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Beckham law, IRPF and tax residence in Spain – what newcomers pay and when to file

Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →

Once you are tax resident, Spain taxes your income through IRPF, and your region sets part of the rate. Here is when residence starts, what the 2026 scales look like, when the Beckham law can lower your bill, and how to bring your belongings and pets in.

Woman opening letters at a kitchen table with a laptop and calculator
Photo: Liubomir/Adobe Stock

Three tax points matter from your first month in Spain. Tax residence decides whether you pay IRPF (personal income tax). The Beckham law, a special regime for workers who move here, can swap the normal scales for a flat rate – if you opt in within six months of starting work. And from tax year 2025, people on unemployment benefit no longer have to file a return for that reason alone, under Royal Decree-law 3/2026, published on 4 February 2026.

When do you become tax resident in Spain?

According to the Agencia Tributaria (Spanish Tax Agency), you are resident for IRPF in a calendar year if either of the first two tests applies. The third is a presumption you can rebut.

TestWhat counts
More than 183 days in SpainSporadic absences count as time in Spain, unless you prove tax residence in another country
Centre of economic interestsThe main centre or base of your business activities or economic interests is in Spain
Family presumptionYour non-separated spouse and dependent minor children habitually live in Spain

Source: Agencia Tributaria, read 23 September 2026.

Residence covers the whole calendar year – moving does not split it – and a residence permit does not by itself make you tax resident. Non-residents without a permanent establishment pay IRNR (non-resident income tax) on Spanish income instead: generally 24 per cent, or 19 per cent for residents of the EU, Iceland or Norway.

How much IRPF will you pay in Spain?

Wages and other general income are taxed on two scales added together: a state scale, the same everywhere, and a regional scale set by your comunidad autónoma (autonomous community). The state scale for 2026:

Taxable baseState rate
Up to €12,4509.5%
€12,450 to €20,20012%
€20,200 to €35,20015%
€35,200 to €60,00018.5%
€60,000 to €300,00022.5%
Above €300,00024.5%

Source: BOE (Official State Gazette), consolidated Income Tax Act, read 23 September 2026.

The regional half is where Madrid, Catalonia, Andalusia and Valencia differ. The latest regional scales in the Agencia Tributaria's manual are for 2025, used for the return filed in 2026; check your region's 2026 law before you budget.

Region, tax year 2025Lowest regional rateTop regional rate
Comunidad de Madrid8.5% up to €13,362.2220.5% above €57,320.40
Catalonia9.5% up to €12,50025.5% above €175,000
Andalusia9.5% up to €13,00022.5% above €60,000
Comunitat Valenciana9% up to €12,00029.5% above €200,000

Source: Agencia Tributaria, Manual práctico Renta 2025, read 23 September 2026.

Allowances come off first: €5,550 a year for everyone (€1,150 more from 65, €1,400 more from 75); €2,400 for a first child, €2,700 for a second, €4,000 for a third and €4,500 for each further one, plus €2,800 per child under three. Employees with net work income up to €14,852 get a €7,302 reduction, tapering away at €19,747.50. Working mothers can deduct up to €1,200 a year per child under three, plus up to €1,000 for nursery costs.

Savings income has its own scale: the state half runs from 9.5 per cent on the first €6,000 to 15 per cent above €300,000, and the regional half mirrors it.

What is the Beckham law, and who can use it?

The Beckham law (article 93 of the Income Tax Act) lets you pay under non-resident rules for the year you arrive and the following five, while remaining an IRPF taxpayer. It is open if you were not tax resident in Spain in the previous five years and you move for a job (including remote work on the digital nomad visa), a company directorship, an entrepreneurial activity or highly qualified work at start-ups or in R&D. Professional athletes are excluded.

Beckham regimeOrdinary IRPF
Wages and other general income24% up to €600,000; 47% aboveState plus regional scale
Dividends, interest, capital gainsSeparate scale from 19%; the law and the agency's manual differ on the top band, so askSavings scale
How longYear of arrival plus five yearsWhile you are resident
How to opt inForm 149, online only, within six months of the start date in your Seguridad Social (social security) registrationAutomatic
Annual returnForm 151Form 100
FamilySince 1 January 2023: spouse, children under 25 (or with a disability) and the other parent, moving with or after you–

Source: Agencia Tributaria and BOE, consolidated Income Tax Act, read 23 September 2026.

Take Anna, an invented example: she moves to Valencia for a job, and her Seguridad Social registration shows an October start date. Her six months for form 149 run from then, not from the day she landed. And if she buys a flat, a TEAC (central tax appeals tribunal) resolution of 17 July 2025 means she must declare deemed property income on it, even as her main home.

When is the Spanish tax return due?

The declaración de la renta (income tax return) is filed the spring after the tax year: for 2025, from 8 April to 30 June 2026, with payment by direct debit closing on 25 June 2026. Who has to file:

Situation, tax year 2025Must you file?
Work income under €22,000 from one payer (any second payer €1,500 or less)No
Work income above €15,876 from several payers (second and later above €1,500)Yes, as a rule
Self-employed in RETA (the self-employed scheme)Always, since 1 January 2023
Receiving unemployment benefitNot for that reason alone, from tax year 2025
Under the Beckham regimeOn form 151 instead of the ordinary return

Source: Agencia Tributaria, Manual práctico Renta 2025 and campaign calendar, read 23 September 2026.

Questions? Call the Agencia Tributaria on +34 91 554 87 70 for basic tax information (Monday to Friday, 9:00–19:00; until 15:00 in August) or +34 91 333 5 333 for assistance and appointments.

How do you bring your belongings and pets to Spain?

Moving from outside the EU, your personal belongings and household effects enter free of customs duty and VAT if you lived outside the EU for at least 12 consecutive months, owned and used them for at least six months and will use them the same way here. Claim the relief on the import declaration (DUA) with code C01 (customs), 101 (VAT) or 303 (IGIC, Canary Islands); no prior application is needed.

Declare the goods within 12 months of taking up residence, and do not sell, lend or hire them out for 12 months without telling customs. Alcohol, tobacco, commercial vehicles and professional equipment beyond portable tools of your trade are excluded; part 12 covers cars. Up to five dogs, cats or ferrets count as non-commercial pets, and none may enter under 15 weeks old.

Arriving fromWhat your dog, cat or ferret needs
Another EU countryMicrochip (or a legible tattoo from before 3 July 2011), valid rabies vaccination and EU pet passport; vaccination from 12 weeks, valid after 21 days
Great BritainAuthorised point of entry; health certificate or EU pet passport (not one issued in Great Britain); no antibody test
A non-listed country with rabies riskRabies antibody test of at least 0.5 IU/ml at an approved laboratory; entry 90 days after the blood sample, so at least 7 months old
Any non-EU countryAuthorised Travellers' Point of Entry, declared to Guardia Civil customs, or the animal is sent back

Source: Agencia Tributaria (Customs) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, read 23 September 2026.

Once here, dog owners must take a free training course and hold third-party liability insurance for the dog under Ley 7/2023, in force since 29 September 2023; a regulation is to set the details.

What to do now

StepWhatWhen
1Count your days in SpainFrom the day you arrive
2Moving for a job? Check the Beckham conditions and file form 149Within six months of your Seguridad Social start date
3Check whether you must file, and on which formBefore each spring campaign
4Declare removal goods on the import declarationWithin 12 months of taking up residence
5Sort out your pet's microchip, vaccination and papersBefore you travel

Source: Agencia Tributaria, read 23 September 2026.

Official sources

The official pages this guide is based on, read 23 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.

Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.