Beckham law and Modelo 720: who files, and the first 720 for a new resident

This guide explains whether, under the Beckham law, you must file Modelo 720, and what happens in your first year in Spain. With Aitax you upload the documents: the AI takes care of the heavy lifting. You check that the figures are right. If a question comes up, you ask the specialised AI, trained on the law as it stands.

If you have applied for and been accepted under the Beckham law, you do not have to file Modelo 720.

The special regime for workers, professionals, entrepreneurs and investors who move to Spain, popularly known as the “Beckham law”, is a tax advantage that lets you pay tax at a reduced flat rate for your first six years in the country, almost as if you were not an ordinary resident.

Modelo 720 is an informative return on the securities and property you hold outside Spain at 31 December. Hacienda itself says in its rules that people under this special regime do not have to report their assets abroad.

Updated 11 October 2026. Sources: article 93 of the Personal Income Tax Act (LIRPF), Royal Decree 1065/2007 and the AEAT FAQs (February 2025).

Spouse and children

That you have opted into the Beckham law does not cover the rest of the household. If your partner or a child lives in Spain as an ordinary resident, they may have to file the 720 on their own foreign assets if, at 31 December, those assets go over €50,000.

Since 2023 they can also apply for the same regime: the spouse, children under 25 (or of any age if they have a disability), or the other parent if there is no marriage. If Hacienda accepts them, it does not ask them for the 720 either.

When the Beckham law ends

When those years end, or if you leave the regime, you start paying Spanish tax on your worldwide income. From that first year, the 720 does apply if a group goes over €50,000 at 31 December.

What you still hold abroad is included. It does not matter whether you bought it before you moved or while you were under the Beckham law. Hacienda looks at 31 December, not the purchase date.

Example: 2026 is your first year already without the Beckham law. You file between 1 January and 31 March 2027, for 31 December 2026. A flat in France from 2018 is included if you still hold it and your foreign property adds up to more than €50,000.

The first 720 if you arrive in Spain without the Beckham law

If you become resident and do not opt into the Beckham law, the 720 is assessed like any other resident.

If in 2025 you were not a tax resident, there is no 720 for 2025. If you are, you file between 1 January and 31 March 2026. The flat or the account from before you moved is included if you still hold it on 31 December and that group goes over €50,000.

The first time you report every group that crosses those €50,000. You do not have to repeat every year, unless a group rises by more than €20,000 versus the last filing, or you close something you already reported. The map is in the Modelo 720 guide.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to file Modelo 720 if I am on the Beckham law?
No, if you have opted into that regime. Hacienda says so in its February 2025 FAQs.

Does my spouse have to file the 720?
It depends on their tax regime in Spain:

• YES, they must file: if they are an ordinary tax resident in Spain and the total of their foreign assets (accounts, securities or property) goes over €50,000 in any group.
• NO, they must not file: if they are under the Beckham law (whether as the main applicant or as a qualifying spouse).

I bought the foreign assets before I became resident. Do they go on the first 720?
Yes, if you still hold them on 31 December of a year in which you already pay Spanish tax on your worldwide income, and that group goes over €50,000. It does not matter when you bought them.

How do you file Modelo 720?
Online, on the AEAT site, with a digital certificate or Cl@ve, from 1 January to 31 March. It is a complex, tedious process, and filling it in wrongly can mean substantial fines. Aitax is specialised software to handle this filing for you: you only check and upload the return.

How to prepare the 720 with Aitax

With Aitax you upload the statements from each foreign bank or broker. You get the Modelo 720 document ready for Hacienda. You review the result. You file it yourself on the AEAT site.

Prepare Modelo 720