Relocating to Spain raises one question very quickly: how much tax will you actually pay. For a lot of expats, the answer comes down to one special rule — the impatriate regime, better known as the Beckham Law.

The idea is straightforward: instead of being taxed as a Spanish resident on your worldwide income, you are taxed like a non-resident on your Spanish-source employment income, at a flat rate of 24% up to 600,000 euros and 47% above that. If your salary is significant, the difference is substantial.

The conditions are strict. In broad terms, you must not have been a Spanish tax resident in the five years before the move, your relocation must be linked to an employment contract or a director role, and the work must be carried out mainly in Spain. The latest changes have widened the scope to remote workers and certain entrepreneurs.

Timing is the part people get wrong. You have to apply within six months of starting the activity that triggers residence. Let that window close and you cannot recover it later. The benefit then runs for a total of six tax years.

It is not automatically the better option. Where a large part of web your wealth sits abroad, the interaction with wealth tax and reporting duties should be calculated before deciding. A short analysis before applying avoids an expensive mistake.