Wegzugsteuer and DACH Tax Planning for Spain 2026 — §6 AStG, DTA Germany-Spain and Beckham Law

The Wegzugsteuer under §6 AStG is the most misunderstood tax instrument in the DACH-to-Spain relocation landscape. The 2021 reform fundamentally changed the rules for exits from 2022. Getting this right is the single most valuable thing BMC does for DACH high-net-worth clients.

The §6 AStG Mechanism: What Actually Happens at Departure

When a German tax resident moves to Spain and holds shares in a capital company (GmbH, AG, SE, or foreign equivalent) meeting the §17 EStG threshold (≥1% shareholding), German tax law treats the departure as a deemed disposal of those shares. The unrealised gain, the difference between the current market value and the original acquisition cost, is taxed like a §17 EStG gain: under the partial-income method 60% of it is taxable at the personal income tax rate (§3 Nr. 40 EStG), plus 5.5% Solidaritätszuschlag where applicable. The 25% Abgeltungsteuer does not apply to these shareholdings.

Calculating the Wegzugsteuer: A Worked Example

Paying in instalments does not eliminate the tax; it spreads it over seven years.

§6 Abs. 4 AStG: The Legal Position Since 2022

The ATAD-Umsetzungsgesetz vom 25. Juni 2021 (BGBl. I p. 2035), implementing the EU Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive (ATAD), reformed §6 AStG with effect from 1 January 2022. The key change for EU relocations:

Old law (exits before 2022): For moves to EU/EEA states, the tax was deferred without interest or security; this old regime still applies to exits before 2022 (§21 Abs. 3 AStG).

New law (§6 Abs. 4 AStG, exits from 2022): For all destinations, Spain included, the tax can be paid on application in seven equal, interest-free annual instalments, and the application is as a rule granted only against security.

Events that make the outstanding tax due within one month (§6 Abs. 4 AStG):

1. An instalment is not paid on time
2. The reporting duties under §6 Abs. 5 AStG are not met
3. The taxpayer files for insolvency
4. The shares are sold or transferred
5. Distributions or repayments of capital exceed a quarter of the value of the shares

DTA Germany-Spain: The Five Key Articles

The Agreement between Spain and Germany for the Avoidance of Double Taxation (signed 3 February 2011, BOE-A-2012-10212) follows the OECD Model Convention. The following articles are most relevant for DACH expatriates:

Art. 4 — Residence (the “place of effective management” risk)

Defines which state a company is resident in. If a German GmbH is managed from Spain, Art. 4 combined with §10 AO could make Spain the company’s state of tax residence — with full Spanish corporate tax consequences.

Art. 10 — Dividends

Spain (residence state) has primary taxing rights on dividends. Germany (source state) may withhold: 5% if the recipient is a company with ≥10% shareholding (relevant for DE-ES holding structures), 15% in other cases. This withholding is creditable against Spanish IRPF or IS.

Art. 13 Abs. 6 — General capital gains

Gains on share disposals are taxable only in the state of residence of the seller. After moving to Spain, Spain has the primary right to tax any gain on sale of shares — including German GmbH shares.

Art. 13 Abs. 7 — Germany’s 5-year look-back

Notwithstanding Art. 13 Abs. 6, Germany may tax gains on disposal of shares in German companies if the seller was resident in Germany at any point in the 5 years preceding the disposal. After 5 years of Spanish residency, only Spain has the right.

Art. 13 Abs. 2 — Real estate-rich companies

Gains on shares in companies where >50% of assets consist of immovable property may be taxed in the country where the property is located. Relevant for German real estate holding GmbHs.

Beckham Law and Wegzugsteuer for DACH HNW

Two Different Taxes

The Wegzugsteuer and the Beckham Law operate on different dimensions:

• Wegzugsteuer: German tax on past unrealised gains, payable at departure or in seven annual instalments (backward-looking)
• Beckham Law: Spanish regime that sets the rate on current income (forward-looking)

They are compatible, but the Beckham Law does not reduce the German exit tax.

Combined Financial Impact: A DACH HNW Example

Simplified estimates. Actual tax depends on structure, residency obligations and personal circumstances.

Austrian Exit Tax: §27 EStG Ö

Austria’s exit regime under §27 Abs. 6 EStG Ö applies broadly to all capital assets (not just significant shareholdings, unlike Germany’s ≥1% rule). For Austrian nationals moving to Spain (EU), Austrian law has its own deferral rules, which differ from the German ones. BMC coordinates with Austrian tax advisors for the deferral application at the Austrian Finanzamt, in parallel with the Spanish Beckham Law application.

Modelo 720: The Foreign Asset Disclosure Obligation

An aspect frequently overlooked in DACH tax planning: a new Spanish resident taxed on worldwide income must file Modelo 720 if they hold foreign assets (bank accounts, securities portfolios, real estate) worth more than €50,000 per category. Under the Beckham Law it is not filed while the regime lasts (DGT V0092-14), but it is in the first year after leaving it.

Modelo 720 is an informational declaration — it does not directly generate tax. However, the failure to file historically attracted disproportionate penalties. After the CJEU ruling in case C-788/19, the sanction regime has been moderated, but the obligation to file persists. For a DACH HNW individual with GmbH shareholdings, German bank accounts and Austrian or German real estate, Modelo 720 is typically one of the first formal obligations in the first year of Spanish residency.

Filing window: 1 January to 31 March of the year following the one in which you first become a Spanish tax resident. The first Modelo 720 covers the year of first residency.

The First-Year Fiscal Calendar for DACH Residents in Spain

Managing these overlapping deadlines across two tax systems — German and Spanish — is one of the core services BMC provides to DACH clients in their first years as Spanish tax residents. Missing the Modelo 149 deadline means losing the Beckham Law entitlement permanently for that period of residency.

Swiss Exit Tax Complexity: A Note on Cantonal Differences

Swiss nationals leaving Switzerland do not face a single unified federal exit tax equivalent to Germany’s AStG. However, certain cantons levy specific taxes on departure — particularly on unrealised gains in business assets and company shareholdings:

• Zurich, Basel: Departure can trigger cantonal income tax on latent gains in some circumstances — particularly for business owners and significant shareholders
• Geneva: Specific cantonal provisions on asset transfers and latent gains upon fiscal domicile change
• Zug, Schwyz: Lower tax burden generally; fewer departure-triggered levies, but individual analysis still required

Swiss nationals should consult with a Swiss cantonal tax advisor before completing the move. BMC coordinates this cross-border analysis as part of its integrated DACH-Spain relocation service, ensuring the Swiss and Spanish sides of the transaction are planned in parallel.

Exit Planning: The Optimal Sequence for DACH HNW

The interaction of the Wegzugsteuer instalments, the Art. 13 Abs. 7 DE-ES DTA five-year window and the Beckham Law’s six-year horizon shapes the exit planning of DACH entrepreneurs who hold German company shareholdings.

The optimal sequence for a German founder who relocates to Spain at age 45:

1. Move to Spain (year 0): Wegzugsteuer assessed on the gain accrued up to departure; on application it is paid in seven annual instalments, as a rule against security. Beckham Law activated: 24% on Spanish employment income; foreign-source income generally not taxed in Spain.
2. Years 1–5: Do not sell the GmbH. Germany retains the right under Art. 13 Abs. 7. German dividends to the founder are partially withheld at source but exempt in Spain.
3. Year 5+: Art. 13 Abs. 7 look-back expires. Only Spain has the right to tax any sale of the German GmbH shares.
4. Year 5 or 6 (while Beckham still active): A sale of the GmbH makes any outstanding Wegzugsteuer instalments due within one month (§6 Abs. 4 AStG), so the gain accrued up to departure stays taxed in Germany. Only the later increase in value is in play in Spain, and under point II of the Protocol Beckham taxpayers cannot rely on Articles 4 and 6 to 21 of the DTA. This needs a case-by-case analysis before any sale.

Legal sources:

• §6 AStG — gesetze-im-internet.de
• §21 AStG (transitional rule) — gesetze-im-internet.de
• DTA Germany-Spain — BOE-A-2012-10212
• Art. 93 LIRPF — AEAT
• §3 Nr. 40 EStG (partial-income method) — gesetze-im-internet.de