# Beckham Law Eligibility Checker — Are You Actually a Candidate?

Are you eligible for Spain's Beckham Law? **8 honest questions, 60 seconds, no email needed.** This is the screening tool we use internally before introducing a relocating client to a Spanish abogado fiscalista. It will not approve or reject your application — only AEAT can do that — but it will tell you, within a few minutes, whether the conversation with a tax lawyer is worth scheduling at all.

The 2024 Startup Law amendments widened the gate considerably. The honest reality, however, is that more than half of the people who *think* they qualify for Beckham fall at one of three or four well-known traps. The quiz below walks you through each of them.

## Why this matters in 2026

The Régimen Especial para Trabajadores Desplazados (Beckham Law) lets a new Spanish tax resident pay a **flat 24% on Spanish-source employment income up to €600,000**, with **47% on the marginal slice above that**, for the year of arrival plus the next five tax years — six years total. Foreign-source dividends, interest, foreign rentals and foreign capital gains sit outside Spanish IRPF entirely. For a Marbella-bound founder earning €500K-1M, the régime saves roughly **€80,000 to €138,000 per year** versus the standard progressive Andalucía IRPF scale, which crosses 47% at €300K of income.

The €600,000 threshold is the cliff: every euro above it loses the régime's protection and is taxed at the full marginal 47% — meaning the maximum theoretical annual saving is achieved at exactly €600K of Spanish salary, and stays roughly flat above. The régime then runs for six tax years and cannot be renewed. Miss the **six-month application window** (counted from your Spanish Social Security alta, not from your arrival date), and the benefit is gone forever — you cannot apply retroactively in a later year.

For the full mechanics, our long-form [Beckham Law 2026 changes guide](/article-beckham-law-2026-changes-en) covers Modelo 149 mistakes, the digital-nomad route, family extension rules, and the wealth-tax shield. The quiz below is the diagnostic before you read it.

## The honest disclaimer

This is a screening tool. It is not legal or tax advice, and it does not commit Muse Marbella to anything. Final eligibility for the régime is determined by the Agencia Tributaria (AEAT) on review of your Modelo 149 and supporting documentation, and any structuring decision should be reviewed by a Spanish abogado fiscalista colegiado in Marbella, Málaga or Madrid before you sign an employment contract or formally relocate. We work routinely with three independent tax-law firms across the Costa del Sol and will introduce you on request — no commission, no kickback, no exclusivity.

The quiz uses the rules in force in **May 2026**: Ley 35/2006 art. 93 as amended by Ley 28/2022, Real Decreto 1008/2023 implementing rules, and the AEAT 2024-2026 administrative criteria. Rules change. Verify before you file.

## Take the quiz

{# Embeds the interactive quiz Twig fragment #}
{% include 'information/beckham-eligibility-quiz.twig' %}

## Frequently asked questions

**Does the quiz store my answers?**
No. The quiz computes your result entirely in your browser and sends nothing to our servers unless you choose to use the optional email-capture form at the end. Refresh the page and your answers are gone.

**I answered "Not sure" on the prior-residency question. What now?**
You need to verify your prior tax residency status before filing Modelo 149. AEAT reviews historical residency closely — they routinely request a tax-residence certificate from the prior jurisdiction (US Form 6166, UK HMRC residence statement, or equivalent). If you spent a partial year in Spain in any of the prior five calendar years, the safe move is a written ruling from a fiscalista before you commit to the move. The quiz will flag your case for human review.

**The quiz says my income above €600K loses the benefit. Can I structure around that?**
Partly. The cleanest route is to keep base salary at or below €600K and take the rest as foreign-source income (dividends from a non-Spanish holding company, foreign consulting fees billed and paid offshore) — which under Beckham sits outside Spanish IRPF entirely. This requires careful structuring before relocation; doing it after the fact often triggers AEAT scrutiny on substance and source. Our [wealth structuring guide](/article-2026-05-14-wealth-structuring-en) covers SCI vs SL vs personal ownership against the régime.

**I'm a US citizen. Does Beckham still help me?**
Yes — but FATCA, FBAR and PFIC reporting do not go away, and US tax on worldwide income still applies (the US is one of two countries on the planet that taxes citizens regardless of residence). Beckham's foreign-income exemption helps you on the Spanish side; it does not help you on the IRS side. The Foreign Tax Credit interaction with a 24% Spanish rate vs IRS rates often nets favourably for high earners, but the math needs a US/Spain dual-jurisdiction CPA — not a Spanish-only abogado. See our [US tech-founder relocation guide](/persona-us-tech-founder-marbella) for the full stack.

**My family is moving with me. Can my spouse use Beckham too?**
Yes — the 2023 reform extended the régime to spouses and children under 25 (and some older dependants with disabilities). The conditions are technical: each family member must independently meet the prior-non-residency rule, their own Spanish-source income must not exceed the principal applicant's, and they must apply within the same six-month window. A spouse with €200K of foreign rental or dividend income can shelter that flow from Spanish IRPF entirely — often the single most valuable family-extension benefit.

## If you're a candidate — what happens next

If the quiz returns an ELIGIBLE result, you are a serious candidate for the régime, and the next step is a written opinion from a Spanish tax lawyer before any contract is signed. The relocation playbook varies by your origin profile:

- **US tech founders, executives and exited operators:** see our dedicated [US tech-founder Marbella relocation guide](/persona-us-tech-founder-marbella) covering Beckham + digital-nomad visa stack, FATCA/FBAR overlay, and the offshore-holding structures that work alongside the régime.

- **German Mittelstand owners and senior executives:** the [German Mittelstand Marbella guide](/persona-german-mittelstand-marbella) covers Wegzugsbesteuerung sequencing (when to crystallise pre-move vs after), the GmbH-vs-personal-residence split, and the German abogado contacts we work with.

- **UK pension transfer cases:** the [UK pension transfer to Marbella playbook](/persona-uk-pension-transfer-marbella) covers QROPS/QNUPS interaction with Beckham, the post-non-dom IHT tail, and SIPP-to-Spain crystallisation timing.

- **Full background on the régime:** the [Beckham Law 2026 changes long-read](/article-beckham-law-2026-changes-en) covers Modelo 149 mechanics, family extension, and the worked savings tables for €100K-€2M income brackets.

In all cases, the path looks the same: written ruling first, employment contract or company structure second, Spanish Social Security alta third, Modelo 149 within six months fourth.

## If you're not eligible — alternatives that still work

A failed Beckham screening does not close the door on Spain. The four principal alternatives, in order of common applicability:

1. **Non-Lucrativa visa (Visado de Residencia No Lucrativa).** For retired or independently-wealthy applicants who can prove passive income above €30,000/year per applicant (€7,500 per dependant). No employment in Spain permitted. Standard IRPF applies — meaning worldwide income is taxed on the progressive scale up to 47%. Suits buyers using inherited wealth, pensions, or pure investment income who do not need an employment vehicle.

2. **Digital Nomad Visa (Visado para Teletrabajadores Internacionales).** Introduced by Ley 28/2022, the same Startup Law that widened Beckham. For non-EU professionals working remotely for non-Spanish clients (or no more than 20% Spanish billings), with at least three months of relationship history and qualifications recognised in Spain. Crucially, **digital-nomad visa holders can opt into Beckham** — this is the route most US, UK and Israeli founders take in 2026. If your employment relationship doesn't qualify directly, but you can route through this visa, the régime opens up.

3. **Standard Spanish tax residency (general IRPF).** No special régime, just the progressive scale. For Andalucía in 2026: 19% on the first €12,450, rising to 47% above €300K. Wealth tax 100% bonificado at the autonomous level (state Solidaridad over €3M still applies). This is the default and is not a disaster for any income level — for a sub-€100K earner, the effective IRPF rate is around 27%, only modestly above Beckham's 24% flat. The Beckham benefit only becomes material above roughly €150K.

4. **Stay non-resident.** Maintain your existing tax residency abroad and limit Spain stays to under 183 days per calendar year, with no centre-of-economic-interest in Spain. You then pay Spanish tax only on Spanish-source income (rental from Spanish property, capital gains on Spanish real estate). This is the path for buyers who want a Marbella villa but keep their tax residency in Switzerland, the UAE, Monaco, or the country they already live in. For full Spanish tax treatment of non-residents, see our [IRNR Spanish tax for non-residents guide](/article-irnr-spanish-tax-non-residents-en).

The choice between these four is rarely obvious from the outside. Get a written opinion before you sign a Spanish employment contract or transfer Social Security alta — the order of operations is what kills retroactive structuring options.



## Related Reading

- [Beckham Law 2026 — What Actually Changed for New Applicants | Muse Marbella](/article-beckham-law-2026-changes-en)
- [US Tech Founder Marbella Relocation Guide | Muse Marbella](/persona-us-tech-founder-marbella)
- [German Mittelstand Marbella Relocation Playbook | Muse Marbella](/persona-german-mittelstand-marbella)
- [UK Pension Transfer to Marbella | Muse Marbella](/persona-uk-pension-transfer-marbella)
- [Spain Golden Visa 2026 | Muse Marbella](/spain-goldenvisa)