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Local Spain
13-05-2025
- Business
- Local Spain
What Americans should know about Spain's Beckham Law tax regime
More Americans than ever are looking to use the Beckham Law to move to Spain and save on taxes, but is it really as good as it seems and what do you have to be aware of if you're from the US? Firstly, let's look at what the Beckham Law is. It's a tax regime that essentially allows those who have not resided in Spain for at least the last five years to pay a flat rate of 24 percent on their income up to €600,000 per year. Tax is also only paid on income earned in Spain, instead of a progressive tax on worldwide income. The normal progressive taxes for Spanish residents range from 19 to 47 percent. It was first introduced in 2004 to attract talent and highly qualified workers to Spain with tax breaks. The law was nicknamed after the footballer David Beckham because he was the first one to take advantage of it when he moved here to play for Real Madrid. It's important to know that not all Americans will qualify for the Beckham regime. For example, if you're here on the Digital Nomad Visa and are self-employed, then you are not eligible. It will only be for those who are employed by company's abroad. This initially seems ideal - a flat tax rate and tax breaks - why would you not take advantage if you qualify? But it's important to remember that not everything is as good as seems with the Beckham Law, and there are various factors you have to take into consideration if you choose to go for it. The first factor is how much you earn. Tax expert Mark McMillan from Sun Lawyers previously told The Local Spain: 'The special tax regime will be beneficial for those with an annual income from around €50,000 up to €600,000, so it will depend on your income bracket. Note that there are no allowances for your personal circumstances and as a result, people with spouses and children may find that they will pay less tax if they do not opt for the special regime'. So, if you earn below or above those amounts the Beckham Law won't bring you any benefits at all. It's also worth noting that Americans have to continue to file their taxes in the US even when they move to Spain. Therefore, if you pay 24 percent personal income tax in Spain under the Beckham Law, then you will pay the remainder - up to 32 percent - of the federal rate in the United States. This means that while the Beckham Law still has its benefits, it's less advantageous than it is for those from other nationalities. You also have to plan carefully and be fully aware of what becoming a Spanish tax resident could mean for you. If you're an American with IRAs, 401ks or trust funds, it's important you get advice from financial and tax experts in Spain, otherwise you could end up paying a lot more taxes than you were originally led to believe. Spain's Treasury has also intensified its scrutiny of those who benefit from the Beckham Law. Javier Vinuesa and Guadalupe Díaz-Súnico, of Gómez-Acebo&Pombo law firm told El Confidencial that 'many foreigners do not understand that the same administration that granted them the regime could, years later, question it". According to them, this leads to greater problems and a higher chance of being audited and investigated. "If there's no fraud, there's no litigation, but there are many gray areas, especially with Americans," several tax experts told El Confidencial. They explain that if you have tried to force the conditions to qualify for the regime, but didn't actually qualify in truth, it could have consequences for you in the future that are worse than having paid the normal amount of tax in the first place. In fact, in recent years, law firms in London have been challenging the Beckham Law claiming that it's a 'tax trap'. Some feel the specialist tax regime has not been advantageous for foreigners and that they've been treated unfairly by the Spanish tax authorities, subject to more checks and audits. In addition, the new Social Security agreement between the US and Spain does not factor in Beckham Law complications or solutions for remote workers, meaning that it's unclear what's covered. This could also make it so that Americans are more susceptible to being audited in Spain. If you don't qualify for the Beckham Law or you feel it's not right for you, one option several lawyers advise according to El Confidencial is to the region of Madrid, which allows for a reduction in the regional income tax rate. Those considering the Beckham Law or any other tax solution, must make sure they speak with a professional as each case is unique and what is best for someone else doesn't necessarily mean it's good for you.
Local Spain
06-05-2025
- Business
- Local Spain
INTERVIEW: 'Spain's golden visa will return with a change of govt'
As of April 3rd 2025, the golden visa ceased to be an option for those wanting to gain residency in Spain by either buying property worth €500,000, investing €1 million in shares in Spanish companies, €2 million in government bonds, or transferring €1 million to a Spanish bank account. Now that this visa option is no more, what are the consequences? Have affluent non-EU nationals been left disappointed because they missed the deadline? And how are those who missed out now looking to pursue Spanish residency? The Local Spain spoke to three lawyers who specialised in the Spanish golden visa to see what's happened since. Mark McMillan from Sun Lawyers said: 'We rushed the last-minute visas through and quite a few with €1,000,000 deposited in Spanish bank accounts due to the time taken to process property purchases'. 'The disappointment with regards to the golden visa came from people who bought together with their spouses but could not apply due to their type of marital regime (separation of assets, which is the norm in the UK) and not having bought real estate for the mandatory €500,000€ each or at least in one sole name,' McMillan revealed. Immigration lawyer Mayrem Essadik, head of Marfour Law, was relieved that she managed to submit golden visa applications for all her clients before the deadline, but 'many have been forced to make the one-million-euro investment because their chosen properties are not yet ready to complete the process of purchase,' she told The Local Spain. 'We are very disappointed, as we believed that alternative investment options would remain available. In the end, many clients were left with no choice but to go with the €1 million bank investment – something that was not part of the original draft of the law,' she added. The primary reason given by the Spanish government for scrapping the golden visa scheme was the alleged impact wealthy foreigners have been having on Spain's housing market by buying up expensive homes locals couldn't afford and thus driving up prices, hence why the Barcelona-based lawyer can't understand why the golden visa's financial investment options have been cancelled as well. Essadik also highlighted another group of people who just missed out on Spain's golden visa – those who had bought off plan and whose properties were not yet complete. 'We have cases of clients who purchased properties in 2023, for example, but since the property won't be ready until June 2025, they have been affected. Although the purchase was already underway, they will not be able to qualify in time for the golden visa. This is the sad situation.' Maria Luisa de Castro from CostaLuz Lawyers told The Local she has several clients who missed out on the golden visa because they applied too late. 'Many clients contacted us too late, and given the uncertainty and tight deadlines, we chose not to take risks with timing. Unfortunately, some clients were hoping to benefit from the golden visa's advantage of not becoming tax residents in Spain, but they didn't manage to complete their property purchases in time'. Spain's visado de oro was one of the best residency options as it allowed holders to spend less than 183 days in Spain while still holding onto residency, and it didn't require them to become tax residents either. So now that the deadline has passed, what type of visa options are foreigners looking at to move to Spain? 'The non-lucrative visa (NLV) has clearly become the preferred option for many clients now,' explained de Castro. 'Many clients would have much preferred the golden visa, mainly for tax reasons. It offered them the flexibility to live in Spain without becoming tax residents — something the NLV does not allow,' she added. She also expressed that there's a growing interest in the digital nomad visa (DNV), 'although it requires meeting more specific conditions that not everyone can satisfy'. McMillan also believes that a lot of foreigners with that kind of capital needed for the golden visa have businesses or are working professionals, meaning that the DNV option open to them. 'The DNV route for people working remotely for foreign companies opens the way for access to the "Beckham's Law" (regimen especial aplicable a los trabajadores desplazados a territorio español) at a flat 24 percent tax on their salaried/invoiced incomes as a displaced worker which finally could be an extremely lucrative and tax-efficient way to live in Spain". McMillan is referring to the fact that if you work for a company abroad and get the DNV (not those who are self-employed) you may be able to benefit from the Beckham law, which means you can pay a flat tax rate of 24 percent instead of on a sliding scale. 'I am converting many golden visas to DNVs and advising a lot of people on coordinating the right setup to meet the criteria,' he explained. 'This is opening up an excellent alternative'. Nevertheless, Essadik believes that there fewer legal solutions to offer people who wish to move to Spain, and that 'the process is becoming less accessible overall'. The general consensus so far among property experts say that the abolishment of the golden visa won't have any impact on the general property market, nor on the luxury real estate sector. De Castro of CostaLuz Lawyers agrees with this view, believing that cancelling the golden visa will help Spain's housing crisis at all and believes it was a political decision. "The golden visa was not responsible for Spain's housing problems, and its cancellation has done nothing to solve them," she explained. "I'm convinced that once there is a change of government, the golden visa – or a similar programme – will return." Spain's golden visa was initially introduced by the right-wing Popular Party government of Mariano Rajoy in 2013 as a means of drawing international investments when the country was in the midst of an economic crisis. The PP's current leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo has referred to Pedro Sánchez's decision to cancel the golden visa as a "smokescreen" to help "cover up" his "incompetence" vis-à-vis housing policy.
Local Spain
01-04-2025
- General
- Local Spain
Spanish Word of the Day: Extranjero
Spanish Word of the Day For Members If you're reading The Local Spain, the chances are that you're an 'extranjero' or 'extranjera'. Extranjero or extranjera mean foreigner in Spanish, the former being masculine and the latter feminine. The word can be a noun (a male foreigner is un extranjero and a female foreigner is una extranjera). It can also be used as a noun to refer to 'overseas' or 'abroad', always in the masculine form el extranjero, such as Juan se ha ido al extranjero, 'Juan has gone overseas'. Extranjero/a can also be the adjective for the word 'foreign' (la prensa extranjera is the foreign press, or el turismo extranjero is foreign tourism). You may also hear Spaniards say de origen extranjero (of foreign origin) or that someone has un acento extranjero (a foreign accent). Extranjero doesn't have any negative connotations in Spanish, unlike the word guiri which can be derogatory depending on how it's used. It also applies to all foreigners, unlike guiri which tends to refer to foreigners from northern European countries. Synonyms of extranjero include foráneo or forastero, which do bear more resemblance to the English word 'foreigner' and 'foreign' but tend to be used far less in Spanish. In fact, you're only likely to hear forastero in Western movies to refer to someone who's an outsider or stranger. According to Spain's Royal Academy of Language (RAE), the word extranjero derives from the Old French word estrangier (now étranger) to refer to 'one who is or comes from a country of another sovereignty'. Another related word is extranjería, a useful term for foreigners in Spain to know as it refers to the foreigners' office in Spain. There's also extranjerismo, which can refer to a foreign word, phrase or custom, a foreignism. Then there's the colloquial expression de extranjis, which means 'on the down low' or 'secretly'. Examples: Los extranjeros están comprando muchas viviendas en España. Foreigners are buying a lot of property in Spain. If you want to find better career opportunities, you have to go abroad. Tengo que ir a extranjería a tramitar mi tarjeta de residencia. I have to go to the foreigners' office to process my residency card. More #Spanish Word of the Day See Also
Local Spain
07-03-2025
- Local Spain
Barcelona keeps banning pub crawls, but is it really working?
For some years now, Barcelona has paid the cost of its international popularity. Hoards of foreign tourists, tacky souvenir shops, pickpockets on its iconic Ramblas boulevard and a nightlife scene which keeps neighbours awake in some neighbourhoods. Barcelona banned pub crawls in the Old Town (Ciutat Vella) in 2012, a part of the Catalan capital which includes the touristy Gothic Quarter, Raval and La Ribera. Now a new rule will extend the ban on rutas alcohólicas or rutas de borrachera to the city's Eixample neighbourhood as well, banning pub crawls between 7pm and 7am. Pub crawls are organised tours around bars and other nightlife venues where participants drink at each stop, and there's usually the promise of some free drinks along the way. They're usually aimed at tourists or groups of young people. The new measure will ban the organisation and promotion of pub crawl routes between bars and nightclubs in Eixample and the neighbourhood's public spaces for the next two years, starting on June 1st 2025. Eixample extends up from Plaça de Catalunya and either side of Passeig de Gràcia. It includes areas such as Fort Pienc, Sagrada Família, Dreta de l'Eixample and Esquerra de l'Eixample. The main problem with Barcelona's pub crawls is that they take place in central areas where local residents live. Barcelona's narrow streets, open squares and apartment blocks often with just single window panes (instead of double glazing) all mean sound can travel very easily. A group of loud youngsters on a pub crawl can often sound like they're almost in your apartment, preventing locals from sleeping. Between 2022 and 2024, Barcelona City Council handed out more than 1,100 fines to those promoting pub crawl in these central neighbourhoods But despite the ongoing ban and stiff fines, these types of tours have still been taking place in the Old Town. In August 2024, local news site El Periódico reported that they discovered advertisements for a ' whirlwind tour of Barcelona's hottest spots, where the atmosphere is electric and the drinks are flowing'. And after a quick Google search for 'Barcelona pub crawls', The Local Spain found several of them still being advertised on booking sites such as Viator and Get Your Guide, many around the Ciutat Vella neighbourhoods like the Gothic Quarter. There are even several websites specifically dedicated to pub crawls in Barcelona. Some of them say that they stay within 'central area of the city' and one states that the meeting spot is in a 'bar just off La Rambla' which again is smack in the middle of the Ciutat Vella area where they're supposedly banned. Last year, Barcelona extended the Old Town pub crawl ban until 2028 and the new Eixample ban will last until the same year, although it's likely both will be extended further. Eixample has also intensified controls on the sale and consumption of alcohol in public places, especially to those who are under age. According to data from 2023 and 2024, 366 fines related to infractions of this type were issued in the Eixample neighbourhood. If you're considering booking a pub crawl in Barcelona, particularly in the central areas, it's important to realise that it may be illegal and that by going on one you're contributing to the issues of mass tourism that so many locals in Barcelona have been protesting about for years. There are plenty of local bars to visit on your own without having to go on an organised tour and disturbing the locals. It's important to also be aware of noise levels and perhaps choose clubs away from the centre such as Razzmatazz.
Local Spain
12-02-2025
- Local Spain
What to do when Spain's 'cita previa' website doesn't work
There are several different administrative processes you'll have to do when you move to Spain that involve making a cita previa (prior appointment) online first, before you can turn up at the office in person. One of the most common reasons is when you need to apply for your NIE or Número de Identidad de Extranjero, which is your foreign identity number. You'll need to get this within the first three months of living in Spain and can either do it by applying for your green residency card if you're an EU citizen or your TIE, which stands for Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero (Foreigner Identity Card). There are two main issues with trying to get this appointment online. The first is that there often never seem to be any appointments available, and the second is that the website links don't always work to try and make the appointment in the first place. In this article, we'll be looking at the second issue. If you want to know more about trying to get an appointment when it seems there aren't any, read more here. The site you need to access in order to book your appointment is here ( but for some reason the link doesn't work for some people. Many readers have been complaining that official government websites aren't working properly when they come to trying to book one of these appointments and are ready to pay a legal firm to do it for them, when in reality it should be completely free. If this is the case for you, there are three things you can try. In some circumstances you can apply for your NIE at the Spanish Consulate back in your home country, before you arrive, but if you're moving here permanently this may not be an option. So how do you get the website to open? Firstly, accessing the links can usually only be done within Spain, so if you're trying from another country, you may have a problem. Wait until you get here so you can book an appointment. If you want to save time (as sometimes the only appointments available are several weeks or months away) get someone you trust who is in Spain to try to open the website and talk them through the process. Secondly, the sites are unlikely to work if you have a VPN turned on, as this changes your IP address to a different country and the website won't think you're in Spain. Although VPNs are sometimes used for security purposes, in this instance, it's best to switch it off. Thirdly, the issue may also be to do with the internet browser you're trying to access the site from. Several users of Reddit report that Safari only works half of the time for them. The Spanish government website themselves say that Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 or higher, or Mozilla Firefox 3 is required to book an appointment online, but Google Chrome also works for us here at The Local Spain. Once you have been able to access the site, then you have the fun challenge of trying to find out when appointments are available. To do this, you need to select your province and then the office you need from the drop down menu. You will then select the reason for your appointment. For example, it may be POLICIA - Asignación de NIE (POLICE - NIE Assignment) or POLICIA - CERTIFICADOS DE RESIDENCIA (Residence Certificates). If there are appointments available, it will ask you to fill out your details and select an appointment time and day.
