The Beckham Law — Spain's Special Tax Regime for impatriates under Article 93 LIRPF — is well known for its headline benefit: a flat 24% rate on employment income up to €600,000. What is less widely understood is the trade-off that makes this flat rate possible. By electing the regime, taxpayers agree to be governed by the rules of the Impuesto sobre la Renta de No Residentes (IRNR) rather than standard IRPF. This substitution is administratively clean but carries a cost: the rich catalogue of IRPF deductions available to ordinary resident taxpayers simply does not transfer. Two binding consultations published by the Dirección General de Tributos (DGT) in late 2025 have drawn this boundary with new clarity.
This article examines what those rulings say, why the legal framework produces this result, and — in the case of rental income — where a significant judicial controversy now sits. If you own Spanish property, plan energy efficiency works, or earn rental income while holding the Beckham Law regime, these rulings are directly relevant to your tax position.
Key takeaways
- Beckham Law holders apply IRNR rules, not IRPF rules — Art. 93.2 LIRPF is explicit on this point.
- Art. 26 TRLIRNR only allows charitable donations (Art. 69.3 LIRPF) and withholdings and payments on account to be deducted; the Modelo 151 instructions also include the deduction for international double taxation.
- DGT V2199-25 (17 Nov 2025) confirms that the energy efficiency works deduction (DA 50ª LIRPF) is not available to Beckham Law taxpayers.
- DGT V2201-25 confirms that Beckham Law holders cannot deduct rental property expenses against their Spanish rental income.
- On rental expenses there is litigation: in June 2024 the High Court of Justice of Madrid allowed a taxpayer under the regime to deduct them, and in November 2025 the Supreme Court admitted an appeal on that exact question (appeal 7666/2024). It has not yet ruled.
How the Beckham Law tax framework limits deductions
To understand why these deductions are unavailable, it is necessary to follow the statutory chain. Article 93.2 LIRPF states that, under the regime, the tax is determined "in accordance with the rules established in the consolidated text of the Non-Resident Income Tax Law". This cross-reference to the IRNR rules is not a quirk — it is the foundational mechanism of the regime.
Under the IRNR framework, the applicable deductions from gross tax liability are set out in Article 26 of the Consolidated Text of the Non-Residents Income Tax Act (TRLIRNR). That article is notably narrow. It allows only:
- (a) Charitable donation deductions under Article 69.3 LIRPF — the deduction for donations to qualifying foundations and NGOs.
- (b) Withholdings and payments on account — amounts already withheld at source during the tax year.
Every other deduction that appears in the IRPF law — for housing rehabilitation, energy works, contributions to political parties, regional deductions, maternity deductions — is absent from the IRNR framework. These deductions exist in a different statutory universe. Unless a specific provision creates a bridge between the two regimes, they are simply unavailable.
There is one well-known exception to illustrate how such a bridge can exist: Article 42.3 LIRPF, which deals with employer-provided benefits in kind. A specific gateway in the Beckham Law legislation allows the Article 42.3 exemptions (school fees, health insurance, etc.) to apply to Beckham Law holders. This exception exists precisely because the legislature created it explicitly. Without such an explicit gateway, no IRPF deduction crosses over into the IRNR world.
Energy efficiency works — DGT V2199-25
The DGT published consulta vinculante V2199-25 on 17 November 2025. The taxpayer had returned to Spain in 2023 and opted for the Beckham Law regime. In 2024, he undertook energy efficiency improvement works on his primary residence — works that would, under normal IRPF rules, qualify for the deduction established in Disposición Adicional 50ª LIRPF (DA 50ª). He asked the DGT whether he could apply that deduction in his Modelo 151 filing.
The DGT answered no.
The reasoning followed the statutory chain described above. The DA 50ª deduction is an IRPF deduction. Beckham Law taxpayers do not apply IRPF rules — they apply IRNR rules. Article 26 TRLIRNR, which lists the only deductions available from IRNR liability, does not include the energy efficiency works deduction. There is no gateway provision, equivalent to the Article 42.3 exception, that imports DA 50ª into the IRNR framework. Therefore, the deduction is unavailable regardless of how significant or recent the works were, and regardless of the taxpayer's actual residence in Spain.
In practical terms, this means a Beckham Law holder who spends €20,000 on qualifying energy efficiency improvements in their home — works that could save a standard IRPF taxpayer up to €4,800 in deductions — receives zero tax benefit for those expenditures. The regime's attractive headline rate comes at the cost of this kind of IRPF privilege.
Rental income and expenses — the contested restriction
The second ruling addressed in the May 2026 editorial commentary is V2201-25. According to that commentary, the DGT confirmed that Beckham Law holders who earn rental income from Spanish real property cannot deduct the expenses associated with that rental activity.
The legal logic follows the same structural pattern as V2199-25. Under IRNR rules, the ability to deduct rental expenses from gross rental income has historically been limited. The IRNR framework does allow EU and EEA residents — specifically residents of EU member states and of Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein — to deduct expenses related to income obtained in Spain, on the basis that denying such deductions would be discriminatory under EU free movement principles. However, Beckham Law holders are residents of Spain. They are not non-residents. They are Spanish residents who happen to apply IRNR rules. According to the DGT's position in V2201-25, this distinction means the EU/EEA expense deduction gateway does not apply to them. The result, as reported in the editorial, is that their gross rental income is subject to a flat tax rate with no expense offset.
For a landlord holding the Beckham Law regime with a mortgaged rental property, the financial impact can be material. Mortgage interest, community fees, repairs and maintenance, property management fees, and depreciation — all of which a standard IRPF taxpayer can deduct — would be ignored, and the gross rental amount would face the full IRNR rate.
The courts: a Madrid judgment for a Beckham taxpayer and a pending Supreme Court appeal
The DGT's position is not the end of the story. In judgment 413/2024 of 10 June 2024 (case 766/2022), the High Court of Justice of Madrid allowed a taxpayer under the regime to deduct the expenses of properties rented out in Spain. Its reasoning is that the regime sits within the Personal Income Tax Law and the taxpayer keeps that status, and it expressly departed from the DGT's earlier ruling V2589-10. The judgment was appealed, and on 12 November 2025 the Supreme Court admitted the appeal (appeal 7666/2024) to decide whether, under article 93, article 24.6 of the Non-Resident Income Tax Law applies or whether rental income must be taxed on its gross amount with no expenses deducted. As at 7 November 2026 we have not found a judgment.
A separate case concerns non-residents. In its judgment of 28 July 2025 (appeal 636/2021), the Audiencia Nacional held, in the case of a resident of the United States, that limiting the deduction of rental expenses to residents of the European Union or the European Economic Area is contrary to the free movement of capital (article 63 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU). That judgment is not about the Beckham Law, and it is not final: according to published commentary, the Supreme Court admitted an appeal against it in July 2026 (appeal 6741/2025).
So the question is open. The DGT says no (V2201-25); one regional High Court has said yes for a taxpayer under the regime; and the Supreme Court has yet to decide. Take specific professional advice before you file.
The DGT's answer follows the wording of article 24 of the Non-Resident Income Tax Law; the Madrid judgment follows the logic that taxpayers under the regime remain Personal Income Tax taxpayers. The Supreme Court will settle it in appeal 7666/2024. Until then, the argument is alive. — DPLL Tax & Legal · Editorial commentary, May 2026
Implications for Beckham Law holders
The following table summarises the deduction position for Beckham Law holders under current DGT guidance, noting where judicial controversy exists.
| Deduction / item | Available? | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Charitable donations (Art. 69.3 LIRPF) | YES | Expressly included in Art. 26 TRLIRNR |
| Withholdings and payments on account | YES | Expressly included in Art. 26 TRLIRNR |
| Employer benefits in kind (Art. 42.3 LIRPF) | YES | Specific gateway in Beckham Law legislation |
| Energy efficiency works (DA 50ª LIRPF) | NO | DGT V2199-25 — IRPF deduction, no IRNR gateway |
| Rental property expenses | DISPUTED | DGT: NO (V2201-25) · TSJ Madrid 10-06-2024: YES · Supreme Court: pending (appeal 7666/2024) |
| Mortgage interest on primary residence | NO | IRPF deduction, no IRNR equivalent |
| Regional (autonomous community) deductions | NO | IRPF framework only; Beckham Law applies IRNR |
| Maternity / family deductions | NO | IRPF deductions; not imported into IRNR framework |
The pattern is consistent: if the deduction exists only in the LIRPF (the IRPF statute), and no specific provision creates a gateway for Beckham Law holders, the deduction is not available. The two exceptions that do work — charitable donations and the benefits-in-kind exemptions — are available because the IRNR statute or the Beckham Law legislation specifically brings them in.
What to do if you are affected
If you hold the Beckham Law regime and one of these situations applies to you, the steps below outline the appropriate response:
- If you carried out energy efficiency works in 2024 or 2025: Do not claim the DA 50ª deduction in your Modelo 151. V2199-25 is a binding ruling and the AEAT will disallow the deduction. There is currently no legal argument available to challenge this outcome — the statutory position is unambiguous.
- If you earn rental income from Spanish property: Obtain specific professional advice before your next filing. You have two options: (a) follow the DGT's position and tax gross rental income without expense deductions, accepting the conservative approach; or (b) claim the expenses on the basis of the Madrid High Court judgment of 10 June 2024 and be prepared to defend that position in a review or an appeal, knowing that the Supreme Court has not yet ruled. Option (b) involves litigation risk but is legally arguable.
- If you are considering acquiring Spanish rental property while under the Beckham Law regime: Factor in the potential tax cost of gross-income taxation when modelling your expected return. If the taxpayer's position prevails in the Supreme Court, the situation may improve, but you should not assume it will in your financial projections.
- Document everything. Whether you claim or do not claim rental expense deductions, maintain full records of all property-related expenditure. If the legal position shifts — through Supreme Court clarification or legislative reform — you want to be in a position to amend past returns within the statutory time limits.
For Beckham Law holders navigating these restrictions, understanding your full tax picture is essential. For guidance on your IRNR filing obligations and how to manage income from Spanish sources, DPLL Tax & Legal provides specialist support. The annual declaration under the regime is filed via Modelo 151, and the interaction with rental income rules requires careful handling. If you are unsure whether these judgments affect your specific situation, a professional advice session can clarify your position before you file.