Global Mobility

Tax planning before moving to Spain

The most important tax decisions in a relocation are often made before Spanish residence begins.

A move to Spain can change the taxation of personal income, foreign companies, trusts, investment structures and future succession. Many consequences turn on decisions made before arrival: when residence begins, which assets are retained, how an overseas business is managed and when a pending transaction takes place. Once the move has happened, some alternatives may no longer be available.

We advise entrepreneurs, executives, investors and international families before the relocation takes effect. We build a timetable that coordinates tax residence, remuneration, investments, business interests, property, immigration and compliance. The purpose is not to let tax drive the personal decision, but to ensure that the decision is taken with a clear understanding of its consequences.

Spanish residence is not determined by a day count alone. Domestic rules also consider the main base of a person’s activities or economic interests and include a family presumption. If two countries treat the same person as resident, the applicable treaty may use a sequence of tests such as permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode and nationality. The facts and the records should support the position consistently.

Lullius coordinates the Spanish plan with advisers in the home jurisdiction. This allows the team to consider exit taxes, anti-deferral rules, company residence, social security and obligations that continue after the move. The result is a practical roadmap that identifies the order of decisions, the documents required and who is responsible for each workstream.

Focused support

Before arrival

Beckham Law

Residence and timing

We identify when Spanish tax residence may begin, what connections remain in the former jurisdiction and what evidence should be retained before, during and after the move.

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Before, during and after

Planning

A sequence, not a checklist. Planning is effective only if actions take place in the right order. A reorganisation may require time, an application may have a short deadline and a transaction may be immaterial in one country but decisive in another. We distinguish essential actions, optional decisions and issues that simply need to be monitored. Where the move date remains uncertain, we use scenarios and decision points. Once timing becomes clear, the analysis becomes an operational plan shared with the client and the relevant advisers.
Evidence begins before residence. Housing, travel, schooling, professional activity, management functions and family relationships can become relevant to residence. Evidence should not be created after a dispute; it should naturally reflect what occurred. We help organise that evidence and maintain consistency between applications, tax filings, company records and personal actions. This discipline reduces contradictions and makes subsequent compliance more reliable.
After the move. We confirm that payroll, withholding, returns and information reporting follow the planned position. We also revisit the analysis when professional, family or wealth circumstances change. If a residence or structure issue is challenged, the team that understood the plan can coordinate the response with tax litigation counsel and, where appropriate, advisers in the other jurisdiction.
Decisions worth reviewing early. We pay particular attention to planned disposals, deferred incentives, distributions, related-party loans, changes in company boards and the acquisition of a Spanish home. None necessarily requires action, but each may interact with the date on which Spanish residence begins. We also distinguish the position of the individual from that of the family. Spouses and children may have different timetables, nationalities and centres of interest. The plan should reflect those differences rather than assume that every family member automatically shares the same residence outcome. The output is not a theoretical memorandum. It is a prioritised sequence with dependencies, owners and review dates, allowing the family and its advisers to see which questions must be resolved before the next step can safely be taken. We record assumptions expressly so that changes in timing can be assessed without rebuilding the plan from the beginning. That record also clarifies which decisions belong to the client, which require confirmation abroad and which can safely wait until the move is complete.