Is the Beckham law worth it? The break-even by region

Long story short, the Beckham law sets no minimum salary and has a break-even instead: the gross pay above which its 24% rate on income up to €600,000 costs less than ordinary IRPF. In 2026 that is about €55,000 in Catalonia and €64,100 in Madrid for a single person; €65,100 to €72,200 for a married earner whose spouse has no income. Find your row before your six-month deadline to opt in on Modelo 149, or by 31 December 2026 if you are deciding whether to renounce the regime for 2027, a step you cannot undo.

Is there a minimum salary for the Beckham law?

No. Article 93 of the IRPF law sets three conditions, and none of them is a minimum salary:

• You were not resident in Spain in the five tax periods before the move.
• You move for a job, including one you do remotely, to become a company director, for an entrepreneurial activity or for highly qualified work for startups or in training, R&D or innovation. Training, R&D or innovation work must bring in more than 40% of your work and business income.
• Unless you came as an entrepreneur or a highly qualified professional, you earn no income through a permanent establishment in Spain (RIRPF art. 113).

The regime taxes employment income at 24% up to €600,000 and 47% above it.

What does break-even mean here? It is the gross salary at which ordinary IRPF equals 24% of gross pay. Gross pay means all your employment income for the year: under the regime all of it counts as obtained in Spain (art. 93.2.b) and is taxed at the rates above (art. 93.2.e).

Single: no children. Couple: married, one earner, on a joint return. Both at age 35, with employment income only, Spanish Seguridad Social and a full tax year 2026. The ordinary side leaves out regional deductions, other tax credits and pension contributions, so for a salary-only earner each break-even is a floor. Rounded to the nearest €100. Not an AEAT simulation.

Keep in mind the Valencian figures use the 2026 scale that Ley 5/2026 set in article 18, with effect from 1 January 2026. The same law sets a lower Valencian scale, 8.7% to 29.25%, from 1 January 2027 (transitional provision 3), so Valencian ordinary IRPF for 2027 would be slightly lower. Other 2027 changes are not modelled.

A joint return is open only to spouses, or to one parent with the children (LIRPF art. 82). An unmarried couple with no children reads the single column.

The Basque Country and Navarre collect income tax under their own foral systems and are not covered. Other regions, including the Canary Islands, are not shown.

Beckham law vs normal tax: salary after tax from €40,000 to €100,000

Take-home is gross pay minus employee Seguridad Social and income tax, on the same assumptions as Table 1. Employee Seguridad Social is the same under both: €2,600 at €40,000, €3,250 at €50,000, €3,900 at €60,000, €3,996 at €70,000, €4,017 at €80,000 and €4,062 at €100,000.

The Beckham column is the same in every region shown, because art. 93 sets one scale for all of Spain.

Reading it row by row: at €50,000 the 24% costs €1,440 a year more in Madrid and €557 more in Catalonia. At €60,000 ordinary IRPF still wins in Madrid by €484, while in Catalonia it loses by €576. At €70,000 the 24% saves €1,039 in Madrid and €2,298 in Catalonia.

Now let's say you are married, live in Madrid and your spouse has no income. A joint return keeps €43,404 at €60,000, which is €1,704 more than the regime's €41,700. At €100,000 it keeps €66,689, which is €5,249 less than €71,938.

Why do the break-even figures online disagree?

Pages and forum answers ranking on 30 October 2026 quote these figures:

• "only makes sense starting with an annual income of about 50k€" (a Barcelona forum thread);
• "doesn't make sense below 55/56k€ with no kids" (a forum answer);
• about €58,000 as a "minimum salary";
• about €60,000 as the point above which the regime "almost always wins";
• about €65,000 for a single person in Madrid;
• "between 55,000 and 60,000 euros of income (in the general taxable base)".

None of these figures is official, and they disagree for five reasons.

Taxable base vs gross pay

Ordinary IRPF taxes your pay after Seguridad Social and a flat €2,000 for other expenses come off (LIRPF art. 19.2.a and 19.2.f). The regime taxes the gross amount, the "importe íntegro" (TRLIRNR art. 24.1). At €60,000 a taxable base is at least €5,900 below gross pay: €3,900 of Seguridad Social plus the flat €2,000. So the quoted €55,000 to €60,000 is a taxable base; the gross salary behind it is higher. Put the equal sign between a taxable base and gross pay and you read the break-even too low.

One region, one person's case

Catalonia and Madrid are €9,100 apart for a single person. The "55/56k€" answer went to someone on €50,000 in Madrid, where a single person breaks even at €64,100. The €65,000 quoted for Madrid is close to that. A single €58,000 figure is €6,100 too low for a single person in Madrid and €3,000 too high in Catalonia. The Barcelona thread's "about 50k€" is €5,000 under our Catalonia figure.

The household

In our calculation, a joint return lowers ordinary IRPF for a married one-earner couple. Under the regime the earner pays 24% of their own gross pay whatever the household (art. 93), and the option is individual (Orden HFP/1338/2023), so the break-even rises by €8,100 to €10,300. The claim that the regime "almost always wins" above €60,000 fails for a single person in Madrid up to €64,100. It also fails for every married one-earner row in Table 1, where the break-even is between €65,100 and €72,200.

Salary only

Every figure here, ours included, counts salary only. Income abroad and a Spanish main home move the break-even, as the downsides and upsides below show.

A full year

Table 1 also assumes a full year of Spanish pay. Your first regime year is the first calendar year in which, from the move on, you spend more than 183 days in Spain, so the year of the move can count (RIRPF art. 115). Start work in Spain in the spring and that year's Spanish pay puts you on a lower row of Table 2. Pay for work you did before the move, such as last year's bonus paid in January, is not taxed under the regime unless that work was done in Spain (RIRPF art. 114.2.a; DGT V1112-25). An ordinary resident is taxed on income from anywhere (LIRPF art. 2).

Can you deduct social security under the Beckham law?

No. The binding DGT ruling V1112-25 says Seguridad Social is not deductible under the regime. Under ordinary IRPF it is (LIRPF art. 19.2.a).

The employee share is the same under both (see the note under Table 2). So basically, at €60,000 you pay 24% on €3,900 of contributions, which is €936 of tax. Tables 1 and 2 already count it.

What each side takes off in 2026:

• Tax base. Ordinary IRPF: pay after Seguridad Social and a flat €2,000 for other expenses (LIRPF art. 19.2.a and 19.2.f). Beckham law: gross pay (TRLIRNR art. 24.1).
• Seguridad Social. Ordinary IRPF: deductible (LIRPF art. 19.2.a). Beckham law: not deductible (DGT V1112-25).
• Deductions from the tax. Ordinary IRPF: state and regional deductions (LIRPF arts. 67 and 77). Beckham law: donations, withholding and a foreign-tax credit capped at 30% (TRLIRNR art. 26; RIRPF art. 114).

No child or family deduction appears on the regime's list. Contributions to a home-country system, for example under an A1, are not deductible under the regime either (DGT V0897-14).

Beckham law downsides and upsides that move your break-even

Table 1 is the salary-only line, and real life adds things to it. Downsides push the break-even up, so the 24% wins only at a higher salary:

• Children. Ordinary IRPF subtracts a descendant minimum (LIRPF art. 58: €2,400 for the first child, €2,700 for the second). The art. 93 scale charges 24% from the first euro, with no tax-free band.
• Table 1 leaves out regional deductions, other tax credits and pension contributions, which lower ordinary IRPF. The regime takes off only donations, withholding and a capped foreign-tax credit (RIRPF art. 114.2.b).
• A Spanish main home you own. Under the regime you pay tax on imputed income from it (a TEAC ruling of 17 July 2025, applied by the AEAT). Ordinary IRPF excludes the main home (LIRPF art. 85).

Upside: income abroad pulls the break-even down, so the 24% wins sooner. Outside the salary that counts as Spanish, foreign dividends, interest and rent stay out of the regime's tax base (art. 93). An ordinary resident is taxed on them wherever they arise (LIRPF art. 2).

Outside income tax, wealth tax under the regime reaches only assets in Spain (art. 93.1; Ley 19/1991 art. 5).

Work out your own ordinary figure

Beckham tax = 24% × gross salary (up to €600,000)

Our tax calculator works out 2026 Spanish income tax and Seguridad Social for every region, on a single or joint return. Compare its income tax with 24% of your gross pay: on employment income, the lower one is the cheaper side. It does not model the Beckham regime or children. Free, no sign-up, no ads.

Deadlines: opt in within six months, renounce only in November or December

• Opt in on Modelo 149 within six months of the start date on your Seguridad Social registration, or on the home-country document (such as an A1) or other proof of the start where no registration is required (RIRPF art. 116).
• File the yearly return on Modelo 151 in the ordinary Renta filing period (AEAT Renta manual).
• Renounce for 2027 on Modelo 149 between 1 November and 31 December 2026. Employees first give their employer the withholding data form and attach the stamped copy (RIRPF art. 117.1 and 117.2).
• Opt back in after renouncing: never (RIRPF art. 117.4).

Filing Modelo 147, the special withholding route for incoming workers, bars the option (RIRPF art. 116.3).

One forum answer put it this way: "this year could make no sense but could be good next year". Fair enough, but here is what the rules allow:

• There is no later way in: the six-month window is the only one (art. 116).
• There is a way out in any later November or December, for the following year (art. 117.1), and no way back after it (art. 117.4).
• Over the six years (art. 115), each year's tax is worked out on that year's income (art. 93), so the row you sit in can change from one year to the next.

Art. 93 was last changed by Ley 7/2024 and RIRPF arts. 113 to 119 by Real Decreto 1008/2023. The BOE consolidated texts, updated on 7 October 2026, show no change since.

Digital nomad visa: is the tax rate 15% or 24%?

For employees who opt in, it is 24%. Employees who hold Spain's international telework visa are expressly covered by art. 93, and if they opt in and meet the other conditions, they pay the same 24%.

So what about 15%? We found no official source that sets a 15% personal income tax rate for visa holders. The 15% in the Startups Law (Ley 28/2022 art. 7) is corporation tax for qualifying startups. Under ordinary IRPF, 15% is also the withholding on professional fees (LIRPF art. 101.5.a), an advance on the tax and not a tax rate.

Under Ley 14/2013 art. 74 bis, an employee with the visa may work only for companies based outside Spain. A self-employed holder may take up to 20% of their work from Spanish companies. The art. 93 clause names employees only.

Questions people ask

How much is €60,000 after tax in Spain?

€41,700 a year under the Beckham law in any region shown: €14,400 of tax and €3,900 of Seguridad Social. Under ordinary IRPF a single person keeps €42,184 in Madrid and €41,124 in Catalonia. Yearly figures (UnityCalc calculation, 2026, no children).

How much tax do you pay in Spain on €70,000 income?

For a single person in 2026, ordinary IRPF is €17,839 in Madrid and €19,098 in Catalonia, plus €3,996 of employee Seguridad Social. Take-home is €48,165 and €46,906. Under the Beckham law the tax is €16,800 and take-home is €49,204 (UnityCalc calculation, 2026, Spanish Seguridad Social, no children).

Can I apply for the Beckham law after six months?

No. Modelo 149 must be filed within six months of the start date on your Seguridad Social registration, or on the home-country document (such as an A1) or other proof of the start where no registration is required (RIRPF art. 116). There is no later window. Salary is not a condition in art. 93, so earning less in the first year does not reopen it.

Can I cancel the Beckham law?

Yes. Renunciation goes on Modelo 149 in November or December before the year it takes effect: for 2027, between 1 November and 31 December 2026. It is permanent: you can never opt back in (RIRPF art. 117). Family members on the regime leave with you (RIRPF art. 118.4).

Is there a Beckham law salary calculator?

The regime side needs no calculator: the tax is 24% of gross pay up to €600,000, so €60,000 pays €14,400. Work out ordinary IRPF for your region and compare it with 24% of your gross pay.

How long does the Beckham law last?

The year you become tax resident plus the five following years (RIRPF art. 115).

Can self-employed people use the Beckham law?

Ordinary freelancing is not an activity allowed under the regime (RIRPF art. 113). The routes for your own business are an entrepreneurial activity with a favourable ENISA report and highly qualified work for startups or in training, R&D or innovation, each with further conditions in art. 93 and RIRPF art. 113. The telework-visa clause in art. 93 covers employees only.