How to apply for Spain's Beckham Law tax regime

The law was nicknamed after footballer David Beckham when he signed for Real Madrid as he was the first one to take advantage of it, however, the law's official name is Régimen Especial de trabajadores desplazados o impatriados.

These 'displaced workers' or 'inpatriates' are generally foreign employees who are brought to work in their company's subsidiary in Spain. 

If you qualify for the Beckham Law, it means that you can pay tax in Spain as if you were a non-resident for a total of six years, even though you live here.

Essentially, you will pay a flat fee of 24 percent up to €600,000.

READ ALSO - Beckham Law: What foreigners need to know about Spain's special tax regime

How to apply for Beckham’s Law

If you qualify for Beckham’s Law, it will not automatically be applied to you, you will need to apply for it. In order to do this, you need to complete Modelo or Form 149.

It’s essential that you do this within the first six months of living in Spain, if you miss this window, then you will be unable to benefit from the tax regime.

You can complete this form if:

• You have not been resident in Spain during the five previous years.
  
  
• You moved to Spain to take up work and have an employment contract with an employer in Spain or work remotely for a company outside Spain.
  
  
• You are not self-employed, unless it's an entrepreneurial activity that is of an innovative nature and is of particular financial interest for Spain. For this, you must have a favourable report issued by the General State Administration.

To complete Modelo 149 you need to fill it out and submit it online. For this, you will need a digital certificate or a Cl@ve pin in order to identify yourself first. 

Section 1

In the first section of the form, you will need to complete the boxes with your personal details such as NIE/NIF, name and phone number.

Section 2 is reserved for the details of any professional who is filling out the form for you, but if you’re doing it yourself, you can ignore this.

Complete your personal details in section 1. Source: Agencia Tributaria

Section 3

On this part, you must state your reasons for applying for Beckham’s law.

You must choose one of two answers: Either ‘desplazamiento como consecuencia de un contrato de trabajo’, which is for those who have had to move to Spain because they have been transferred here through their work, or ‘desplazamiento como consecuencia de la adquisición de la condición de administrador de una entidad’. This means that you have had to move to Spain because your company has been acquired by another, which forces you to move here.  

Under these sections, you must complete the details that correspond to you and your situation, such as your NIF, the date you entered Spain, when you started paying social security and which country you moved from.  

Fill out your reason for applying for Beckham Law. Source: Agencia Tributaria

Sections 4 and 5

If you are applying for Beckham’s Law, you will leave sections 4 and 5 blank. Section 4 is if you want to renounce your special tax regime and section 5 is if you no longer meet the conditions of the law and are forced to give it up. This could be if you've changed jobs for example. 

Section 6

The last section is for those who have completed their contract in Spain and are moving back to their home country, so again, you can leave this blank.

Submitting your form

When you are done, click on 'Validar declaración' or 'Validate declaration' to check if there are errors. The list of errors and warnings detected will be displayed, allowing you to correct it by clicking on the 'Go to error' button next to the description.  

If no errors are detected, you can file the return. You will do this by clicking on 'Firmar y Enviar' or ‘Sign and Send’.

If everything is correct, you will get the response sheet that says 'Su presentación ha sido realizada con éxito' or 'Your submission has been successfully completed' with a PDF to download a copy of the form.  

Additional documents

Along with your form, you will have to attach a copy of your employment contract with a Spanish company, your Social Security number, a copy of your passport and your foreign identification document such as TIE or EU green residency card.  

Receiving a response

The law states that you should receive a reply to see if you’ve been successful or not within a period of 10 working days, however, in reality, it can take more like one or two months to receive an answer.

Once Beckham’s law has been applied to you, if you keep meeting the requirements, you can benefit from it for up to six years. Each year you must declare your taxes using Modelo or Form 151.