DGT 2025: Beckham Law holders cannot claim energy efficiency or rental expense deductions

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 Spanish-source 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.

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 taxpayers who have opted for the Special Expatriate Regime "shall apply the rules of the Non-Resident Income Tax (IRNR)" to determine their tax liability on Spanish-source income. 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 Audiencia Nacional counterpoint — 28 July 2025

The picture is complicated — in a way that may ultimately benefit Beckham Law holders — by a judgment of the Audiencia Nacional (Spain's National High Court) dated 28 July 2025. The AN ruled that all non-residents, regardless of their country of origin or residence, should be entitled to deduct expenses related to their Spanish rental income. The court's reasoning drew on longstanding Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) case law holding that differential treatment between residents and non-residents in the taxation of income from real property is incompatible with the principles of free movement.

The AN judgment is significant for the Beckham Law context because, as noted above, Beckham Law holders apply IRNR rules — the same rules that govern non-residents. If the AN's logic is that IRNR taxpayers cannot be denied rental expense deductions, then Beckham Law holders — who are also IRNR taxpayers for these purposes — may have a legal basis to claim those deductions despite Hacienda's contrary position.

This is an open controversy. The DGT's administrative position (as expressed in V2201-25) points in one direction; the AN's judicial ruling points in another. The question of whether a Beckham Law holder can successfully invoke the AN judgment — and resist a DGT denial — has not been definitively settled. Taxpayers in this position should take specific professional advice before filing.

The tension between Hacienda's restrictive administrative reading and the Audiencia Nacional's expansive judicial interpretation is precisely the kind of gap where careful taxpayers win and careless ones lose. The DGT's position is consistent with the statute as written; the AN's position reflects a constitutional and European-law corrective. Until the Supreme Court resolves the point, 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.

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:

1. 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.
2. 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 expense deductions on the basis of the AN's 28 July 2025 judgment and be prepared to defend the position in any subsequent AEAT review or appeal. Option (b) involves litigation risk but is legally arguable.
3. 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 AN's position prevails, the situation may improve — but you should not assume it will in your financial projections.
4. 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 the AN's judgment applies to your specific situation, a professional advice session can clarify your position before you file.