Modelo 149 timing

When is the Beckham Law application deadline?

For a principal applicant, the Modelo 149 option normally has a maximum six-month filing period. Identifying the correct activity-start document is more important than guessing from arrival or visa dates.

Reviewed 21 July 2026 · Current Spanish Tax Agency guidance

The general six-month rule

The Spanish Tax Agency states that the option is exercised electronically using Modelo 149. For the principal taxpayer, the maximum filing period is normally six months from the start of activity recorded in one of the applicable documents.

The relevant record may be:

• the Spanish Social Security registration showing the activity start date;
• documentation that permits continued coverage under the Social Security legislation of the country of origin; or
• where Social Security registration is not required, another document justifying the activity start date.

Dates that should not be used automatically

The deadline is not necessarily six months from the day someone first enters Spain, receives a visa, obtains a TIE, signs a lease or becomes aware of the regime. One of those dates may be relevant to the wider analysis, but the Tax Agency’s published general rule focuses on the documented start of activity.

Associated family members have their own timing rule: guidance refers to the later of six months from their entry into Spain or the principal taxpayer’s applicable period. Their eligibility and documentation still need separate checking.

What to collect before calculating

• Spanish Social Security registration or foreign certificate of applicable legislation.
• Employer letter, assignment letter or remote-work confirmation showing the activity arrangement.
• Residence authorization where applicable.
• Evidence of the date the qualifying work or activity started.
• NIF and Spanish tax-census registration needed for electronic filing.

Why planning before registration helps

Waiting until after the move can compress the time available to resolve employer documents, Social Security coverage, tax-census registration and the electronic submission. Checking before the activity starts does not create eligibility, but it can prevent the filing period from being discovered too late.

How long the regime can apply

When validly chosen and maintained, the special regime applies for the tax year in which Spanish tax residence is acquired and the following five tax years. That duration is separate from the six-month period for exercising the initial option.

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