Tax advantages of Spain’s Digital Nomad Visa

Raymundo Larraín Nesbitt, February, 6. 2023

Lawyer Raymond Nesbitt explains the unique tax advantages of Spain’s Digital Nomad Visa

Marbella-based Larraín Nesbitt Abogados (LNA) has over 20 years’ taxation & conveyancing experience at your service. We offer a wide range of 50 legal and corporate services. Our team of native English-speaking lawyers and economists have a long track record successfully assisting expats all over Spain.

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By Raymundo Larraín Nesbitt
Director of Larraín Nesbitt Lawyers
21^st of February 2023

Introduction

The new Digital Nomad Visa (DNV) offers unique tax advantages that no other Spanish visa can match. Its main outlier - and what distinguishes it from other available visas - is precisely the wide array of tax benefits it offers. The DNV has been purposely devised so successful applicants pay few taxes; the purpose is to incentivize these overachievers to move and work (remotely) in Spain.

The DNV is modelled after Beckham’s Rule, enacted in 2015, and which applies to EU residents which in turn was inspired by the UK’s wildly popular Non-Domiciled taxpayer scheme.

It’s a legal fiction whereby a non-EU taxpayer is treated as a non-fiscal resident in Spain, but for administrative purposes, they are regarded as fully resident in Spain. The tax significance of this nuance simply cannot be understated enough and opens the door to a slew of tax benefits which I collate below.

Precisely because of its huge tax advantages, the law time-gates it to a maximum of only five years.

Needless to say, a DNV makes you tax resident in Spain (that’s precisely the whole point!).

Because of its nature (to attract talented individuals), and similar to Golden Visas, all applications are fast-tracked. Meaning that in under one month you know if you’ve been accepted.

In a nutshell, the DNV is all about paying little to no tax.

DNV tax benefits

All income & assets held abroad go untaxed. In other words, any source of worldwide income is tax-exempt (just like with the popular UKs non-dom tax scheme).
DNV holders only pay tax strictly on the income they derive working remotely in Spain for a foreign employer. They will pay a flat tax rate of 24% on the first €600,000 of gross annual earnings over a five-year period.
They are not required to file a 720 tax return (unlike Spanish tax residents)
They are not required to file Wealth Tax (unlike Spanish tax residents)
You can request to defer the payment of tax on the first and second year without penalties or delay interests being rolled on top (as is standard)
For the purposes of other tax agencies, you are considered tax resident in Spain.

LNA has a 100% track record attaining Spanish residency

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At Larrain Nesbitt Abogados, we have assisted hundreds of non-EU nationals, and their families, to successfully attain a Spanish residency permit since 2013.

Interested? Come and speak to Larraín Nesbitt Abogados’ friendly staff who will be pleased to guide you through the different residency options, choosing the one that appeals to you most.

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Residency services available from LNA

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