Digital nomad visa + Beckham Law: the remote worker’s guide to 24% tax in Spain

Until 2023, a remote worker on a foreign payroll had no clear path into Spain’s impatriate regime. The Startup Law (Law 28/2022) redrew the map: today, remote employees of foreign companies are one of the profiles most commonly claiming the Beckham Law. Here’s how the combination works.

The international remote-work route

Article 93 of the income tax law accepts, as a valid cause for the move, working remotely through the exclusive use of computer and telematic means for an employer with no presence in Spain. And it adds a crucial evidentiary shortcut: the condition is presumed met if you hold the international telework (digital nomad) visa or permit under Law 14/2013.

In other words: the immigration permit doesn’t just let you live in Spain, it serves as automatic proof to the tax office that you satisfy the access route.

The visa requirements, in short

• An employment relationship of at least 3 months with your company, and a company with over 1 year of real activity.
• A role that can be performed fully remotely.
• A university degree or 3+ years of professional experience.
• Sufficient income (referenced to the Spanish minimum wage; around 200% for the main applicant).
• Your employer’s authorisation to work from Spain.

The right order of steps

1. Before moving: verify your 5 years of prior non-residence and request tax-residence certificates from your current country.
2. Visa/permit: apply at a consulate (visa) or from within Spain (permit, if you entered legally).
3. Social Security: with an EU or treaty-country employer, obtain the certificate of coverage (A1 or equivalent). This document is critical: its date starts the 6-month clock for Form 149.
4. Form 149: file as early as possible, never play chicken with the deadline.

Classic remote-worker mistakes

• Arriving “as a tourist” and staying. Stacking up days in Spain before your status is resolved can make you a tax resident before the regime is in place, an expensive accident.
• Ignoring Social Security. The visa and the tax office are two fronts; social coverage is the third, and it’s the one that starts the timer. Employers in non-treaty countries (including some US setups, depending on the case) need specific solutions.
• Mixing side clients with your payroll. Invoicing on your own “a little on the side” can compromise the access route, the requirement is employed work.
• Your employer’s equity. RSUs and stock options granted before or during the move have their own complexity under the regime, we explain it here.

How much do you save?

Illustrative, round numbers: in our savings calculator, a remote worker on a €120,000 salary in Catalonia pays about €41,500 under the general regime and €28,800 under Beckham, about €12,700 a year less, or about €76,000 over the regime’s 6 tax years at the same salary (single taxpayer, employment income only). Run your own figures.