Moving from France to Spain: tax, residence and business

If you move from France to Spain, you are taxed in Spain on your worldwide income from the year you spend more than 183 days in the country or move your centre of economic interests here (art. 9 of the Spanish Personal Income Tax Act); if both countries treat you as resident, the 1995 Spain-France treaty (BOE-A-1997-12729) breaks the tie. French general-scheme and AGIRC-ARRCO pensions are taxed only in Spain; civil-service pensions stay taxable in France. You can opt for the Beckham regime (24 % up to 600,000 euros) if you were not resident in Spain in the previous five years, and if your holdings exceed 800,000 euros, look at the French exit tax (art. 167 bis CGI) before you leave.

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Why BMC

Specialised advice and personal service

BMC handles the Spanish side of your move: tax residence, the Beckham regime (Modelo 149 and Modelo 151), Modelo 720, the Spanish income tax return with French income, EU registration and NIE, self-employed registration or a Spanish SL. We coordinate with your French adviser on what is decided in France, such as the exit tax or your last French return. The first 30-minute meeting is free, and before any work starts you receive a written proposal with the fee and the first-year total.

  • Tax residence

    you are resident in Spain if you spend more than 183 days a year here or your main economic interests are here (art. 9.1 LIRPF); if France also treats you as resident, art. 4.2 of the 1995 treaty decides.

  • Pensions

    French general-scheme and AGIRC-ARRCO pensions are taxed only in Spain (art. 18); civil-service pensions are taxed in France unless you are resident in Spain and a Spanish national without French nationality (art. 19).

  • Beckham regime

    24 % on employment income up to 600,000 euros in the year of the move and the following five, if you were not resident in Spain in the previous five years (art. 93 LIRPF); you opt in with Modelo 149 within six months.

  • French exit tax

    it applies if you lived in France six of the last ten years and hold shares worth more than 800,000 euros or 50 % of a company's profits; on a move to Spain, payment is deferred automatically (art. 167 bis CGI).

How we work

From first contact to case completion

  1. Free first meeting

    In 30 minutes we look at your position in France and in Spain, tell you whether we are the right fit and what we would do. You then receive a written proposal with the fee plus VAT and the first-year total.

  2. Before you leave France

    We set the right date for the change of residence, check whether you qualify for the Beckham regime and, if you hold significant shareholdings, coordinate the exit tax and the departure-year return with your French adviser.

  3. Arrival in Spain

    EU registration with your NIE, Spanish social security registration or an A1 certificate if you remain posted, and Modelo 149 within six months of the start of your activity.

  4. First tax year

    Spanish income tax return with your French income, or Modelo 151 under the Beckham regime, Modelo 720 where it applies, and the treaty applied so you do not pay twice.

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The problem

If you move from France to Spain, you are taxed in Spain on your worldwide income from the year you spend more than 183 days in the country or move your centre of economic interests here (art. 9 of the Spanish Personal Income Tax Act); if both countries treat you as resident, the 1995 Spain-France treaty (BOE-A-1997-12729) breaks the tie. French general-scheme and AGIRC-ARRCO pensions are taxed only in Spain; civil-service pensions stay taxable in France. You can opt for the Beckham regime (24 % up to 600,000 euros) if you were not resident in Spain in the previous five years, and if your holdings exceed 800,000 euros, look at the French exit tax (art. 167 bis CGI) before you leave.

Our solution

BMC handles the Spanish side of your move: tax residence, the Beckham regime (Modelo 149 and Modelo 151), Modelo 720, the Spanish income tax return with French income, EU registration and NIE, self-employed registration or a Spanish SL. We coordinate with your French adviser on what is decided in France, such as the exit tax or your last French return. The first 30-minute meeting is free, and before any work starts you receive a written proposal with the fee and the first-year total.

Process

How we do it

1

Free first meeting

In 30 minutes we look at your position in France and in Spain, tell you whether we are the right fit and what we would do. You then receive a written proposal with the fee plus VAT and the first-year total.

2

Before you leave France

We set the right date for the change of residence, check whether you qualify for the Beckham regime and, if you hold significant shareholdings, coordinate the exit tax and the departure-year return with your French adviser.

3

Arrival in Spain

EU registration with your NIE, Spanish social security registration or an A1 certificate if you remain posted, and Modelo 149 within six months of the start of your activity.

4

First tax year

Spanish income tax return with your French income, or Modelo 151 under the Beckham regime, Modelo 720 where it applies, and the treaty applied so you do not pay twice.

6 months
Deadline to opt for the Beckham regime (Modelo 149)
24 %
Beckham rate on employment income up to 600,000 euros
50,000 euros
Threshold per asset category for Modelo 720
1 euro
Minimum share capital of an SL since Law 18/2022

Short answer

  • Spanish tax from the year of your move. You become tax resident in Spain if you spend more than 183 days of the calendar year here or if your main economic interests are here (art. 9.1 of the Personal Income Tax Act, Law 35/2006). As a resident you are taxed on your worldwide income, including what you still receive from France.
  • The 1995 treaty prevents double taxation. The Spain-France convention signed in Madrid on 10 October 1995 (BOE-A-1997-12729, in force since 1 July 1997) decides which country taxes each type of income and requires Spain to credit French tax where France keeps the right to tax.
  • Pensions. General-scheme and AGIRC-ARRCO pensions are taxed only in Spain. Civil-service pensions are taxed in France, except for residents with Spanish nationality and without French nationality.
  • Beckham regime. If you were not resident in Spain in the previous five years and you move for a job, a directorship or to start a business, you can pay 24 % on up to 600,000 euros of employment income in the year of the move and the following five (art. 93 LIRPF).
  • French exit tax. With shares worth more than 800,000 euros or 50 % of a company’s profits, the move triggers a tax on the unrealised gain, whose payment is deferred automatically on a move to Spain.
  • Registration and business. As an EU citizen you need no visa: you register within three months and receive your NIE. A Spanish SL can be set up with 1 euro of share capital.

Tax residence and the treaty tie-breaker

Spain applies three tests in art. 9.1 of Law 35/2006:

  1. More than 183 days in Spain in the calendar year. Sporadic absences count as days in Spain unless you prove tax residence in another country.
  2. Main centre or base of your activities or economic interests in Spain, directly or indirectly.
  3. Family presumption: you are presumed resident, unless you prove otherwise, if your spouse (not legally separated) and your dependent minor children habitually live in Spain.

France may still treat you as resident, for instance if you keep your home or your family there. In that case art. 4.2 of the treaty decides, in this order: the state where you have a permanent home available; if you have one in both, the state of your centre of vital interests; then where you habitually live; then nationality; and finally agreement between the two tax authorities.

The Spain-France treaty, income by income

IncomeWho taxesArticle
Salary for work done in SpainSpain, if you live in Spain and the employment is exercised here; remote work from your home in Spain is exercised in SpainArt. 15
Dividends from French companiesSpain, with French withholding capped at 15 %, which Spain creditsArts. 10 and 24
Private, general-scheme or AGIRC-ARRCO pensionSpain onlyArt. 18
Public pension (civil servants and public bodies)France, unless you are resident in Spain and a Spanish national without French nationalityArt. 19.2

Where France taxes, Spain applies the credit method: it deducts the French tax up to the Spanish tax on that income (art. 24.2). If you work in the border area, the treaty Protocol keeps a specific regime for cross-border workers; we look at it for your case.

The Beckham regime for people arriving from France

The special regime in art. 93 of Law 35/2006, as amended by Law 28/2022 with effect from 1 January 2023, lets you be taxed as a non-resident while living in Spain.

Requirements:

  • You were not tax resident in Spain in the five previous tax years.
  • You move to Spain for one of these reasons: an employment contract, including remote work carried out exclusively by telematic means that your employer did not order; becoming director of a company (if it is a wealth-holding company, an entidad patrimonial, without a related-party stake of 25 % or more); an entrepreneurial activity approved under art. 70 of Law 14/2013; or highly qualified work for start-ups or in training, research, development and innovation.
  • You do not earn income through a permanent establishment in Spain, except in the last two cases.

How you are taxed:

  • Employment and other general income: 24 % up to 600,000 euros and 47 % above.
  • Dividends, interest and gains: 19 %, 21 %, 23 %, 27 % and 30 % (the top band since 2025, under Law 7/2024).
  • All employment income is treated as earned in Spain. Other foreign-source income is not taxed in Spain while the regime lasts.
  • For Spanish Wealth Tax you are taxed only on assets located in Spain.

Deadlines and forms: you opt in with Modelo 149 within six months of the start date of your activity shown in your Spanish social security registration or in the document that keeps you in your home system (art. 116 of the Personal Income Tax Regulation). Each year you file Modelo 151. The regime covers the year you become resident and the following five. Your spouse and children under 25 can join if they move with you in the first year and meet the conditions of art. 93.3.

More detail on our Beckham regime page.

Modelo 720 and Modelo 721

  • Modelo 720: information return on assets abroad. A Spanish tax resident files it when accounts, securities and insurance, or real estate outside Spain exceed 50,000 euros in any one category. Deadline: 1 January to 31 March of the following year. It only needs to be filed again if a category grows by more than 20,000 euros. After the EU Court of Justice judgment of 27 January 2022 (case C-788/19), Law 5/2022 removed the special penalty regime. According to the Spanish tax agency, taxpayers under the Beckham regime do not have to file it.
  • Modelo 721: crypto-assets held with a custodian abroad above 50,000 euros, in the same window (Order HFP/886/2023). Assets you hold yourself are not included.

If you hold an assurance-vie, a PEA or other French savings products, it is worth working out before the move how they will be reported in Spain; we cover it in the first meeting.

Pensions and income that keeps coming from France

  • General scheme (CNAV) and AGIRC-ARRCO supplementary pensions: Spain only (art. 18). France does not withhold tax on these pensions where the treaty removes its taxing right (BOFiP, BOI-INT-DG-20-20-50, § 20), and its own table in the notice to form 2041-E says so for Spain.
  • French public pensions: taxed in France, unless you are resident in Spain with Spanish nationality and without French nationality (art. 19.2).
  • French dividends: French withholding of at most 15 %, which Spain credits.
  • Filing duty: a pension paid from France that is taxable in Spain goes into your Spanish income tax return; the Spanish Directorate General of Taxes confirms this in ruling V4694-16.

Social security

Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 makes a single country’s legislation apply:

  • General rule: you are insured where you physically work (art. 11.3.a).
  • Temporary posting by your French employer: you stay in the French system with an A1 certificate if the expected duration does not exceed 24 months (art. 12).
  • Habitual work in both countries: art. 13, which favours your country of residence if you do a substantial part of your work there.

EU registration and NIE

As a French citizen you need no visa. If you will live in Spain for more than three months, you apply in person to be entered in the Central Register of Foreign Nationals within three months of arrival, and receive on the spot a registration certificate stating your NIE (art. 7.5 of Royal Decree 240/2007). Family members without EU nationality apply for the residence card for family members of an EU citizen.

Setting up a business in Spain

  • SL with 1 euro of capital: Law 18/2022 lowered the minimum in art. 4 of the Spanish Companies Act to one euro. Until capital reaches 3,000 euros, at least 20 % of profit goes to the legal reserve and, if the company is wound up, the shareholders are jointly liable for the difference up to 3,000 euros.
  • Self-employed or SL: it depends on turnover, risk and whether you want the Beckham regime as a director. We work through the numbers in the first meeting.

More on company formation in Spain.

The French exit tax, with care

This part is governed by French law and decided by your French adviser. What art. 167 bis of the Code général des impôts says in the version in force since 1 January 2024:

  • Who is affected: anyone whose tax domicile was in France for at least six of the ten years before leaving and who holds, directly or through their tax household, shares representing at least 50 % of a company’s profits or worth more than 800,000 euros in total.
  • What is taxed: the unrealised gains on those shares on the date of the move.
  • Spain is an EU state: payment is deferred automatically.
  • When it ends: the tax is cancelled after two years if you still hold the shares, or after five years if their total value exceeds 2.57 million euros. If you sell earlier, the deferral ends.
  • Returns: in the year after you leave you file form 2074-ETD and, while the deferral lasts, form 2074-ETS or 2074-ETSL each year (impots.gouv.fr).

If this applies to you, go through the exit with your French adviser before fixing the date of your move.

BMC services and fees

ServiceFee
First 30-minute meetingFree
Written entry report: analysis of your case and of the recommended routeFrom 1,000 euros + VAT
Beckham regime, employee: eligibility analysis, Modelo 149 and representation until the decisionFrom 1,200 euros + VAT
Beckham regime, director, shareholder or self-employedFrom 2,500 euros + VAT
Modelo 151, annual Beckham returnFrom 400 euros + VAT per return
Spanish income tax return with foreign income or double taxationFrom 390 euros + VAT
NIE: appointment, forms and document supportFrom 299 euros + VAT
Self-employed registration with the tax agency and social securityFrom 300 euros + VAT
Standard SL incorporationFrom 1,500 euros + VAT
Small SL retainer: bookkeeping, tax returns and annual accounts (12-month minimum)From 390 euros + VAT per month

Before any work starts you receive a written proposal with the fee and the first-year total. Book your free first meeting here or see all our fees.

Sources

General information updated on 6 October 2026. It does not replace an analysis of your case.

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FAQ

Frequently asked questions

You are tax resident in Spain if you spend more than 183 days of the calendar year in Spain or if the main centre or base of your activities or economic interests is in Spain. Residence is also presumed, unless you prove otherwise, when your spouse (not legally separated) and your dependent minor children live in Spain (art. 9.1 of Law 35/2006). If France still treats you as resident, art. 4.2 of the 1995 treaty decides in this order: permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode, nationality and, as a last resort, agreement between the two tax authorities.
Private pensions and French general-scheme pensions, including the AGIRC-ARRCO supplementary schemes, are taxed only in Spain, the state of residence (art. 18 of the treaty). The French tax authority says so in its notice to form 2041-E, and for that reason it does not withhold French tax on those pensions for Spanish residents (BOFiP, BOI-INT-DG-20-20-50). Pensions paid by the French state or other French public bodies are taxed in France, unless the recipient is resident in Spain and a Spanish national without also holding French nationality (art. 19.2). The Spanish Directorate General of Taxes confirms that French pensions are taxed in Spain except public ones (ruling V4694-16).
Yes, if you were not tax resident in Spain in the five previous tax years and you move for an employment contract (including remote work by telematic means that your employer did not order), to become a company director, for an entrepreneurial activity or as a highly qualified professional for start-ups (art. 93 LIRPF as amended by Law 28/2022). You may not earn income through a permanent establishment in Spain, except in the last two cases. You opt in with Modelo 149 within six months of the start of your activity (art. 116 of the Personal Income Tax Regulation) and file Modelo 151 every year.
It is the tax in art. 167 bis of the Code général des impôts on unrealised gains when you transfer your tax domicile out of France. It applies if your tax domicile was in France for at least six of the ten years before you leave and you hold shares representing at least 50 % of a company's profits or worth more than 800,000 euros in total. On a move to an EU state such as Spain, payment is deferred automatically; the tax is cancelled after two years if you still hold the shares, or after five years if they are worth more than 2.57 million euros. In the year after you leave you file form 2074-ETD and then report every year. Your French adviser decides this part; BMC coordinates it with the Spanish side.
Yes, if you are tax resident in Spain and any of the three categories held outside Spain (accounts; securities and insurance; real estate) exceeds 50,000 euros on 31 December. It is filed between 1 January and 31 March, and only needs to be filed again if a category grows by more than 20,000 euros (Order HAP/72/2013 and arts. 42 bis, 42 ter and 54 bis of the General Tax Management Regulation). According to the Spanish tax agency, taxpayers under the Beckham regime do not have to file it. Since Law 5/2022, which followed the EU Court of Justice judgment in case C-788/19, the special penalty regime no longer applies.
As a rule you are insured in the country where you physically work (art. 11.3.a of Regulation (EC) 883/2004). If your French employer posts you to Spain temporarily, you can stay in the French system with an A1 certificate if the expected duration does not exceed 24 months (art. 12). If you habitually work in both countries, art. 13 applies, which favours your country of residence when you do a substantial part of your work there.
You do not need a visa. If you will stay more than three months, you must apply in person to be entered in the Central Register of Foreign Nationals within three months of arrival; a registration certificate stating your foreigner identity number (NIE) is issued on the spot (art. 7.5 of Royal Decree 240/2007). Family members who are not EU nationals apply for the residence card for family members of an EU citizen.
Since Law 18/2022 the minimum share capital of a Spanish limited company (SL) is 1 euro (art. 4 of the Spanish Companies Act). While capital is below 3,000 euros, at least 20 % of profit goes to the legal reserve until reserve and capital together reach 3,000 euros, and on liquidation the shareholders are jointly liable for the difference up to that amount. If you will be its director and want the Beckham regime, the company must not be a holding of passive assets (entidad patrimonial) or, if it is, you must not hold a related-party stake (25 % or more).

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Frequently asked questions

Questions about Moving from France to Spain in 2026: tax, residence and business

You are tax resident in Spain if you spend more than 183 days of the calendar year in Spain or if the main centre or base of your activities or economic interests is in Spain. Residence is also presumed, unless you prove otherwise, when your spouse (not legally separated) and your dependent minor children live in Spain (art. 9.1 of Law 35/2006). If France still treats you as resident, art. 4.2 of the 1995 treaty decides in this order: permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode, nationality and, as a last resort, agreement between the two tax authorities.
Private pensions and French general-scheme pensions, including the AGIRC-ARRCO supplementary schemes, are taxed only in Spain, the state of residence (art. 18 of the treaty). The French tax authority says so in its notice to form 2041-E, and for that reason it does not withhold French tax on those pensions for Spanish residents (BOFiP, BOI-INT-DG-20-20-50). Pensions paid by the French state or other French public bodies are taxed in France, unless the recipient is resident in Spain and a Spanish national without also holding French nationality (art. 19.2). The Spanish Directorate General of Taxes confirms that French pensions are taxed in Spain except public ones (ruling V4694-16).
Yes, if you were not tax resident in Spain in the five previous tax years and you move for an employment contract (including remote work by telematic means that your employer did not order), to become a company director, for an entrepreneurial activity or as a highly qualified professional for start-ups (art. 93 LIRPF as amended by Law 28/2022). You may not earn income through a permanent establishment in Spain, except in the last two cases. You opt in with Modelo 149 within six months of the start of your activity (art. 116 of the Personal Income Tax Regulation) and file Modelo 151 every year.
It is the tax in art. 167 bis of the Code général des impôts on unrealised gains when you transfer your tax domicile out of France. It applies if your tax domicile was in France for at least six of the ten years before you leave and you hold shares representing at least 50 % of a company's profits or worth more than 800,000 euros in total. On a move to an EU state such as Spain, payment is deferred automatically; the tax is cancelled after two years if you still hold the shares, or after five years if they are worth more than 2.57 million euros. In the year after you leave you file form 2074-ETD and then report every year. Your French adviser decides this part; BMC coordinates it with the Spanish side.
Yes, if you are tax resident in Spain and any of the three categories held outside Spain (accounts; securities and insurance; real estate) exceeds 50,000 euros on 31 December. It is filed between 1 January and 31 March, and only needs to be filed again if a category grows by more than 20,000 euros (Order HAP/72/2013 and arts. 42 bis, 42 ter and 54 bis of the General Tax Management Regulation). According to the Spanish tax agency, taxpayers under the Beckham regime do not have to file it. Since Law 5/2022, which followed the EU Court of Justice judgment in case C-788/19, the special penalty regime no longer applies.
As a rule you are insured in the country where you physically work (art. 11.3.a of Regulation (EC) 883/2004). If your French employer posts you to Spain temporarily, you can stay in the French system with an A1 certificate if the expected duration does not exceed 24 months (art. 12). If you habitually work in both countries, art. 13 applies, which favours your country of residence when you do a substantial part of your work there.
You do not need a visa. If you will stay more than three months, you must apply in person to be entered in the Central Register of Foreign Nationals within three months of arrival; a registration certificate stating your foreigner identity number (NIE) is issued on the spot (art. 7.5 of Royal Decree 240/2007). Family members who are not EU nationals apply for the residence card for family members of an EU citizen.
Since Law 18/2022 the minimum share capital of a Spanish limited company (SL) is 1 euro (art. 4 of the Spanish Companies Act). While capital is below 3,000 euros, at least 20 % of profit goes to the legal reserve until reserve and capital together reach 3,000 euros, and on liquidation the shareholders are jointly liable for the difference up to that amount. If you will be its director and want the Beckham regime, the company must not be a holding of passive assets (entidad patrimonial) or, if it is, you must not hold a related-party stake (25 % or more).

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