The ‘Beckham Law,’ also known as the ‘Expatriates Law,’ is a special tax regime within Law 35/2006 of 28 November on personal incomez tax (hereinafter ‘LIRPF’) aimed at attracting foreign talent to Spain.
The so-called ‘Beckham Law,’ which is provided for in Article 93 of the LIRPF, allows foreigners moving to Spain for work purposes and who meet the requirements provided for in said article, to benefit from a more favourable taxation. It allows them to pay income tax as non-residents while maintaining their status of tax residents for the tax year of arrival and for the following five tax years.
This regime has been amended several times since it was enacted by Royal Decree in 2005, and it is the most recent amendment, made in December 2022, that has prompted this note. Below, we aim to summarise the main developments and changes to the new tax regime for impatriates, which came into force on 1 January 2023:
To begin with, pursuant to Article 93.1.a) of the LIRPF, the requirement of non- residence in Spain has been reduced from ten to five tax years prior to moving to Spanish territory.
In addition, the scope of workers eligible for the special regime has been extended to the following:
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93.1.b).1 LIRPF: firstly, starting in 2023, foreign teleworkers moving to Spain are eligible for the special regime. In particular, this requirement is deemed to be met in the case of workers in paid employment who have the international remote working visa provided for in Law 14/2013 of 27 September to support entrepreneurs and their internationalisation. Foreign, non-Community workers may apply for this visa if they can demonstrate that:
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They are graduates or postgraduates of universities, training centres and recognised business schools, or have at least three years’ work
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The existence of actual and continued activity by the company that hires them, and that the employment relationship may be performed
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That the employment relationship has existed for at least three
The duration of the visa is one year, unless the work period is shorter, in which case the visa will be for that duration. After one year, they must apply
to the Unit for Large Companies and Strategic Economic Sectors (UGE-CE) for a three-year residence permit.
Although the law states that workers on this type of visa are now eligible for the special regime, we are awaiting a regulatory development on the form and requirements for availing of the special regime by foreign remote workers that do not require a visa (Spanish and Community nationals who do not require a permit to live and work in Spain).
The scope of the special regime in this case will also be extended to the employee’s spouse, as well as their children under the age of 25 years and disabled children (regardless of their age), and to the parent of their children in cases where they are not married, provided they meet certain conditions.
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93.1.b).2 LIRPF: the directors of an entity, regardless of their percentage shareholding in the entity, may also apply for inclusion in the regime. In cases where the entity meets the definition of an asset-holding entity, as provided in Article 5 of Law 27/2014 of 27 November on corporate income tax, the director may not have an equity interest in the entity that determines its consideration as a related party pursuant to Article 18 of the above Law.
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93.1.b).3 LIRPF: thirdly, workers who carry out an entrepreneurial activity may apply for the special regime. Entrepreneurial activity is defined as an activity that meets the requirements of Article 70 of Law 14/2013 of 27 September, as established in the regulations. The requirements are primarily the following:
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The activity must be innovative and of special economic interest for
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For this purpose, it shall have a favourable report issued by the Central State Administration.
In short, the creation of jobs in Spain will be a priority consideration when assessing and classifying the activity as entrepreneurial and account will also be taken of the applicant’s professional background, the business plan (including a market analysis, product or service and financing), and the added value for the Spanish economy, innovation and investment opportunities.
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93.1.b).4 LIRPF: finally, highly qualified workers are also eligible for this special regime when they provide services to start-ups, i.e. enterprises that meet the requirements of Article 3 of Law 28/2022 of 21 December on the promotion of the start-up ecosystem, or who carry out training, research, development and innovation activities, for which they receive an overall remuneration representing more than 40% of total business, professional and personal income. Therefore, there are two new cases where workers become eligible for the special tax regime:
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Firstly, workers moving to Spain to carry out an economic activity as highly qualified professionals providing services to start-ups. For this purpose, start-ups are enterprises certified as such by Spain’s National Innovation Company (ENISA) which, in short, must meet the following requirements:
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Are newly created or, failing that, generally not more than five years have elapsed since the date they were registered, or seven years in the case of companies in the biotechnology, energy, industrial and other strategic sectors, or which have developed proprietary technology that was entirely designed in Spain.
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Are not the result of a merger, spin-off or conversion of companies not classified as start-ups.
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Have not and do not distribute
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Are not traded in a regulated
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Have their headquarters, registered office or a permanent establishment in Spain.
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Sixty percent of the workforce have an employment contract in
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Develop an innovative entrepreneurship project with a scalable business model.
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Secondly, workers moving to Spain to carry out an economic activity as highly qualified professionals engaged in training, research, development and innovation.
In the latter two cases, we are awaiting the approval of a regulatory development that determines the proof required to accredit the status of highly qualified professional and, as regards point b) of the regulation in particular, that sets out the requirements for classifying activities as training, research, development and innovation.
This regulation aims to make living in Spain even more attractive to foreigners by offering a competitive tax regime compared to other countries in Europe. However, it is a bittersweet development, as it coincides with the approval of the temporary solidarity tax on large fortunes, which in fact discourages high net worth individuals from establishing their tax residence in Spain.
