Beckham Law or Ordinary Income Tax in Valencia? 2026 Figures

If you are moving to Valencia for a job, someone has probably told you about the “Beckham Law”: a flat 24 % on your salary instead of the progressive scale. Whether that is a good deal depends heavily on where you live, because ordinary income tax in Spain has two halves, one set by the State and one set by your region. The Valencian half was rewritten in August 2026, with effect from 1 January of this year. This guide puts the two systems side by side using the official 2026 scales, so you can see at roughly what salary the special regime starts to pay off here, and what you give up in exchange. Figures checked on 28 October 2026.

How ordinary income tax works for a Valencia resident

Spain cedes part of personal income tax to the regions. Article 63 of the Income Tax Act (Ley 35/2006) sets the state scale for the general taxable base: 9.5 % up to 12,450 €, then 12 %, 15 %, 18.5 %, 22.5 % from 60,000 € and 24.5 % above 300,000 €. Each region adds its own scale on top. In the Comunitat Valenciana that scale is in article 2 of Valencian Law 13/1997, which Law 5/2026 of 31 July (DOGV no. 10425, 10 August 2026) replaced for 2026 with eleven brackets:

The table merges the two scales: the Valencian brackets start at 12,000 €, 22,000 €, 32,000 € and so on, and the state ones at 12,450 €, 20,200 €, 35,200 €, 60,000 € and 300,000 €, so each row shows where at least one of the rates changes. Two details soften the bill. The State applies a personal allowance of 5,550 € (article 57), while Valencia uses its own figure of 6,105 € (article 2 bis of Law 13/1997) for its half. And the same law already fixes a slightly lower Valencian scale for 2027, 0.1 points below each 2026 rate, from 8.7 % to 29.25 %.

How the special regime replaces all of that

Article 93 lets people who become tax resident because they move to Spain pay under the rules of the non-residents’ tax while remaining IRPF taxpayers, for the year they become resident and the next five. The calculation is very different:

• A flat 24 % applies to your general income up to 600,000 €, and 47 % to anything above that. There is no Valencian half.
• All employment income earned while you are in the regime counts as Spanish, even days worked abroad.
• Other income is taxed only when it has a Spanish source. Interest, dividends and gains from Spain go on a separate scale from 19 % to 30 %; rent from your flat back home or dividends from foreign shares generally stay outside.
• No personal allowance, no offsetting between income items, and no Valencian deductions. The only reductions in the tax due are the non-resident ones and, for foreign employment income already taxed abroad, a credit limited to 30 % of the tax on that income (article 114 of the IRPF Regulation).
• Your employer withholds at 24 % once you hand over the Tax Agency’s certificate.

Worked estimates for 2026

To compare like with like, we took a single employee under 65, with no children, no other income and no regional deductions, and ran each salary through our Beckham Law calculator for Valencia. On the ordinary side it subtracts the employee’s Social Security contributions under the 2026 rules, the general 2,000 € allowance for employment expenses (article 19.2.f of the Income Tax Act) and, at low salaries, the work-income reduction, then applies both scales with their personal allowances. On the special-regime side it applies 24 % to the gross salary, with nothing deducted. These are estimates, not a calculation of your tax: regional tax credits and any other income are left out.

Estimate, 2026 scales, figures from the calculator rounded to the euro.

Two things stand out. Up to roughly 59,000 € the progressive system still costs less than a flat 24 %, because the first tranches of income are taxed at 18.3 % to 29.6 % combined, the allowances take a slice out altogether and Social Security contributions shrink the ordinary base. Beyond that point, the gap widens fast: at 100,000 € the difference in this estimate is over 9,000 € a year, and at 250,000 € over 49,000 €.

When the special regime tends to pay more in Valencia

• Salaries well above the break-even point. From 72,000 € of taxable base every extra euro costs 48.6 % or more under ordinary rules, double the 24 %.
• Significant income or assets abroad. If you keep renting out a property at home, or hold a foreign portfolio, keeping that income outside Spanish IRPF can matter as much as the rate itself.
• Several years of high income ahead. The saving repeats for up to six tax years, while the 2027 Valencian cut is only 0.1 points per bracket.

When ordinary IRPF can be the better choice

• Moderate salaries, around or below the break-even point.
• Families relying on allowances and deductions. The special regime has no personal or family allowance and no Valencian deductions, such as those for renting your home.
• Remote workers taxed abroad. All employment income becomes Spanish, and the credit for foreign tax is capped at 30 % of the Spanish tax on that income.
• Freelancers. Ordinary self-employed activity is not compatible with the regime. Only an ENISA-approved entrepreneurial activity, highly qualified work for start-ups or training and R&D activities are allowed while you are in it.

A word on wealth tax

Article 93 states that a taxpayer in the special regime pays wealth tax under real obligation, that is, only on assets located in Spain. Law 5/2026 also raised the Valencian exempt minimum to 2,000,000 €, but article 8 of Law 13/1997 reserves it for taxpayers under personal obligation who live in the Comunitat Valenciana. Which allowance applies to you under real obligation should be checked for your own case before you decide.

Deadlines that decide for you

You opt in on form 149 within six months of the start date in your Social Security registration, after uploading the supporting documents in the Tax Agency’s separate step. Each year you then file form 151 in the normal income tax campaign. If you are already in the regime and the comparison now favours ordinary tax, you can renounce in November or December with effect from the following 1 January, but you can never opt in again. For 2027, that window is November and December 2026. Before you start work, it also helps to have your Social Security number sorted, since its registration date starts the clock.

Our help

If the numbers point to the regime and you would rather not file it yourself, our Beckham Law service in Valencia checks your eligibility first and then takes care of form 149 and every yearly return.

Sources

Checked on 28 October 2026.

• BOE: Law 35/2006 on Personal Income Tax (consolidated text), articles 19, 57, 63 and 93
• BOE: Royal Decree 439/2007, IRPF Regulation (consolidated text), articles 113 to 120
• BOE: Valencian Law 13/1997 on the regional part of income tax (consolidated text), articles 2, 2 bis and 8
• DOGV no. 10425: Valencian Law 5/2026 of 31 July on tax measures (articles 18 and 19, third transitional provision)
• Agencia Tributaria: form 149, opt-in, renunciation, exclusion and end of assignment
• Agencia Tributaria: form 151, annual return under the special regime

← All Valencia guides