An expat file does not close on a single question. It opens with a tax-residence determination and, depending on the outcome, branches into very different scenarios: if the person is a Spanish tax resident, the work is to quantify worldwide income and apply available exemptions; if not, the work is to tax as a non-resident only on Spanish-source income. The boundary between the two scenarios is the 183-day rule, but also the centre of economic interests and the family-nucleus presumption.
1 · Are you a Spanish tax resident in 2025?
Article 9 LIRPF sets out three alternative criteria — meeting one suffices — for an individual to be deemed Spanish tax resident in a given year:
- Physical presence above 183 days in Spanish territory during the calendar year. The Administration counts sporadic absences as presence days unless residence in another State is proven, in line with consolidated TEAC doctrine.
- Principal nucleus or base of activities or economic interests located in Spain, directly or indirectly.
- Family-nucleus presumption — non-legally separated spouse and dependent minor children habitually reside in Spain. This is a rebuttable presumption (iuris tantum): contrary evidence is admissible.
2 · Exemption for work physically performed abroad — Article 7.p LIRPF
A Spanish tax resident performing work physically outside Spain for a non-resident entity or permanent establishment located abroad may apply the Article 7.p LIRPF exemption. The corresponding employment income is exempt from Spanish IRPF up to an annual maximum of €60,100. Four cumulative conditions:
- The taxpayer must be a Spanish tax resident during the year.
- The work must be performed physically outside Spain (remote work from Spain does not qualify).
- The work must benefit a non-resident entity or permanent establishment located outside Spain, distinct from the employer itself.
- The destination country must operate a tax analogous or identical to Spanish IRPF; effective taxation of the worker is not required.
The exempt amount is calculated proportionally to the days physically worked abroad relative to the annual total, applied to the corresponding employment income. The AEAT draft never applies this exemption automatically. It must be claimed expressly in the return, with supporting documentation retained: flight tickets, entry and exit records, contracts of the receiving entity, employer certificates. This exemption is incompatible with the excess-allowance regime under Article 9.A.3.b RIRPF; the taxpayer chooses one of the two.
3 · Special inbound regime — Article 93 LIRPF
A taxpayer who relocated to Spain from 2022 onwards and meets the requirements of Article 93 LIRPF may opt for the special inbound regime (also known as the Beckham Law). Material effects:
- Taxed as a non-resident while retaining Spanish tax residence.
- Flat 24% on employment income up to €600,000 and 47% on the excess, following RDL 18/2022.
- Foreign-source income generally remains outside the Spanish taxable base for the six tax years of the regime, with specific exceptions (capital income and capital gains classified as Spanish-source).
- Form 151 is filed instead of the ordinary Form 100, with an analogous deadline (30 June of the following year).
- The regime is incompatible with ordinary residence taxation; waiver or loss of the regime moves the taxpayer to ordinary calculation.
4 · Double-tax treaties
Spain is party to over 100 bilateral double-tax treaties. Where a Spanish-resident taxpayer earns income in a treaty State, the DTT limits each State's taxing power and provides for the elimination of double taxation. Two standard methods:
- Exemption with progression — the foreign-source income is exempt in Spain but counted to determine the average rate applicable to remaining income. Preserves IRPF progressivity over non-exempt income.
- Imputation with foreign-tax credit — the income is taxed in Spain but the taxpayer credits tax effectively paid in the source State. The credit is capped at the Spanish tax that would correspond to that income (Article 80 LIRPF).
Method selection depends on the specific DTT and income category. The first step on a file with foreign-source income is therefore to identify the applicable DTT and the treatment provided for each income category.
5 · Forms 720 and 721 — Information returns
A Spanish tax resident with foreign-located assets and rights is subject to annual information-filing duties independent of the IRPF return:
- Form 720 — information return on assets and rights located abroad (accounts, securities and insurance rights, real estate). Deadline: 31 March of the following year. Threshold: €50,000 per category. The CJEU judgment C-788/19 of 27 January 2022 found the previously specific sanction regime disproportionate; Law 5/2022 aligned the regime with the general LGT framework.
- Form 721 — information return on virtual currencies (cryptoassets) located abroad. Deadline: 1 January to 31 March of the following year. Threshold: €50,000 in aggregate balance at 31 December.
Recurring 2025 special cases
Temporarily seconded employee
An employee sent by the company to work abroad for less than 183 days remains Spanish tax resident. If the work is performed physically outside Spain and benefits a non-resident entity, the Article 7.p exemption can be applied to the proportional part of the income corresponding to those days.
Digital nomad with Spanish visa
A professional under the Spanish international remote-work visa regulated by Law 28/2022 may opt for the Article 93 LIRPF regime if the general requirements are met. Taxation is at 24% on Spanish-source employment income up to €600,000. Foreign-source income remains outside the base with the noted exceptions.
Returning emigrant in 2025
A taxpayer who returned to Spain during 2025 after several years of tax residence in another State may have a partial-residence situation for the year. Residence determination operates globally for the calendar year under Article 9 LIRPF, but TEAC and DGT doctrine accept differentiated interpretations depending on the timing of the move and DTT compliance. The file requires case-by-case analysis; no automatic answer applies.
Our position
Any expat file we open begins with a formal tax-residence determination for the year. Without that anchor decision, the rest of the calculation cannot be sound. Where Spanish residence is established, we sequentially explore the applicability of the Article 93 LIRPF regime (if the move is inbound and recent), the Article 7.p exemption on physical work abroad, the DTTs applicable to non-Spanish-source income, and the 720 and 721 reporting duties. Where Spanish residence is not established, we open the IRNR route and verify whether the taxpayer must file on Spanish-source income. The boundary between those two scenarios is the most consequential decision in the file.