Spain's Beckham Law and 183-day rule: residency for inbound expats
Spain taxes residents at up to 47%, but the Beckham Law gives qualifying inbound workers a 24% flat rate for 6 years. Here's how the 183-day rule and Beckham Law interact.
Spain's standard tax brackets reach 47% on high incomes, plus regional surcharges. The Beckham Law (Régimen Especial para Trabajadores Desplazados, REIT) lets qualifying inbound workers pay a 24% flat rate on Spanish-source income up to €600,000 for up to 6 tax years. To benefit, you must be a Spanish tax resident — which means your day count matters.
How Spain defines tax residency
Spain treats you as a tax resident if any of these apply:
- You spend more than 183 days in Spain during a calendar year.
- Your main center of economic interests is in Spain (your business, the source of most of your income).
- Your spouse and minor children live in Spain (presumption — rebuttable).
Spain counts any presence on a day as a full day, including arrival and departure days. Sporadic absences do not interrupt the count unless you can prove tax residency in another country.
The Beckham Law (REIT) — 24% flat rate
The Beckham Law allows qualifying inbound workers to be taxed as non-residents for 6 years, paying:
- 24% on Spanish-source employment income up to €600,000 per year.
- 47% on the portion above €600,000.
- 0% on most foreign-source income (with some exceptions for capital gains).
Who qualifies for Beckham
You can apply for Beckham if you:
- Were not a Spanish tax resident in the 5 years before the move.
- Move to Spain because of an employment contract with a Spanish employer, an executive role at a Spanish company, an entrepreneur visa, or a digital nomad visa (since 2023).
- Apply within 6 months of registering with Spanish social security.
- Don't earn income through a Spanish permanent establishment (with limited exceptions).
Spain's digital nomad visa + Beckham
Spain's digital nomad visa (introduced under the Startup Act) opens Beckham eligibility to remote workers employed by foreign companies. The 24% flat rate applies to your foreign employment income (treated as Spanish-source under the Beckham regime). For US-employed remote workers earning $200K, that's a meaningful tax saving.
What counts as a Spanish day
- Any presence on a calendar day in Spanish territory counts — including the Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla.
- Sporadic absences do not interrupt residency unless you prove tax residency elsewhere.
- Layovers in Madrid (MAD) or Barcelona (BCN) without leaving the airport don't count.
Why you still need a day count under Beckham
Even with Beckham, the regime requires Spanish tax residency, which means crossing the 183-day threshold. The Spanish tax authority (Agencia Tributaria) audits Beckham filers more aggressively than ordinary residents. Having a contemporaneous day-count log proves both your residency and your eligibility.
Beckham requires you to not have been Spanish-resident in the 5 prior years. If your day count was sloppy in those years and you accidentally crossed 183 days in any of them, your Beckham application fails. Five years of clean records protects you.
Track Spanish days like an expat
Tax Days tracks Spanish days against the 183-day threshold, plus the historical 5-year window for Beckham eligibility checks. Add a trip and the app updates both windows in real time.