Tax lawyers in Marbella.

01

Tax residency and the Beckham Law

You are tax resident in Spain if you spend more than 183 days here in a calendar year or if the main centre of your economic interests is in Spain; residency is also presumed, unless you prove otherwise, if your spouse and minor children live here. Residents are taxed on their worldwide income. If another country also treats you as resident, the double taxation treaty decides.

If you move to Spain for work, you may opt for the special regime for posted workers, known as the Beckham Law (article 93 of the Personal Income Tax Act). Since Law 28/2022 a shorter prior period of non-residence in Spain is required, and the regime also covers remote workers, company directors, entrepreneurs and your family. You pay 24 % up to 600,000 euros in the year of the move and the following five years. The option is filed on form 149 within six months of starting the activity, and that deadline cannot be recovered.

02

Assets abroad: Modelo 720

Spanish tax residents report bank accounts, securities, insurance and real estate held abroad between 1 January and 31 March when a category exceeds 50,000 euros; crypto-assets held abroad go on Modelo 721. In its judgment of 27 January 2022 (case C-788/19), the Court of Justice of the European Union held that the form's fixed fines, its aggravated proportional penalty and the de facto absence of a limitation period breached EU law. Law 5/2022 reformed the regime and the general penalties now apply, but the obligation remains: it is best to regularise before a request arrives.

03

Wealth tax and the large fortunes tax

The Temporary Solidarity Tax on Large Fortunes applies to net wealth above 3 million euros, with a 700,000 euro exempt allowance and progressive rates. Created for 2022 and 2023, it was extended by Royal Decree-law 8/2023 until wealth taxation is reviewed in the reform of regional financing: it is still in force, and the 2025 return is filed from July 2026.

While it lasts, Andalusia replaces its 100 % wealth tax relief with one that, in practice, means that residents of Andalusia have no amount to pay under the large fortunes tax. Non-residents may apply the rules of the region where most of the value of their assets is located.

04

Selling, inheriting and appealing

Purchase taxes and the taxes of non-resident owners have their own page. Here we deal with the rest:

• Sale by a resident: the gain is taxed at 19 % to 30 % (2025 savings scale). It is exempt if reinvested in a new main home within two years, or if the seller is over 65 and the property has been their main home for at least three years.
• Inheritances and gifts: in Andalusia, a 99 % relief for spouses, descendants and ascendants (gifts must be made in a public deed). We plan the transfer with the notary and with your advisers in other countries.
• Inspections and appeals: one month to lodge an appeal for reconsideration or a claim before the tax tribunals, and the tax office generally has four years to review a tax year. We stay with you from the first request to the courts.