DGT V0455-26: a Spanish employer reports a Beckham Law worker on Modelo 296, not Modelo 190

A Spanish company hires a foreign professional, the new arrival opts into the Beckham Law, and then the payroll team hits a small but stubborn question at year end: where do we report this person? On Modelo 190, the annual summary of withholdings used for ordinary employees, or on Modelo 296, the equivalent return for non-resident income tax? The two forms look similar in purpose, but only one is correct. A binding consultation published in February 2026 gives the definitive answer.

The Dirección General de Tributos (DGT) published consulta vinculante V0455-26 on 27 February 2026, responding to exactly this scenario. A company had taken on a foreign employee who had elected the special regime of Article 93 LIRPF, and asked whether that worker belonged on Modelo 190 or Modelo 296. The DGT's conclusion is clear: the employer must use Modelo 296, the informative return designed for income taxed under the Non-Resident Income Tax (IRNR) rules.

Why a Beckham Law employee is not an ordinary IRPF case for payroll

The Beckham Law, formally the special regime for workers, professionals, entrepreneurs and investors posted to Spanish territory, is set out in Article 93 LIRPF and developed by Articles 113 and following of the Income Tax Regulations (RIRPF). Its defining feature is a split status. A person who acquires Spanish tax residence because of their move to Spain can elect to be taxed under the Non-Resident Income Tax rules, with the special features of Article 93.2, while keeping the status of an IRPF taxpayer for the year of the move and the following five years.

That split status is the whole point of the regime, and it is also the source of the payroll confusion. The worker is an IRPF taxpayer on paper, which might suggest the ordinary withholding machinery and the ordinary Modelo 190. But the substance of how their income is taxed, and crucially how it is withheld, is governed by the IRNR rules. The form that an employer files has to follow that substance.

What Article 93.2.f) LIRPF says about withholdings

Article 93.2 LIRPF provides that, for a person under the regime, the tax liability is determined according to the rules of the consolidated text of the Non-Resident Income Tax Law for income obtained without a permanent establishment. Within that, letter f) deals specifically with withholdings:

Withholdings and payments on account are made in accordance with the IRNR rules. The withholding rate on employment income is 24%. Where the remuneration paid by a single payer of employment income during the calendar year exceeds €600,000, the rate applicable to the excess is 47%. This is a marked departure from the progressive withholding tables that apply to ordinary IRPF employees, and it is the reason a Beckham Law worker cannot simply be slotted into the standard payroll return.

The regulation closes the loop: Article 114.3 RIRPF

If Article 93 sets the rate, it is Article 114.3 RIRPF that answers the employer's actual question about which form to file. The regulation states that withholdings and payments on account under the special regime are made in accordance with the IRNR rules for income obtained without a permanent establishment. It confirms the 24% rate on employment income and the 47% rate on the excess above €600,000 from a single payer.

Then comes the decisive sentence. The compliance with the formal obligations relating to these withholdings is carried out, in the words of the regulation, through the declaration forms provided for Non-Resident Income Tax for income obtained without a permanent establishment. In other words, the law does not just borrow the IRNR rate, it also borrows the IRNR reporting machinery, and that machinery is Modelo 296.

The logic is consistent end to end. If the income is withheld under the IRNR rules and at the IRNR rate, then it is reported on the IRNR informative return. Modelo 190 is for ordinary IRPF withholdings; a Beckham Law salary is not one of those. , DPLL Tax & Legal · Editorial commentary, June 2026

The DGT's answer in V0455-26

Applying that framework to the company's question, the DGT reaches an unambiguous conclusion. To meet the obligation to file an annual return of withholdings in respect of an employee taxed under the special regime of Article 93 LIRPF, the employer must use the form provided for IRNR income obtained without a permanent establishment, which is Modelo 296.

Modelo 190 is therefore the wrong form for this worker. The ruling does not invent any new obligation; it simply traces the chain from Article 93.2.f) LIRPF, through Article 114.3 RIRPF, to the IRNR forms, and identifies Modelo 296 as the correct annual informative summary.

What this means for employers in practice

For a Spanish company employing one or more impatriates, the practical consequences are worth setting out plainly:

1. Separate the impatriate from the ordinary payroll for reporting. Ordinary employees go on Modelo 190; Beckham Law employees go on Modelo 296. A worker can move between the two if their regime status changes, so the classification needs to be checked, not assumed.
2. Apply the correct withholding rate from day one. The flat 24% on employment income, with 47% on the excess above €600,000 from your company as a single payer, replaces the progressive IRPF withholding calculation for this employee.
3. Keep the per-payer threshold in view. The €600,000 ceiling that triggers the 47% rate is measured per payer over the calendar year, so it is your company's payments that count for your own withholding.
4. Confirm the worker's regime is actually in force. The reporting answer depends on the employee having validly opted into Article 93 and the regime being active for the year in question. The grant of the regime, evidenced through the relevant procedure, is what justifies using Modelo 296 instead of Modelo 190.

It is worth stressing that this is an employer-side compliance point. It sits alongside, but is distinct from, the worker's own annual filing under the regime, which is made on Modelo 151. Getting the employer return right protects both sides: it ensures the withholdings are reported on the right form and reduces the risk of mismatches between what the company declares and what the employee files.

If your company has hired, or is about to hire, a foreign employee who has opted into the Beckham Law, the reporting and withholding mechanics deserve a proper review rather than a best guess by payroll. For the broader picture of how impatriate taxation works, the non-resident income tax framework explains the IRNR rules that drive this outcome. For a tailored review of your specific payroll set-up, including which forms your company must file for each employee, we recommend seeking specialist advice from a qualified Spanish tax practitioner.