Startup Law) reshaped Art. 93 LIRPF from 1 January 2023. Four changes matter for founders:
- The prior non-residency requirement dropped from ten years to five.
- Teleworkers, entrepreneurs and highly-qualified professionals were brought into scope.
- The family extension was added (spouse, children under 25 or with disability).
- The headline founder change: administrators of operating Spanish companies became eligible regardless of shareholding percentage.
The pre-2023 25% participation cap survives, but only for administrators of sociedades patrimoniales as defined by Art. 5.2 LIS. If your Spanish company conducts real economic activity, the cap does not apply to you.
If your Spanish company conducts real economic activity, you can own 100% and still elect Beckham as administrator. The 25% cap only survives for sociedades patrimoniales (asset-holding companies) under Art. 5.2 LIS. DGT V1207-25 confirms this for employee-to-administrator moves.
Source: Ley 28/2022, DF 3ª; Art. 93.1.b LIRPF; DGT V1207-25
| Rule | Standard residency | Beckham Law |
|---|---|---|
| IRPF base | Worldwide income | Spanish-source income |
| General IRPF rate | 19% to 47% progressive | 24% flat to €600,000; 47% above |
| Foreign dividends | Taxed in savings scale 19% to 30% | Outside Spanish base |
| Foreign capital gains | Taxed in savings scale 19% to 30% | Outside Spanish base |
| Foreign rental income | Taxed in general scale | Outside Spanish base |
| Foreign employment income during regime | Taxed at progressive rates | Taxed at 24% / 47% Beckham rates |
| Modelo 720 / Modelo 721 | Mandatory above €50,000 per category | Exempt |
| Wealth tax base | Worldwide assets | Spanish-located assets only |
| ITSGF (Modelo 718) | Worldwide assets above €3,000,000 | Spanish-located assets above €3,000,000 |
| Duration | Indefinite while resident | Six fiscal years; no renewal |
| Annual return | Modelo 100 | Modelo 151 |
| Family extension | Not applicable | Spouse and children under 25 |
Specific scenarios — how the two regimes play out for founders
Rate arithmetic is only half the picture. The regime delta depends on income mix, asset location, ownership structure, and exit timing. Five scenarios that recur in founder relocations to Spain illustrate where Beckham wins and where it does not.
Scenario 1 — Founder with ongoing foreign company dividends
The founder retains a stake in a non-Spanish operating company that continues to distribute dividends. Under standard residency, those foreign dividends enter the Spanish savings scale at 19% to 30% (the 30% bracket applying above €300,000 of savings base), with any foreign withholding tax credited through the unilateral or treaty-based relief mechanism.
Under Beckham, those foreign dividends sit outside the Spanish IRPF base entirely. The founder pays no Spanish tax on them for the six years of the regime, irrespective of the amount. This is one of the cleanest deltas in the comparison and often the single largest source of savings for founders with material foreign holdings.
Scenario 2 — Founder appointed director of a new Spanish operating company
A common founder pattern: incorporate a Spanish SL, hold 100%, and pay yourself director compensation. Under standard residency, that compensation is taxed on the full IRPF scale, reaching 47% on the portion above €300,000 of taxable base.
Under Beckham, the same compensation is taxed at the flat 24% up to €600,000 and 47% above. Eligibility hinges on the operating-company test: the Spanish SL must conduct real economic activity and not qualify as sociedad patrimonial under Art. 5.2 LIS. DGT V1207-25 (3 July 2025) confirms regime continuity when an employee transitions to administrator of an operating Spanish entity, provided the entity is not patrimonial and the participation does not trigger vinculación under Art. 18 LIS.
Scenario 3 — Founder with a foreign holding company
If the founder's structure routes income through a foreign holding company whose principal asset is a portfolio of securities or non-operating assets, the entity is likely patrimonial under Art. 5.2 LIS. DGT V1068-25 holds that the 25% participation limit then applies to administrators, excluding founders with stakes at or above that threshold.
In practice, the structure usually needs review and often restructuring before relocation — typically by separating operating activity from passive holdings, or by ensuring the administrator role sits in the operating entity rather than the holding vehicle.
Scenario 4 — Founder planning a liquidity event within the six-year window
If the founder is heading toward a sale of equity in a non-Spanish company within the next six years, regime choice has a material impact on the tax cost of the exit. Under standard residency, the gain on disposal of foreign-located equity enters the Spanish savings base in full and is taxed at 19% to 30%.
Under Beckham, the gain on disposal of foreign-located equity is treated as foreign-source capital gain and falls outside the Spanish base. Timing the exit inside the six-year window can therefore shelter the entire gain from Spanish tax — provided the equity is foreign-located, the disposal is properly documented as a non-Spanish-source capital gain, and no Spanish permanent establishment is involved.
Pre-exit planning is one of the highest-value uses of Beckham. A foreign liquidity event timed inside the six-year window can shelter the entire gain from Spanish tax that standard residency would fully expose at 19% to 30%.
Source: Ley 35/2006, Art. 93.2.b LIRPF
Scenario 5 — Founder with a Spanish main home
Buying a primary residence in Spain interacts with the regime in a non-obvious way. Standard residents apply the main-home exemption under Art. 85 LIRPF and impute no rental income on it.
For Beckham filers, the position is currently contested. TEAC Resolución RG 3697/2025, de 17 de julio de 2025 (unification of criterion) holds that Beckham filers must include imputed rental income on Spanish urban property — including the habitual residence — applying Art. 13.1.h) TRLIRNR. TSJ Madrid Sentencia 665/2025, de 17 de septiembre de 2025, contradicts this and applies the Art. 85 LIRPF exemption. The TEAC criterion is binding on AEAT under Art. 242.4 LGT; the Tribunal Supremo has not yet issued a unifying casación. The exposure is small in absolute terms (typically 1.1% to 2% of cadastral value imputed annually) but it surprises founders who expected full main-home parity with standard residency.
The Spanish main-home imputed-income exposure under Beckham (1.1% to 2% of cadastral value) is modest in cash terms but unexpected. Verify the current state of TEAC vs Tribunal Supremo doctrine at the time of your election, as a Supreme Court ruling is pending.
Source: TEAC R. 3697/2025; TSJ Madrid 665/2025; Art. 13.1.h TRLIRNR
Last verified: Jun 2026
Real numbers — tax bill comparison for a €250,000 founder
The most useful way to make the trade-off concrete is to walk a representative founder profile through both regimes. The numbers below are illustrative and exclude social security contributions, regional autonomous deductions, personal and family allowances, and any treaty relief. They are not a tax estimate.
The profile
A founder relocates to Madrid in January 2026 with €250,000 in Spanish director compensation from a 100%-owned operating Spanish SL; €40,000 in foreign-company dividends; and €100,000 in foreign capital gains from a partial equity sale (one-off in the relocation year). Six-year horizon for the recurring items.
Under standard residency
The €250,000 Spanish salary enters the general IRPF scale but stops below the €300,000 threshold for the 47% top tier, producing approximately €100,000 of tax at the Madrid combined rate (illustrative). The €40,000 foreign dividends enter the savings scale at 19% / 21%, producing approximately €8,300. The €100,000 foreign capital gain enters the savings scale in the disposal year at 21% / 23%, producing approximately €23,000. Modelo 720 reporting is mandatory; wealth tax and ITSGF apply to worldwide assets.
Under Beckham
The €250,000 Spanish salary is taxed at the flat 24% rate, producing €60,000. The €40,000 foreign dividends and the €100,000 foreign capital gain sit outside the Spanish base. No Modelo 720; wealth tax and ITSGF cover Spanish-located assets only.
| Item | Standard residency | Beckham Law | Annual delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tax on €250,000 Spanish salary | ~€100,000 | €60,000 | ~€40,000 |
| Tax on €40,000 foreign dividends | ~€8,300 | €0 | ~€8,300 |
| Tax on €100,000 foreign capital gain (year 1 only) | ~€23,000 | €0 | ~€23,000 |
| Modelo 720 reporting | Mandatory | Exempt | Compliance burden |
| Wealth tax base | Worldwide | Spanish-located | Structural |
| Year 1 total tax | ~€131,300 | €60,000 | ~€71,300 |
| Recurring annual tax (years 2 to 6) | ~€108,300 | €60,000 | ~€48,300 |
Six-year cumulative delta
Adding the recurring delta across years two to six (approximately €48,300 per year, five years) to the year-one delta that includes the one-off capital gain (approximately €71,300) yields a cumulative six-year saving in the order of €312,000 for this profile. The exact figure depends on autonomous community, exit timing, family situation and the wealth-tax position, but the order of magnitude is representative for founders in this income range.
For founders with meaningful foreign assets, the Modelo 720 exemption is structurally as valuable as the rate cut itself.
How ApexTax helps founders choose and implement the right regime
ApexTax is a Tax Strategy Consultancy for cross-border relocations to Spain. We act as the Single Point of Contact across the regime decision and the full move: modelling the standard-versus-Beckham delta against the founder's specific income, asset and exit profile; stress-testing the operating-versus-patrimonial structure of the Spanish entity pre-relocation; mapping the wealth-tax and ITSGF footprint under each regime; and coordinating the qualified Spanish tax advisors, gestores and immigration lawyers who handle the formal filings, the Modelo 149 election, the Modelo 151 annual return, and any pre-exit restructuring.
ApexTax does not file Modelo 149, does not represent applicants before AEAT, and does not provide formal legal or tax advice. Implementation of legal and tax procedures is delivered by independent qualified Spanish professionals selected and coordinated by ApexTax.