Ethan earns less than he expected
Ethan Walsh is Irish and arrived in Valencia in 2024, hired by a video game company on a salary of 95,000 €. At that figure, the regime of article 93, commonly called the Beckham regime, made complete sense. In 2026 the company closed its Valencia studio, and Ethan, who did not want to move again, accepted a job at another company for 48,000 €. In the meantime his two children were born. One day he ran the numbers on a spreadsheet and found he was paying more tax than a Spanish colleague on the same salary. He asked us whether he could get out.
He can. But not whenever he likes, not with effect for this year, and with no option of coming back.
What the Regulations say
Article 117 of the IRPF Regulations (Spanish personal income tax) governs the waiver in four rules:
| Rule | Content |
|---|---|
| When | During the months of November and December before the year in which it is to take effect |
| How | Using the notice form under article 119, Modelo 149, the same form used to opt in |
| If you are an employee | First, a notice of your details to your withholder, who gives you back a stamped copy; then Modelo 149 with that copy attached |
| Consequence | Anyone who gives up the regime cannot opt for it again |
The November and December window is not a suggested timetable; it is the only period there is. A waiver filed in March has no effect that year and is not "kept" for the next.
Ethan's figures, year by year
Data: salary of 48,000 €, contributions of 3,120 € according to his payslip, two young children who live with him. To keep things simple, we assume the allowance for children is his in full.
In the regime
- Tax: 48,000 × 24 % = 11,520 €.
Under ordinary IRPF, state portion
- Net income: 48,000 − 3,120 − 2,000 of expenses under article 19 = 42,880 €.
- State scale in article 63: 4,362.75 € up to 35,200 €, plus 7,680 € at 18.5 %, which is 1,420.80 €. Total: 5,783.55 €.
- Personal and family allowance: 5,550 € plus 2,400 € and 2,700 € for the children = 10,650 €. Scale on that figure: 1,011.75 €.
- State tax: 4,771.80 €.
Regional portion: it depends on the scale of the Comunitat Valenciana, which we do not reproduce here. Purely as a working assumption, with a scale identical to the state one, the ordinary total would be 9,543.60 €.
Difference: 11,520 − 9,543.60 = 1,976.40 € a year in favour of ordinary IRPF, before counting any regional deductions, which do not exist in the regime.
What waiting costs
Ethan entered the regime in 2024, so he is entitled to it until 2029. If he files the waiver in November 2026, he will stop applying it from 1 January 2027: three years of the regime become ordinary IRPF, from 2027 to 2029.
| If he gives it up in | First year without the regime | Years of saving to 2029 | Estimated saving on the assumption |
|---|---|---|---|
| November or December 2026 | 2027 | 3 | 5,929.20 € |
| November or December 2027 | 2028 | 2 | 3,952.80 € |
| November or December 2028 | 2029 | 1 | 1,976.40 € |
2026 cannot be saved in any case: the waiver always looks forward.
Article 117.4 prevents you from opting again. If in 2028 Ethan received an offer of 120,000 € or inherited an investment portfolio in Ireland, the regime would become attractive again and he could no longer get it back. Before giving it up, project the remaining years with reasonable scenarios, not just with today's salary.
The procedure, in the right order
For an employee, the order matters:
- Notice of details to the withholder. This is the notice provided for in article 88 of the Regulations, the one used so that the company calculates withholding according to your personal and family situation. The company returns a stamped copy.
- Modelo 149 for the waiver, filed in November or December, with the stamped copy attached.
- First payslip in January. The company must switch to withholding under the general IRPF procedure. Check that it does: if it keeps withholding at 24 %, the difference will arrive all at once with the return.
If there is no withholder, for example because your employer is foreign and does not withhold in Spain, Modelo 149 filed within the period is enough.
Your family leaves with you
If your spouse or children joined the regime through the extension in article 93.3, your waiver affects them. Article 118.4 of the Regulations provides for their joint exclusion when the main taxpayer gives the regime up. They, in turn, can give it up individually without dragging you out. We explain this in extending the regime to your spouse and children.
What comes with ordinary IRPF
It is not all about the scale. From the first year without the regime:
| Change | Effect for Ethan |
|---|---|
| Worldwide income | If he has accounts or investments in Ireland, the income from them goes into the Spanish return |
| Modelo 720 | If his assets outside Spain exceed 50,000 € in any block, he must file this return declaring assets held abroad |
| Wealth tax | It moves from a territorial to a personal basis |
| Deductions | He gets back family allowances and, where applicable, regional deductions |
If Ethan had a pension fund or a significant portfolio in Ireland, you would also have to look at how its taxation changes, and his adviser there will confirm how Ireland treats it. Modelo 720 and the regime explains what happens to that return when you leave the regime.
The year you file the waiver is still a regime year
Filing Modelo 149 in November 2026 changes nothing about 2026. That year is declared on Modelo 151, the regime's annual return, at 24 %, with the same rules as always, and it falls due in the filing season of the following year. The first ordinary return, Modelo 100, will be for 2027. It is best not to mix up the two years: the company's withholding certificates must show for each year the rate that applied, and a mistake in December or January carries through into both returns. Keep the waiver receipt and the stamped copy of the notice to the company with the rest of your regime paperwork: they are the proof of the date from which the way you are taxed changed.
Giving it up is not the same as being excluded
The waiver is voluntary and has a fixed window. Exclusion comes when a condition stops being met and takes effect in the same year as the breach, with one month to report it. Some people confuse the two routes and think they can "force" their way out mid-year; it does not work like that, and a breach brought about on purpose can have consequences nobody was looking for. There is more detail in whether changing company makes you lose the regime.
If you are thinking of giving it up, the best time to review it is the summer, leaving time to calculate before the window opens. You can send us your details through the Beckham form. We will tell you what the numbers show and where the risks lie; the decision is yours. The guide on leaving the article 93 regime sums up the three ways it can end.
To see how we review every year whether it still pays to stay in the regime, you can look at the Salama Tax page devoted to article 93.