A business owner was moving his family to Spain with a plan that worked on paper: an EOR contract and the Beckham Law, “if nobody notices”. We showed him what the Tax Agency would find the day it looked behind the contract. He landed instead with a structure that holds up when someone asks.
The client
The sole owner of a US professional services firm, relocating to Spain with his family while keeping his role in the company.
The client’s plan
Have a Spanish EOR hire him as an employee. On paper, the Beckham Law would follow: a Spanish employment contract, Spanish payroll, a Modelo 149.
What we told him
On the day of filing, the Spanish Tax Agency sees an American employed by a Spanish company. It does not see the US company he owns outright, which actually directs his work and pays for it. If the Agency ever looks behind the contract and finds it, the employment relationship falls apart. With it goes the special regime for every open year, and the cost lands on him personally, at ordinary rates and with interest and penalties.
What we did
- We advised against the EOR, even though it was his most direct route to the Beckham Law.
- Instead, we built his position on what was real. A certificate of coverage under the US-Spain social security agreement kept him in the US system, and that only works if he stays an employee of his own US company.
- We asked the immigration agency to hold the visa filing until the analysis was complete, because the application they were preparing would have contradicted that certificate.
- Visa, social security and tax were then aligned on one configuration, with employment documents describing the role he actually holds today.
Results and value for the client
The family landed with a structure that can be shown to the Tax Agency at any time, without hoping nobody asks.
If you are planning a move to Spain and a route to the Beckham Law that depends on nobody asking, tell us about your situation and we will review it with you.
