Beckham Law and Imputed Income Tax: Does the EU Challenge Affect Non-Resident Property Owners?

Do you have to pay tax on the home you live in? If you are tax resident in Spain, the answer is no: your main home doesn't generate imputed income. However, there is one group of taxpayers who live in Spain and are paying it: people under the so-called Beckham Law.

This situation has set the Spanish tax authority against the courts and has reached the European Commission. In this article we explain what is going on, who is really affected and, just as importantly, who is not, because this debate changes nothing for most non-resident owners with a second home in Spain.

What is imputed income?

Imputed income is income that the law attributes to the owner of a property that is not rented out, even though the owner has received nothing from it. It is calculated as a percentage of the cadastral value and is taxed like any other income. How it works depends on the owner's tax residence:

• Spanish tax residents: the main home is exempt. Only second homes and other properties that are not rented out generate imputed income, which is reported on the Spanish personal income tax return (IRPF).
• Non-residents: every Spanish property that is not rented out generates imputed income, which is reported on the Modelo 210 for imputed income. As a non-resident lives outside Spain, their Spanish home is, by definition, a second home.

So far, everything fits. The problem appears with a regime that mixes both categories.

The Beckham Law in a nutshell

The Beckham Law is the popular name for the special regime for workers who move to Spain, set out in article 93 of the Personal Income Tax Law and widened by the Startups Law. It is open to people who move to Spain for an employment contract, remote work, a directorship, an entrepreneurial project or a highly qualified role, provided they were not resident in the previous five years.

For six tax years, they pay 24% on employment income up to €600,000 (47% above that) and are only taxed on other income if it is Spanish-source. The option is made on Modelo 149, and the annual return is Modelo 151.

The key point is that they are tax residents in Spain, but they calculate their tax under the rules of Non-Resident Income Tax (IRNR). And the IRNR has no concept of a main home.

The dispute: main home or second home?

Take an example. An executive moves to Madrid, opts for the Beckham Law and buys the flat where she lives with her family. It is her home, but because she is taxed under IRNR rules, the tax authority treats the flat as if it were a second home and charges imputed income on it. Her neighbour, a resident under the general regime, pays nothing on an identical home.

There are three different positions on this issue:

• The tax authority: it must be paid. The Central Economic-Administrative Court (TEAC), in its resolution unifying criteria of 17 July 2025, concluded that people under the Beckham Law must pay imputed income on their main home too. This criterion binds the Agencia Tributaria.
• The courts: recent judgments from the Madrid High Court have ruled in favour of taxpayers. The court considers that these people remain residents and that their main home should be excluded. In judgment 665/2025 it also recognised the right to recover what was paid, plus interest. The Supreme Court has not yet set a precedent.
• The Directorate General for Taxation, halfway. In binding ruling V2467-25 of 11 December 2025, it accepted that a Beckham Law taxpayer can apply the reinvestment exemption when selling their main home. In other words, the same home is recognised as a "main home" when it is sold, but not for imputed income.

What the European Commission says

In June 2025 the European Commission opened an infringement procedure against Spain (INFR(2025)4007), and on 29 April 2026 it took the next step by sending a reasoned opinion. Brussels considers that taxing people who habitually live and work in Spain, but are taxed as non-residents, on the home they use as their main residence breaches the free movement of capital.

It is worth reading carefully: the Commission is not challenging imputed income on second homes. What it criticises is taxing the real home of someone who lives in Spain, a situation that in practice corresponds to people under the Beckham Law. Spain had two months to respond and, if the Commission is not satisfied, it can take the case to the Court of Justice of the EU, which has not been announced so far. A reasoned opinion is not a judgment and does not change the law.

Who is affected and who isn't?

If you are under the Beckham Law and own your main home

You are directly affected. For now, the tax authority charges you imputed income on your main home, but the courts and Brussels point the other way. Below we explain what you can do.

If you are a Spanish tax resident under the general regime

You are not affected. Your main home is already exempt, and if you have a second home, you will keep reporting its imputed income on your IRPF return as always.

If you are a non-resident with a property in Spain

If you live outside Spain and own a holiday home or second property in Spain, this dispute does not change your tax obligations.

The European Commission's objections concern the taxation of properties used as a taxpayer's actual main residence. They do not challenge the general system of imputed income taxation on second homes.

Therefore, if your Spanish property is not rented out, you must continue declaring imputed income through Modelo 210, as before.

For the 2025 tax year, the filing deadline remains 31 December 2026. For the 2026 tax year, the filing period will run from 1 April to 31 December 2027. You can work out the amount with our annual non-resident tax calculator.

What Beckham Law taxpayers can do

Until the Supreme Court rules, the Agencia Tributaria will keep applying the TEAC criterion, so the prudent approach is to keep declaring imputed income on Modelo 151. Anyone who wants to keep the option of recovering what they paid if the criterion changes can request a rectification for the years that are not time-barred (there are four years), as this interrupts the limitation period.

Frequently asked questions

Can I stop paying imputed income because of what Brussels says?

No. A reasoned opinion is a formal warning from the European Commission asking Spain to change its rules, but it is neither a law nor a court ruling. Until Spain changes the law or the Supreme Court rules otherwise, the Agencia Tributaria will keep applying the TEAC criterion and charging imputed income, and stopping declaring it could lead to a tax assessment with surcharges and interest. What the opinion does is strengthen the position of Beckham Law taxpayers, because the Commission supports the view that their main home should not be taxed.

I am a non-resident with an apartment on the coast. Can I make a claim?

Not on these grounds. The debate is about whether someone should pay imputed income on the home they actually live in, that is, their main home. A non-resident with an apartment on the coast lives in another country, so that apartment is a second home. And second homes are taxed the same way for everyone: a Spanish resident with a flat by the beach also pays imputed income on it in their income tax return. As the treatment is the same, there is no inequality to claim, and neither the courts nor Brussels are challenging this tax on second homes.

Can IberianTax help me?

Yes. If you are moving to Spain for work, we help you apply for the Beckham Law: we check whether you meet the requirements and file Modelo 149 within six months of your Spanish Social Security registration. Once you are under the regime, we also help you file your Modelo 151 every year and can review your situation regarding imputed income on your home. And if you are a non-resident owner, we take care of your Modelo 210 for imputed income. Get in touch with us and we will tell you which option suits your case.

The final answer will come from the Supreme Court or from Europe. In the meantime, the Beckham Law remains a very advantageous regime for people moving to Spain to work, and it is worth understanding how it works before taking the step.