Moving to Spain in 2026: the Beckham law, visas and cost of living

Article 9 of the income tax law treats a person as habitually resident in Spanish territory where they stay there more than more than 183 days³ in the calendar year, or where the main centre of their activities or economic interests is located there.

The general scale is progressive and peaks at 47%⁴. The autonomous-community share must be added: Spain is a highly decentralised State in tax matters, and the autonomous community of residence significantly changes the actual burden at identical income.

The savings base

Capital income — dividends, interest, capital gains — falls under a separate base, known as the savings base, subject to its own scale. It starts at 19%⁵ and reaches 30%⁶ above the last threshold.

This separation is structural: assets generating financial income are not subject to the general scale, which completely changes the trade-off compared with a country that aggregates everything.

Wealth tax and solidarity tax

Spain retains a tax on wealth, supplemented by a temporary solidarity tax on large fortunes, which targets assets exceeding more than €3,000,000⁷.

This point is decisive and often overlooked: wealth tax is partly devolved to the autonomous communities, some of which have neutralised it, while the solidarity tax reinstates part of it at State level. The combination of the two therefore depends on the region of settlement.

The regime for displaced workers

Article 93 establishes a special regime for employees, including remote workers, directors, entrepreneurs and highly qualified professionals who acquire Spanish tax residence — the so-called Beckham regime, whose access Law 28/2022 on start-ups broadened for relocations from 2023, spouse and children included under conditions.

It allows taxation under the rules applying to non-residents for 6 years⁸, at a rate of 24%⁹ up to a base of €600,000¹⁰, with the excess taxed at the higher rate.

Corporate income tax stands at 25%¹¹ at the general rate.

A word on comparison method. Spain is often judged "heavily taxed" on the basis of the marginal rate of the general scale alone. This is a partial reading: for assets whose income is mainly financial, it is the savings scale that applies, and it is closer to the European average than the general scale suggests. The real gap is measured on the structure of one's own income, not on a headline rate.

For a French national, no permit is required: freedom of movement applies, with registration in the central register of foreigners beyond three months. This registration is not neutral — it feeds into the assessment of residence.

For third-country nationals, Spain has abolished its residence visa for investors: Organic Law 1/2025 repeals all its routes, whether real estate, financial or entrepreneurial, and no new application has been possible since 3 April 2025. Visas based on activity or resources remain: remote worker visa, non-lucrative visa for people living on their income, entrepreneur visa and highly qualified professional visa.

The resource thresholds required for the non-lucrative visa and for the remote worker visa, as well as permit durations and renewal conditions, do not appear in the official sources we were able to consult: we do not quantify them.

The Article 93 regime deserves separate mention: it is not a residence permit but a tax option, available notably on the basis of a professional relocation to Spain. Permit and regime are applied for separately, and meeting the conditions of one says nothing about the other.

Acquisition by a foreigner is free and requires no prior authorisation. The foreigner identification number — the NIE — is, however, an indispensable prerequisite for any transaction, as for opening an account.

The market is highly differentiated: Madrid, Barcelona, the Balearic Islands and certain coastal areas follow their own dynamic, driven by international demand, while the interior of the country has a much calmer trajectory.

Two developments must be factored into any rental project. Several autonomous communities and municipalities have regulated short-term rentals, with authorisation regimes and quotas. And ownership taxation, partly set at autonomous-community level, varies by region.

We do not publish transfer duties, the IBI property tax, or the taxation of Spanish rental income: these scales fall partly within the remit of the autonomous communities and we do not have a consolidated, dated official source.

One point of procedure is worth knowing: a sale by a non-resident gives rise to a withholding made by the buyer and paid to the Spanish Treasury, to be credited against the tax on the capital gain. It can be recovered, but it ties up part of the price for several months. A cash-flow plan that ignores it is caught short at the time of resale.

The Spanish cost of living remains below the eurozone average, but the gap has narrowed sharply in the large cities and on the coast, where housing has seen sustained increases.

We do not publish a typical monthly budget: we have not found an official Spanish series measuring a basket of expenses comparable to that of an expatriate.

The item that really distinguishes Spain from a neighbouring country is not the price of the everyday basket, but local taxation. The autonomous community of residence changes income tax, wealth tax and inheritance duties, in proportions that can exceed the cost-of-living gap between two regions.

Public healthcare is of a good standard and accessible to affiliated residents; many expatriates nonetheless take out private cover for access to specialists, at a moderate cost compared with other destinations.

1. Obtain the NIE, a prerequisite for any banking, rental or property transaction;
2. choose the autonomous community with full knowledge of the facts: it controls part of income tax, wealth tax and inheritance tax;
3. register with the local authorities and enrol on the padrón municipal, which conditions several rights;
4. for a third-country national, submit the visa application corresponding to the situation — remote work, non-lucrative, entrepreneur;
5. where applicable, elect the Article 93 regime using form 149, within the regulatory deadline, which runs from the activity start date recorded at registration with the Spanish social security system (or shown on the equivalent document), and not from the date residence was acquired.

Choosing the region is the most underestimated step. It is often made on the basis of climate or proximity to an airport, even though it has lasting tax consequences, particularly for inheritance and gift planning.

We do not publish processing times: those of consulates and immigration offices vary widely by location, and we have no dated official source with figures.

• Spanish taxation is partly regional: comparing Spain with another country without specifying the autonomous community makes no sense.
• The solidarity tax on large fortunes targets estates above more than €3,000,000⁷ and neutralises, at State level, part of the regional relief.
• The Article 93 regime is limited to 6 years⁸: the exit must be prepared from the moment of entry.
• The residence visa for investors no longer exists, whatever the investment route, since 3 April 2025: projects built on this scheme must be reconsidered.
• The reporting obligation on assets held abroad carries heavy penalties in case of omission, and it affects many new French residents.

Finally, the Spanish passport gives access to about 192¹² without a visa. But for a French national, the appeal of Spain lies neither in the passport nor in the residence permit: it is the trade-off between the savings tax scale, regional taxation and, where applicable, the regime for posted workers. Everything else is secondary.

For a Franco-Spanish couple or a family whose children remain in France, succession planning often takes precedence over income. Inheritance tax falls partly within the remit of the autonomous communities, with considerable differences, and the European Succession Regulation allows the applicable law to be chosen under certain conditions. This is a matter to handle with a notary in each of the two countries, before the move and not after.