Spain's Startups Law: are you claiming all the tax benefits your company is entitled to?
Complete guide to Spain's Ley 28/2022 Startups Law: 15% corporate tax for 4 years, deferred stock options, expanded Beckham Law, ENISA certification and investor deductions.
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The problem
Spain's Ley 28/2022, the Startups Law (Ley de impulso del ecosistema de las empresas emergentes), introduced an unprecedented package of tax advantages for innovative early-stage companies. Three years after its entry into force, many companies that could qualify are not applying these benefits — either because they are unaware of them, because they mistakenly believe they do not qualify, or because the ENISA certification process seems complex and time-consuming. The cost of this inaction is concrete and measurable: paying corporate income tax at 25% instead of 15%; stock options taxed as employment income at delivery rather than deferred to sale; and missing out on the expanded Beckham Law provisions that make your company genuinely competitive for international talent. Well-advised startups in Spain have a meaningful structural advantage over those that are not.
Our solution
At BMC we analyse whether your company meets the Startups Law requirements, guide you through the ENISA certification process, and apply each available benefit in coordination with the company's overall tax and employment structure. Our [tax](/en/tax/rd-incentives) and [legal](/en/business-services/startup-package) teams work in parallel to maximise the combined impact of the law on your cost structure and your ability to attract talent and investment.
How we do it
Eligibility assessment and ENISA certification
We verify whether your company meets all Startups Law criteria: less than 7 years since incorporation (10 for biotech and strategic sectors), not listed on a regulated market, no dividend distributions, Spanish domicile or permanent establishment, not a spin-off from a non-startup company, and less than 25% ownership by non-startup companies. If eligible, we initiate the certification application with ENISA or the relevant regional authority.
Reduced corporate tax at 15%
We configure your corporate income tax filings to apply the 15% rate for the first four tax years with a positive tax base, instead of the standard 25%. This benefit is automatic once certification is obtained but requires careful planning of which costs to capitalise and the timing of the first profitable year to maximise the benefit period.
Stock option plan design
We design your employee stock option or share plan to take advantage of the 50,000-euro annual exemption per employee (previously 12,000 euros) and the deferral of tax until the shares are sold rather than at the moment of exercise. This makes equity compensation a genuinely attractive retention tool for competing with large technology companies on total package.
Beckham Law activation for the international team
The Startups Law expanded the Beckham Law special tax regime to include startup founders, digital nomads, and their families. We manage individual applications for team members who relocate to Spain under this regime, allowing them to pay a flat 24% tax rate for six years. This makes your company structurally more attractive for high-calibre international talent than almost any competitor in a high-tax European jurisdiction.
We got our ENISA certification within four months of founding. With BMC handling the tax structure, we applied the 15% corporate rate, built a stock option plan for our first eight employees, and brought in two engineers from Germany and the Netherlands under the Beckham Law. Our cost base and our team quality both improved significantly.
The Startups Law three years on: what actually works
Spain’s Ley 28/2022 was passed with the ambition of making Spain a leading European hub for innovation and entrepreneurship. Three years after its entry into force, the benefits are real and well-established — but many companies are not capturing the full value of the legislation due to a lack of specialised advice.
The four pillars of the law that have the most direct impact on a startup’s tax burden and talent strategy are:
Reduced corporate income tax at 15%: For the first four tax years in which the company generates a positive taxable base, the rate drops from the standard 25% to 15%. For a company generating 500,000 euros of profit, this represents a 50,000-euro annual saving that can be reinvested in growth.
Expanded stock option regime: The annual exemption on the delivery of shares or share options to employees rises from 12,000 to 50,000 euros, with taxation deferred until the shares are actually sold. This fundamentally changes the economics of equity compensation for employees and makes it a genuine retention tool rather than a theoretical benefit with an immediate tax bill attached.
Beckham Law for founders and international employees: Founders of certified startups, international remote workers joining the company, and their families can all access the Beckham Law special regime — a flat 24% income tax rate for six years. For a company trying to hire senior engineers or executives from Germany, France, or the UK, the ability to offer a total package that includes this tax benefit is a significant competitive advantage.
Investor tax deductions: Individuals who invest in certified emerging companies can deduct 50% of their investment from their personal income tax return (IRPF), up to a maximum investment of 100,000 euros per year. This makes your company more attractive to individual investors and business angels, who can access a meaningful tax benefit that is not available for investments in non-certified companies.
R&D incentives on top of the Startups Law
The benefits of the Startups Law are compatible and complementary with R&D and innovation tax deductions under the corporate income tax regime, which can reduce the company’s effective tax rate further. A well-advised technology startup can combine the 15% corporate rate with R&D deductions to achieve an effective tax rate that is genuinely competitive within Europe.
The certification process: first steps
The ENISA certification application requires:
- A registration on the designated platform and creation of a company profile
- A descriptive memorandum explaining the business model and the innovation delivered (technical, commercial, or process innovation)
- Up-to-date corporate documentation
- A declaration of compliance with all eligibility requirements
We manage the entire ENISA certification process as part of our integrated startup package, which also covers company formation, shareholders agreement, employment contracts, and ongoing tax and legal compliance.
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