Belgium Payroll Information – Deel Global Payroll

Updated on: 2025/08/04 14:03 (UTC)

Overview

Belgium, which is located in western Europe, is a parliamentary democracy and a member country of the European Union. Belgium is composed of three regions: Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels. The regions of Flanders and Wallonia both are subdivided into five provinces. The provinces of Antwerp, East Flanders, Flemish Brabant, Limburg, and West Flanders belong to Flanders. The provinces of Hainaut, Liège, Luxembourg, Namur, and Walloon Brabant belong to Wallonia. Belgium’s province of Luxembourg is a different entity than the country of Luxembourg, which is located to the southeast of Belgium.

Brussels is the capital city of Belgium and is not part of a province. The European Union’s maintenance of significant political infrastructure in Brussels, including but not limited to the European Parliament, the European Council, and the European Commission, has caused Brussels to be the de facto capital city of the European Union. Belgium’s 10 provinces plus Brussels are subdivided into 589 municipalities, which form the basis of local tax authority.

The official languages of Belgium are Dutch, French, and German. About 60% of the population speaks Dutch and about 40% speaks French, with less than 1% speaking German. The Belgian government primarily publishes documents in Dutch and French. The country of Belgium’s name is rendered in Dutch as België, in French as Belgique, and in German as Belgien.

Belgium’s currency is the euro.

Employers are responsible for withholding at source employee income taxes and social contributions, as well as contributing their own social insurance taxes based on employee income. Taxes are levied at the federal and municipal levels.

Employers also must provide mandated workplace protections, although many benefits like minimum wage and the regularity of wage payments generally are negotiated through collective bargaining agreements. Employees are guaranteed vacation time, maternity and sickness leave and termination pay, among other services, regardless of their job.

Foreign workers are liable for a flat-rate local tax, as well as taxes on their Belgian-sourced income.

Belgian residents working in the United States are covered by U.S. tax law with possible treaty and work status exclusions applying. Work within the U.S. states and territories is covered by various labor laws.

CURRENCY DETAILS

The currency of Belgium is the euro (€), which Belgium uses because it is part of the euro area, also known as the eurozone, which is a group of countries that adopted the euro as their currency. The internationally recognized three-letter currency code for the euro is EUR, which also is one of the currency’s two commonly used currency symbols. The English plural form of euro officially recognized by the European Commission is the same as its singular form, although in common English parlance the plural form is euros. In Dutch, the standard plural form of euro also is the same as its singular form, although the plural form euro’s, which indeed includes an apostrophe, sometimes is used depending on context. In French, the plural form of euro is euros. In German, the standard plural form of euro also is the same as its singular form.

When an amount of euro is written using the currency symbol € in accordance with the European Commission’s standard placement treatment of the symbol, which is the placement treatment used for the English language, the symbol precedes the numerical value with no space between the numerical value and symbol. When an amount of euro is written in Dutch using the currency symbol €, the symbol precedes the numerical value with a space, or sometimes no space, between the numerical value and symbol. When an amount of euro is written in French using the currency symbol €, the symbol follows the numerical value with a space between the numerical value and symbol. When an amount of euro is written in German as used in Belgium using the currency symbol €, the symbol precedes or follows the numerical value with a space or no space between the numerical value and symbol.

When an amount of euro is written using the currency symbol EUR, the symbol precedes or follows the numerical value with a space or no space between the numerical value and symbol.

One hundredth ( ¹ ⁄ ₁₀₀ ) of a euro is referred to in English as a cent and the English plural form of cent officially recognized by the European Commission is the same as its singular form, although in common English parlance the plural form is cents. In Dutch, as officially recognized by the European Commission, one hundredth of a euro also is referred to as a cent and its standard plural form also is the same as its singular form, although the plural form of centen sometimes is used depending on context. In French, as officially recognized by the European Commission, one hundredth of a euro also is referred to as a cent and its plural form is cents, although in common French parlance, one hundredth of a euro is referred to as a centime, with the plural form of centimes. In German, as officially recognized by the European Commission, one hundredth of a euro also is referred to as a cent and its standard plural form also is the same as its singular form.

When amounts of euro are written in Dutch, French, or German, the comma that in English separates the thousands place from the hundreds place instead is rendered as a dot (.), and the dot that in English separates the ones place from the tenths place instead is rendered as a comma.

Digital Currencies: Belgium does not consider digital currencies to be legal tender.

The European Banking Authority does not consider digital currencies to be legal currency. However, under a 2015 ruling by the European Court of Justice, bitcoin generally is considered a currency rather than a property for tax purposes in the European Union. Under the ruling, digital currency transactions are exempt from value-added tax (VAT) under a provision regarding transactions pertaining to currency, bank notes, and coins that are used as legal tender.

TAXES

Employers in Belgium are responsible for withholding income taxes and social security contributions at source from employee wages and submitting them to the tax authority on a monthly basis. Resident employees are taxed on their worldwide income on a progressive tax scale and must complete an annual tax return, although employers must withhold prepayments throughout the taxable year. In Dutch, tax brackets are known as belastingschijven, while in French as used in Belgium, tax brackets are known as tranches d’imposition.

Employees also must pay municipal taxes of varying amounts to local governments, which are withheld at source like normal taxes and contributions.

The tax year in Belgium is a calendar year from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31. When communicating information regarding income tax rates and thresholds, Belgium’s Federal Public Service Finance (FPS Finance) distinguishes between an income year and a tax year, and with reference to the current year, the income year is the same as the current year and the tax year is the year after the current year. As withholding at source from employment income is designed to help employees fulfill their income tax obligation due during the year after the current year, and as Belgium’s tax year refers to taxation on income earned in the previous year, the income tax provisions applicable for a tax year are designed to be implemented for withholding in the income year associated with that tax year. For example, the year 2016 was considered by Belgium to be income year 2016 and tax year 2017, and income tax rates and thresholds identified as applicable to tax year 2017 were designed to be implemented for withholding from employment income paid during income year 2016. Belgium also refers to the tax year as an assessment year.

Flexi-jobs: Workers who work for one or more employers for at least 80% of the hours worked in an average full-time job in their employer’s industry, or who are retired and receive a pension, may take additional positions known as flexi-jobs in certain areas, primarily hospitality, restaurants, catering, retail, and food manufacturing. Employees working in flexi-jobs are exempt from income taxes and employee social taxes for income earned in flexi-jobs, and the employer pays a contribution of 25% of the employee’s wages earned in the flexi-job in place of employer social taxes.

Coronavirus (Covid-19) Guidance: The deadlines for monthly income tax withholding deposits due for February, March, and April 2020 and quarterly deposits for the first quarter of 2020 were extended by two months.

Partial withholding exemption: Employers that benefited from Belgium’s temporary unemployment scheme (Dutch: Tijdelijke werkloosheid, French: Chômage temporaire) for at least 30 consecutive days from March 12 to May 31, 2020, may receive a partial exemption from income tax withholding deposits for June, July, and August 2020. Tax must be withheld normally, but the employer may keep part of the amount withheld. The amount of the exemption is 50% of the difference between the income tax withholding owed for a given month and the amount owed for May 2020, and is calculated on the amount of withholding left over after any other exemptions or reductions are applied. Vacation pay, end-of-year bonuses, and back pay are not included in taxable wages for the purpose of calculating the exemption. The maximum exemption for the three months combined is €20 million, and to claim the exemption the employer cannot buy its own shares or pay dividends from March 12 to Dec. 31, 2020, and cannot be involved with a company established in a country recognized by Belgium as a tax haven.

This partial exemption is accomplished by filing two returns for a given month. The first return reports the employer’s normal taxable wages paid and tax withheld. The second return only reports the wages of employees to whom the exemption applies, designates the type of income paid as “Covid-19,” reports taxable wages without the payments that are not included for the purpose of calculating the exemption, and reports the tax withheld as a negative amount equivalent to the amount of the exemption.

Employers may choose to credit overpayments resulting from claiming the exemption to either monthly deposits for September and October 2020 or the quarterly deposit for the third quarter of 2020.

Social tax deposits due from March 20 to Dec. 15, 2020, were postponed to Dec. 15, 2020, for employers who were required to close under Belgium’s coronavirus restrictions, except for food shops; pet food shops; pharmacies; newsstands; and gas stations and fuel suppliers. Employers that were not required to close, but regardless closed for business reasons or because of an inability to comply with public health restrictions, may request postponements of social tax deposits due for the same range of dates. Employers that did not close, but suffered a reduction of 65% in sales subject to VAT, or a reduction of 65% in wages reported to the National Social Security Office, for the second quarter of 2020 compared to the first quarter of 2020 or second quarter of 2019, could also request postponements of social tax deposits due for the same range of dates.

Employers in listed sectors (Dutch) that were required to close by public health restrictions issued Oct. 28 and Nov. 1, 2020, or are considered to be severely affected by the pandemic, may receive a refund of standard employer social taxes due for the third quarter of 2020. The amount of the refund is based on social tax data from the first quarter of 2020, but if the refund is greater when data from the third quarter of 2020 are used, the employer is also awarded the amount of the difference between the first- and third-quarter values.

The Act on Temporary Support Measures Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic (Dutch), of July 4, 2021, establishes employer social tax reductions of €1,000 in general or €2,400 for severely affected employers, as defined in the act, for up to five employees per location of the employer in the third quarter of 2021.

Agreements between Belgium and Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg, and Belgium and the Netherlands, all effective starting March 11, 2020, and between Belgium and France, effective starting March 14, 2020, allow days worked at home by cross-border commuters who live in one country and work in the other, but must work at home because of the new coronavirus, to count as days worked in the normal work country. The agreements are in effect until March 31, 2022. The France agreement automatically extends to June 30, 2022, unless ended at least one week before March 31, 2022, and the Luxembourg agreement automatically extends to June 30, 2022, unless ended at least two weeks before March 31, 2022.

According to European Commission guidance, employees who normally work in one European Union member country and live in another are still considered to be insured by the social insurance system of the normal work country while working at home. Belgium and Luxembourg also have their own agreement extending social security coverage in a worker’s normal work country despite working at home in the other country through June 30, 2022.

Income Taxes

Coverage: All individuals with a domicile and/or seat of wealth in Belgium are subject to personal income taxation on worldwide earnings. A domicile is defined by an actual residence or living quarters in Belgium; a seat of wealth is defined as having assets centrally managed in Belgium. A temporary absence from Belgium does not cease residency.

The acronym IPP often is used in Belgium to refer to personal income tax, as it is an abbreviation of the equivalent French term l’impôt des personnes physiques.

Rates and Thresholds: Income tax rates are levied on a progressive scale, with rates ranging from 25% to 50%.

Effective for income year 2021, with provisions for tax year 2022 applicable to withholding from employment income during income year 2021, Belgium’s national personal income tax rates and minimum and maximum amounts of annual income for each tax bracket were as follows:

Range of Annual Income (Euro)	Income Tax Rate
Up to €13,540	25%
More than €13,540 and up to €23,900	40%
More than €23,900 and up to €41,360	45%
More than €41,360	50%

Effective for income year 2020, with provisions for tax year 2021 applicable to withholding from employment income during income year 2020, Belgium’s national personal income tax rates and minimum and maximum amounts of annual income for each tax bracket are as follows:

Range of Annual Income (Euro)	Income Tax Rate
Up to €13,440	25%
More than €13,440 and up to €23,720	40%
More than €23,720 and up to €41,060	45%
More than €41,060	50%

The income tax rates and ranges of income for each of Belgium’s income tax brackets in effect for a tax year are determined in accordance with Article 130 of Belgium’s Income Tax Code of 1992 (Dutch: Wetboek van de inkomstenbelastingen 1992, abbreviated as WIB 92; French: Code des impôts sur les revenus 1992, abbreviated as CIR 92), and the article’s amendments. Article 130 identifies the income tax rates in effect for a tax year’s personal income tax brackets and the basic amounts of income applicable to each income tax bracket. The basic amounts are adjusted by an annual indexation coefficient determined in accordance with Article 178 of the Income Tax Code, with the coefficient generally changing from year to year. Multiplying the lowest and highest basic amounts of income for the applicable personal income tax brackets identified in Article 130 by the annual indexation coefficient in effect for a year, and rounding the results to the nearest multiple of €10, produces the actual ranges of income in effect for the year’s personal income tax brackets. Article 178 contains multiple coefficient determinations, and the applicable coefficient for adjusting personal income tax brackets is the one referred to in Section 3, paragraph 1, part 2. The applicable coefficient for an income year generally is released by the government near the end of January of that year.

Effective for income year 2021/tax year 2022, the applicable coefficient is 1.6679. Effective for income year 2020/tax year 2021, the applicable coefficient was 1.6556.

Fringe benefits are taxed as lump sum payments or according to the value of the benefit.

Stock options granted by the employer are considered as earned income and are taxable upon grant, if the options are accepted in writing within a 60-day period. If the options are taxable upon grant, the benefit in kind resulting from the option grant is determined on a lump-sum basis. The resulting amount is taxed at the marginal Belgian income tax rate.

Registration: Employers with more than €100,000 in annual revenue are required to register for Finprof, which is Belgium’s online withholding system.

Employees filing income taxes also require an electronic ID, which can be applied for and received through the federal government’s website. All Belgians over age 12 must have an eID, as well as a personal PIN code, which is assigned to all eIDs. Generally, eID cards allow residents to conduct official business electronically and are valid for two years, after which they must be reapplied for personally at a Registry Office and cost a small fee.

Taxable Amounts: Income taxes are levied on all earned income, including all salaries and wages; bonuses; benefits in kind; managerial awards; profits from agricultural, commercial, or industrial activities; and unemployment benefits or any other social benefits.

However, wages are subject to income taxation minus social insurance contributions, which are assessed on gross pre-tax income and professional costs.

Withholding Methods: Employers must withhold income taxes from employee wages, minus social security contributions and exceptional professional fees, on a monthly basis using pay-as-you-earn (PAYE). Employers use Belcotax-On-Web to withhold online, although taxpayers should use the Tax-On-Web system to file income taxes online.

Deductions, such as those for family, must be factored into withholding. Withholding taxes are payable through the tax-on-web system using personal eIDs. Employees with two or more jobs may request that their employers pay a greater percentage in withholding taxes (called Voluntary Tax), in order to avoid underpaying on their gross income.

Employers of workers who hold doctorate, masters’, or bachelors’ degrees in some fields and are working on qualified research projects may be exempt from remitting part of the income tax withheld from those employees’ wages. Employers are to withhold all income tax that normally would be withheld from those workers’ pay, but may keep up to 80% of the withheld tax from holders of doctorate and masters’ degrees.

Effective since Jan. 1, 2020, employers may keep up to 80% of the withheld tax from holders of bachelors’ degrees. Effective from Jan. 1, 2018, to Dec. 31, 2019, employers could keep up to 40% for holders of bachelors’ degrees.

Employees are not automatically entitled to refunds of withheld income tax under this exemption, and the exemption does not affect employees’ filing of individual income tax returns.

Training exemption: Effective starting Jan. 1, 2021, employers that provide employees who they have employed for at least six months with at least 10 days of training in a period of 30 consecutive days may keep an amount of income tax withheld equal to 11.75% of the wages paid to the employee for the month in which the training was completed, with €3,500 the maximum monthly wage that may be taken into consideration. The training must not have been required legally or by a collective bargaining agreement. If the employer performs shift or night work, the applicable period is 10 days of training in a 60-day period, and if the employer is considered small, the applicable period is five days of training in a 75-day period. Holiday pay, end-of-year bonuses, back pay, and other income not subject to withholding are excluded from the calculation of the monthly wage.

Returns and Remittance: Employers with more than €100,000 of annual revenue must use the Finprof system or Form E 274 to withhold income taxes from employees and remit them to tax authorities. Finprof is an online server used by the government to collect withholding taxes from employers. Belgium requires employers to make monthly or quarterly withholding payments to the authorities. Monthly payments should be made no later than the 15th day of the month following withholding, except that if an employer withheld more than €2.5 million in tax in the previous year, tax withheld from payments made in the first 15 days of December is due by Dec. 24. If an employer withheld less than €41,700 in the previous year, it must make quarterly payments no later than the 15th day of the month following March, June, September, and December—with the fourth quarter’s payments due for October and November made by Dec. 15 and the remainder due in January. However, both December-specific deadlines, known as December advances (Dutch: decembervoorschotten; French: avances de décembre), are to be abolished starting with December 2021.

The withholding from employee paychecks occurs during payment, which is monthly.

Income tax returns may be filed by employees either online or by mail. FPS Finance sends every taxpayer a declaration form sometime in the first half of the year following the taxable year. If FPS Finance does not provide a return, then taxpayers must request the return from the government by no later than June 1 of the year following the taxable year. Generally, tax returns must be completed within one month after receipt.

Taxpayers are responsible for filing their annual income tax return by late June of the filing year, or by late October if filing online. For online filing, taxpayers require an electronic ID, which can be received by registering on the portal site of the federal government.

Recordkeeping: Employers and employees should retain tax and withholding assessment documents for at least seven years.

Penalties: Employers or employees failing to pay withholding taxes are assessed a monthly interest penalty of 7%, although no interest is due for penalties less than €5.

Social Taxes

Employers must withhold from employee wages for social security. Employers also are liable for paying a percentage of wages to support social security and for other benefits, such as pensions, health care, unemployment, professional diseases, and work accidents. Effective since Jan. 1, 2015, the following contributions are no longer collected: family allowances, childcare, paid educational leave, and accompaniment and follow-up of the unemployed.

There are two kinds of social security contributions, the ordinary social security contributions and the special social security contributions.

Coverage: All salaried persons employed in Belgium with a labor contract under a Belgian employer are subject to social security contributions. Employers should deduct employee contributions as a percentage from employees’ gross, pre-tax salaries. Some occupational sectors, such as fishermen or athletes, require employee contributions as lump sum amounts.

Payers of self-employed workers are subject to an annual fee to cover pension obligations.

Rates and Thresholds: Prior to income taxation, social security contributions are deducted from employee gross earnings. Employers and employees are jointly responsible for financing the social security system.

Effective Jan. 1, 2018, employer contributions are reduced to approximately 25% of total employee gross salaries as a result of Belgium’s tax reforms. The contribution rates for employers comprise of ordinary social security contributions, a wage moderation contribution, and special social security contributions. For employees, the contribution rates comprises of a basic social security contribution, special social security contributions, and a wage moderation contribution. Previously effective since April 2016, private sector employers generally were required to contribute an average of 30% of total employee gross salaries and employees generally were required to contribute at least 13.07% of their gross salaries through employer withholding.

Ordinary social security contributions are generally assessed as follows:

For employers:

Pensions: 8.86%
Sickness and disability insurance - health care: 3.8%
Sickness and disability insurance - allowances: 2.35%
Unemployment: 1.46%
Professional diseases: 1%
Work accident: 0.30%

For employees:

Pensions: 7.50%
Sickness and disability insurance - health care: 3.55%
Sickness and disability insurance - allowances: 1.15%
Unemployment: 0.87%

The National Social Security Office also levies a wage moderation levy of 5.67%. Employers and employees are each required to contribute 5.67% of employee’s gross salary towards wage moderation. The wage moderation contribution generally covers most workers, but does not apply to the following category of workers: apprentices and trainees until 31 December of the year in which they reach the age of 18; young people until December 31 of the year in which they reach the age of 18; paid athletes; manual workers whose remuneration consists wholly or partly of gratuities or service and for whom social security contributions are calculated on a daily fixed remuneration, except for their end-of-year bonus; fishermen; taxi drivers; disabled persons employed in adapted work enterprises; casual workers in the agricultural and horticultural sectors; paid staff members directly dependent on the state budget; staff members of educational establishments, paid directly by a Community or a public body acting as the organizing authority of Community education; and occasional workers in the food service industry.

The National Social Security Office also levies special social security contributions on employers. These contributions depend on varying circumstances including the nature of business activities, amount of earnings, and the category and number of employees. Special social security contributions include:

Asbestos fund: 0.01%. Effective since Jan. 1, 2017, contributions to the asbestos fund are assessed for the first and second quarters only.
Work accident: 0.02%
Enterprise Closure Fund: effective for 2021, consisting of a general contribution of 0.17% or 0.12% for employers having industrial or commercial objectives, depending on if they have more or less than 20 employees, respectively; a general contribution of 0.02% for employers not having industrial or commercial objectives, and a special contribution of 0.14% for all employers.
High risk groups: 0.10%. All employers are required to make this contribution except state agencies, public interest bodies and public institutions, subsidized free educational institutions, educational and vocational guidance offices and free social centers, water-works and polders, sheltered workshops, and functional rehabilitation centers.
A special unemployment contribution of 1.69% for employers with on average at least 10 employees during a period from the fourth quarter of the year prior to the previous year to the third quarter of the previous year.

Other special social security contributions may include the severance payment for the Enterprise Closure Fund, extra-legal pensions of 1.5%, a carbon dioxide contribution on the use of private cars as benefits in kind, and a solidarity contribution for the occupation of non-taxable students.

In addition, the National Social Security Office levies special social security contributions on employees. This contribution varies depending on employee income as follows:

€27.90 per quarter for persons whose spouses also have professional earnings and whose declared quarterly earnings are in the range of €3,285.29 to €5,836.14;
7.6% of the part of the monthly remuneration that exceeds €1,945.38 when the monthly remuneration is in the range of €1,945.38 to €2,190.18, in the case of quarterly earnings declared in the range of €5,836.14 to €6,570.54. For workers whose spouse also has professional earnings, the amount to be withheld is set at a minimum of €27.90;
€55.80 per quarter, increased by 1.1% of the part of the monthly remuneration which exceeds €2,190.18 when the monthly remuneration is in the range of €2,190.19 to €6,038.82 in the case of declared quarterly compensation in the range of €6,570.55 to €18,116.46; this deduction may not however exceed €154.92 per quarter for persons whose spouse also has professional earnings;
€154.92 per quarter where the declared quarterly remuneration exceeds €18,116.46 for persons whose spouse also has professional earnings;
€182.82 per quarter where the declared quarterly remuneration exceeds €18,116.46 for single persons or workers whose spouse has no professional earnings.

The National Social Security Office provides detailed guidelines on social security contributions in its Administrative Instructions.

The Belgian government has adopted structural reduction and target group reduction measures to reduce social security contributions in Belgium. The structural reduction scheme consists of a progressive fixed rate reduction of expected employer social security contributions. The structural reduction reduces employer contributions to an average of 25%, effective Jan. 1, 2018. Target group reductions affect specific categories of employees, including older employees, with separate requirements for Brussels, Flanders, Wallonia, and the German-speaking community; a new business’s first six employees; and employees in Flanders who are under age 25.

Effective for 2021, the minimum and maximum amounts for calculating the structural reduction of employer contributions respectively are €7,747 and €13,514.80. Effective for 2020, the minimum and maximum amounts for calculating the structural reduction of employer contributions respectively are €7,590 and €13,249.80.

Registration: All employers are required to register with the National Social Security Office through an online application and obtain an identification number. Employers with more than €100,000 in annual revenue are required to register for Finprof, which is Belgium’s online withholding system used to send payment statements.

Taxable Amounts: Social security contributions are levied on all earned income prior to income taxation, including all salaries and wages; bonuses; benefits in kind; managerial awards; profits from agricultural, commercial, or industrial activities; and unemployment benefits or any other social benefits. For apprentices, industrial apprentices, and entrepreneur trainees in the construction sector, and all blue-collar workers, contributions are calculated at the rate of 108% of gross salaries to account for holiday pay received directly from the National Office for Annual Holidays.

Employers and employees also must pay social taxes on the termination of protected workers (including those on maternity or vacation leave, for example) as well as the client indemnity for sales representatives. Additionally, compensation from the exercise of a noncompete clause between an employer and an employee after termination will be subject to social security contributions.

Notably, social security contributions are not assessed on some benefits-in-kind, such as company cars or, if properly structured, company bonuses that are moved directly into employee pension funds.

Withholding Methods: Employers must withhold social security contributions from gross employee wages on a monthly basis using pay-as-you-earn (PAYE). The PAYE system is operated using Belcotax On Web, an online database used to file withholding taxes. Employers that fail to withhold social security contributions from each salary payment may not subsequently recover payments from the employee.

Withholding taxes are payable through the tax-on-web system using personal eIDs. Employers who fail to withhold social security contributions prior to wage payment are not permitted to retroactively reclaim contributions from employees.

Returns and Remittance: Employers with more than €100,000 of annual revenue must use the Finprof system or Form E 274 to withhold social security contributions from employees and remit them to tax authorities. Finprof is an online server used by the government to collect withholding taxes from employers. Belgium requires employers to make quarterly payments in three monthly advances, with the balance of contributions due on the fourth month. Due dates are provided on the National Social Security Office website.

Recordkeeping: Employers and employees should retain tax and withholding assessment documents for at least seven years.

Penalties: Employers that fail to pay social security contributions are liable to a fine of 10%, in addition to the payment of interests.

Other Taxes

Effective since Jan. 1, 2018, an activation fee may be assessed on employers by the National Social Security Office. The standard function of the activation fee is to increase employer accordance with the terms of Belgium’s unemployment scheme with business supplement (Dutch: stelsel van werkloosheid met bedrijfstoeslag, abbreviated as SWT; French: régime de chômage avec complément, abbreviated as RCC), as the activation fee increases assessments on employers that as an alternative to the conditions of the unemployment scheme with business supplement implement a less strict arrangement of directly providing affected individuals with benefits, with or without loss of pay.

Activation fee: An employer’s activation fee is based on the population of individuals for whom the employer during a quarter directly dispenses benefits instead of according with the stricter terms of the unemployment scheme with business supplement. The activation fee ranges from 10 to 20% of the employee’s salary. The activation fee is not due from an employer with regard to an individual if during the individual’s first four quarters of exemption from benefits under the unemployment scheme with business supplement, the worker attends a mandatory training organized by the employer, the cost of which equals at least 20% of the gross annual salary to which the worker was entitled before the dispensation of employer-provided benefits as an alternative to the unemployment scheme with business supplement.

Contribution rates vary depending on the age at which the employer dispenses benefits directly to affected individuals instead of according with the unemployment scheme with business supplement, as follows:

Employee Age at Start of Employer Benefits Dispensation	Contribution Rate as Percentage of Salary	Minimum Contribution Per Quarter (Euro)
Up to 54 years	20%	€300
55 years, 56 years, and 57 years	18%	€300
58 years and 59 years	16%	€300
60 years and 61 years	15%	€225.60
At least 62 years	10%	€225.60

State/Jurisdiction Taxes

Belgium’s municipalities can levy a municipal tax (Dutch: gemeentebelasting; French: taxe communale), often called the supplementary personal income tax (Dutch: aanvullende belasting op de personenbelasting, abbreviated as APB; French: taxe additionnelle à l’impôt des personnes physiques) on all residents who are subject to income tax, with rates varying among municipalities.

Municipal taxes are calculated as a percentage of assessed personal income tax, and are collected by FPS Finance together with personal income tax. The municipality in which a taxpayer is domiciled on Jan. 1 of the tax year determines the taxpayer’s municipal tax rate.

Effective for 2021, unchanged from 2020, municipal tax rates range from zero, in the municipalities of De Panne, Knokke-Heist, and Koksijde, to 9%, in the municipality of Mesen.

Effective for 2021, unchanged from 2020, some large Belgian cities’ municipal tax rates are as follows: Antwerp, 8%; Brussels, 6%; Charleroi, 8.5%; Ghent, 6.9%; and Liège, 8%.

The complete list of municipal tax rates for 2021 and 2020 is provided by FPS Finance.

Nonresidents are subject to a municipal tax rate of 7%. The national government may set this rate as low as 6.7% and as high as 7%, and the government typically does not change the rate from year to year.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Employers are responsible for providing regular wage payments, depending on employee type. Most wages are set by collective labor agreements between unions and employers, though some basic wage minimums exist for nonunion workers. Overtime also is provided, but some workers are legally restricted from overtime, including pregnant women.

Workers in Belgium are entitled to national paid holidays, as well as vacation days. Workers also are entitled to maternity leave; sick leave, and other types of leave. Employees may receive workers’ compensation payments if injured on the job and termination pay may be required in some instances.

Belgium’s three communities are formed by speakers of its three official languages; Dutch (colloquially known as Flemish), French, and German. The regions are the Flemish Region, the Brussels Capital Region, and the Walloon Region. Employers in Belgium need to be aware that collective bargaining agreements, individual employment agreements, and other employment documents must be prepared in the appropriate language.

Belgian employment law also often makes a distinction between blue-collar and white-collar employees. Generally speaking, blue-collar workers are those who perform manual labor, while white-collar workers are those whose work is more intellectual in nature. In practice, classifying an employee as blue-collar or white-collar may require a difficult and fact-intensive analysis.

Coronavirus (Covid-19) Guidance: From March 13, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2021, as part of a temporary unemployment scheme (Dutch: Tijdelijke werkloosheid; French: Chômage temporaire), employers that temporarily lay off employees for reasons related to the new coronavirus must report to the National Social Security Office (Dutch) information including the affected employees’ work schedules, basic rate of pay, and the number of hours for which an employee has been unemployed in a given month. Effective until Sept. 30, 2021, employees receive a benefit of 70% of their average wages, up to a maximum of €2,787.04 per month; otherwise, the benefit is 65% of the employee’s average wages.

The pay for up to 120 voluntary overtime hours worked during each of the periods from Jan. 1 to Sept. 30, 2021, and from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2020, by employees in sectors listed by the Ministry of the Interior as being “necessary to protect the vital needs of the nation and the population,” as well as by employees of businesses supplying goods and services to those sectors, is exempt from income tax. A total limit of 220 overtime hours for each quarter applies, as do limits of 11 hours of work per day and 50 hours per week, and the European Union limit of 48 hours of work per week averaged over four months.

Effective from Oct. 1, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2021, employers in any sector may post permanent employees hired before Oct. 1, 2020, to employers in the healthcare or education sectors or those conducting contact tracing or vaccination, which must be agreed to in writing by both employers and the employee. Employees’ normal employment contracts continues to apply, but they must be paid at least what an equivalent employee in the receiving company would be paid and both employers may be held liable for the payment of wages and social taxes.

Work-from-home allowances: Employers may pay employees allowances of up to €129.48 per month that are exempt from income tax and social taxes to cover expenses related to working from home. However, the maximum tax-free value of the allowance is €144.41 per month for the second quarter of 2021. Employers may also make tax-free payments of €20 per month for costs related to the use of employees’ own Internet connections and computers. According to an FPS Finance circular that took effect March 1, 2021, allowances may be paid for all work from home performed since Jan. 1, 2020.

From Aug. 1 to Dec. 31, 2021, employers may provide Covid-19 bonuses (Dutch: coronapremie, French: Prime corona) of up to €500 per employee in the form of vouchers to be spent at businesses in listed sectors (Dutch). The bonuses are exempt from tax except for a 16.5% employer social tax.

Minimum Wage

Wages are generally established through collective labor agreements between trade unions and employers, although Belgium specifies minimum wages for workers in industry sectors without a minimum wage indicated in a collective labor agreement. In Belgium, the standard minimum wage amount for workers of a particular age ineligible for a specified minimum wage in a collective labor agreement is equivalent to the guaranteed average minimum monthly income (Dutch: gewaarborgd gemiddeld minimummaandinkomen, abbreviated as GGMMI; French: revenu minimum mensuel moyen garanti, abbreviated as RMMMG) for that age.

Effective since Sept. 1, 2021, Belgium’s standard monthly minimum wages are €1,658.23 for workers at least 18 years old, €1,702.24 for workers at least 19 years old with at least six months of seniority, and €1,721.79 for workers at least 20 years old with at least 12 months of seniority.

Effective from March 1, 2020 to Aug. 31, 2021, Belgium’s standard monthly minimum wages were €1,625.72 for workers at least 18 years old, €1,668.86 for workers at least 19 years old with at least six months of seniority, and €1,688.03 for workers at least 20 years old with at least 12 months of seniority. Effective from Sept. 1, 2018, to Feb. 29, 2020, Belgium’s standard monthly minimum wages were €1,593.81 for workers at least 18 years old, €1,636.10 for workers at least 19 years old with at least six months of seniority, and €1,654.90 for workers at least 20 years old with at least 12 months of seniority.

Industry-specific minimum wages, as well as the standard national minimum wage, are available in a database from Federal Public Service Employment, Labour, and Social Dialogue.

Flexi-jobs: Workers are subject to an hourly minimum wage for flexi-jobs, including a mandatory holiday allowance. Effective since Sept. 1, 2021, the flexi-job hourly minimum wage is €10.49, consisting of a wage of €9.74 and a holiday allowance of €0.75. Effective from March 1, 2020, to Aug. 31, 2021, the flexi-job hourly minimum wage was €10.28, consisting of a wage of €9.55 and a holiday allowance of €0.73. Effective from Sept. 1, 2018, to Feb. 29, 2020, the flexi-job hourly minimum wage was €10.08, consisting of a wage of €9.36 and a holiday allowance of €0.72. Workers cannot take flexi-jobs with an employer that already employs them.

Overtime

In addition, there is a general prohibition on night work, i.e., work between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. All of these limitations are subject to various exceptions. Overtime work is paid at a rate of time-and-one-half. Overtime worked on Sundays and holidays is paid at double time. Employers are forbidden to permit pregnant employees to work overtime.

Hours of Work

Belgian law provides for a maximum work day of eight hours. The Act of Aug. 10, 2001, sets the standard work week at 38 hours.

Employees who worked at least 12 of the previous 15 months may choose to take a sabbatical or reduce work hours to half-time for a maximum period of one year during the employees’ entire careers, without terminating the employment contract or reducing any social security rights. The one-year maximum period may be extended to five years by a collective bargaining agreement.

Employees who have at least five years seniority and who worked full-time during the preceding 12 months, are entitled to reduce working hours by one-fifth, typically by working four days a week instead of five, for a period of up to five years over the course of the employee’s career.

Employees who are over the age of 50 and who have at least three years seniority with the same employer and at least 20 years of total employment may work half-time or reduce their hours by one-fifth for an unlimited period of time.

Holidays

Employees are entitled to 10 national holidays per year with pay:

New Year’s Day (Jan. 1)

Easter Monday

Labor Day (May 1)

Ascension (6th Thursday after Easter)

Whit Monday (7th Monday after Easter)

National Day (July 21)

Assumption (Aug. 15)

All Saints’ Day (Nov. 1)

Armistice Day (Nov. 11)

Christmas Day (Dec. 25)

An employee who is required to work on a holiday is entitled not only to overtime pay, but also to compensatory time. If the employee worked fewer than four hours on a holiday, he or she is entitled to a half-day of compensatory time; if more than four hours, a full day of compensatory time. Compensatory time must be taken within six weeks of the holiday worked.

Sunday is a mandated day of rest, subject to various exceptions. No compensation is paid for the Sunday day of rest. In addition to overtime pay, an employee who works on a Sunday is entitled to compensatory time, which is generally taken within six days after the Sunday worked.

Leave

Employee leave is determined by the number of days actually worked, as well as the number of inactive days counted as fully worked days (such as sick leave), during the year directly preceding the current year. If workers were employed in five-day workweeks during the full preceding year, then employees are entitled to 20 days of vacation leave in the current year. If employed in six-day workweeks during the full preceding year, then they are entitled to 24 days of vacation.

Hourly worker vacation time is paid by a holiday fund or the National Office for Annual Leave, which calculates holiday payments as 15.38% of a worker’s salary from the previous year. Salaried employees are paid directly by employers for vacation time, including both the vacation pay owed and a supplement, which is equal to one-twelth of 92% of employees’ gross salaries.

An employee over the age of 50 who has not worked enough time during the previous year to claim a full four-week holiday is eligible for senior holiday pay at 65% of his or her salary, paid by unemployment insurance. Likewise, a young worker under the age of 25 who has not accrued enough time on the job to qualify for a full four-week holiday may receive an allowance equal to 65% of his or her salary, paid by unemployment insurance.

Employees also are entitled to up to 10 days of unpaid leave per year for compelling reasons relating to unforeseen events.

Sickness/Accident Leave: The extent of an employee’s entitlement to sick leave depends on whether the employee is a blue-collar or white-collar worker.

Blue-collar workers: A blue-collar worker who has worked for an employer for at least 30 days prior to an illness or injury is entitled to take up to 30 days of sick leave with partial pay. A blue-collar worker is entitled to 100% of the normal salary for the first seven days of sick leave, paid by the employer and 85.88% of salary for the eighth through 30th days of sick leave, paid in part by the employer and in part by social security. To prevent abuse of sick leave, however, the first day of sick leave is without pay unless the employee remains away from work for at least 14 days. If the employee returns to work and has a relapse within 14 days thereafter, the employee is not entitled to an additional period of sick leave benefits. Additional sick leave benefits are available, however, if the employee suffers a new illness or injury within 14 days of returning to work from a prior illness or injury.

White-collar workers: A white-collar worker is entitled to take up to 30 days of sick leave, at 100% pay. As with blue-collar workers, if a white-collar employee returns to work and has a relapse within 14 days thereafter, the employee is not entitled to an additional period of sick leave benefits. Additional sick leave benefits are available, however, if the employee suffers a new illness or injury within 14 days of returning to work from a prior illness or injury.

Work-related illness or injuries: When an employee suffers a work-related illness or injury, the general rules applicable to sick leave apply, except, the employee is entitled to wages for only seven days, unless a collective bargaining agreement provides otherwise. After seven days, the employee is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits paid by social security.

Maternity Leave: Female employees are entitled to a total of 15 weeks of maternity leave, or 17 weeks if multiple children are born—including six weeks of paid prenatal maternity leave immediately prior to the expected date of childbirth, or eight weeks prior to that date if she is expecting more than one child. She must take paid maternity leave beginning seven days before the due date; the remainder of the prenatal leave is optional. If she does not take the full amount of available prenatal leave before childbirth, she may extend her post-childbirth leave by the amount of any unused prenatal leave.

After childbirth, employees are entitled to nine weeks of postnatal paid maternity leave plus any remaining prenatal maternity leave. Employees also may choose to stockpile two weeks of unused prenatal maternity leave and take that leave at any time during the first eight weeks after they return to work.

If childbirth requires hospitalization of more than seven days, maternity leave may be extended by the amount of time hospitalization exceeds seven days, up to a maximum of 24 weeks of post-childbirth maternity leave.

Maternity benefits are equal to 82% of earnings for the first 30 days and 75% of earnings thereafter. Single parents who return to work after childbirth are entitled to a monthly childcare supplement for a maximum period of 12 months.

Any employee, male or female, is entitled to take parental leave of up to four months at any time during the first 12 years after the birth or adoption of a new child. In lieu of salary, the employee receives a monthly allowance. Employees may choose to prorate parental leave over a longer period with the agreement of the employer. Under such an agreement, employees may reduce their work hours by half for eight months, by 20% for 20 months, or, effective since June 1, 2019, by 10% for 40 months. In each case, the reduction must be taken for a minimum of one-quarter of the duration of the prorated leave.

Family Leave: An employee is entitled to take leave to care for any sick relative who lives with the employee. Likewise, an employee is generally allowed to take leave to care for a person with a terminal illness; in this case, the person need not be a family member.

An employee who seeks family care leave must give the employer seven days’ notice before beginning this leave, which may be deferred at the request of the employer but not refused. An employee who seeks palliative care leave may begin the leave on the Monday following notification of the employer. In the case of palliative care leave, the employer may refuse the leave request or ask the employee to defer it.

Both family care leave and palliative care leave are limited to an initial period of one month, but may be extended by an additional month. In lieu of salary, the employee receives a monthly allowance. The monthly allowance for both types of leave is €741.40.

Wage Payment

Employers must pay salaried employees once per month and must pay hourly workers twice per month. Wages must be paid within four working days of the pay period.

Employers also are responsible for providing pay slips to employees, issued either through the company or through a third-party payroll agency. The pay slips are due for each pay period and must include gross monthly salary; the number of working days, holidays and sick days taken; the value of fringe benefits taxed; the reimbursement of any personal expenses; and the total amount of income tax and social security prepayments.

Bonuses and Special Benefits

Belgian employers typically provide employees several opportunities to receive a bonus payment in addition to their fixed salaries.

Employees are entitled to vacation pay that is generally 92% of their regular wages. Employees generally receive their vacation pay when they begin their vacation.

It is common for employers to offer a 13th month payment as a bonus; some employers may offer a 14th month bonus as well. The 13th month bonus is generally given during the Christmas or year-end period.

Employers can give employees a discretionary bonus. The payment amount, method of calculating the amount and terms and conditions under which the bonus is awarded is determined between the employer and employee.

Employers can also offer a collective bonus, to all or a specified group of employees, that is determined by company revenue, sales or production. A collective bonus plan is exempt from income tax and subject to a 33% social security tax paid by the employer. The maximum amount per employee that the collective bonus can total is set annually by the federal government.

Employers may allow employees to share in the profits of the company by granting employees a profit participation premium (Dutch: winstpremie; French: prime bénéficiaire). Effective since Jan. 1, 2018, any premium granted is subject to the normal employee social security contribution of 13.07% and a flat income tax rate of 7%. The total value of profit participation premiums that an employer grants to its employees may not exceed 30% of the employer’s total payroll.

Termination Pay

Generally, if employers provide employees with the appropriate amount of notice of termination, no severance pay is required. If employers fail to provide the requisite notice, employees are entitled to damages in the amount of the wages that would have been earned had the proper notice been given, plus any additional damages resulting from the lack of proper notice. A commercial representative, such as a salesperson, who has more than one year of seniority with the current employer and is terminated without cause, is entitled to compensation for the purpose of enabling him or her to find new clients. Such compensation is equal to three months’ salary, if the employee has between one and five years of seniority and an additional one month’s salary as each additional five-year period of seniority begins.

Employers and employees must pay social taxes on the termination of protected workers (including those on maternity or vacation leave, for example) as well as the client indemnity for sales representatives. Additionally, compensation from the exercise of a noncompete clause between an employer and an employee after termination will be subject to social security contributions.

Workers’ Compensation

If employees are totally incapacitated during their work activities or at the workplace, then they are eligible for compensation equivalent to 90% of their average daily pay. Cash benefits also are available to workers who are only partially disabled.

In the event of long-term incapacitation, which must be officially verified, workers may be eligible for an annual allowance for up to three years. This amount depends on the extent of incapacity and the worker’s average pay. If the period exceeds three years, then the allowance becomes an annuity at an amount equivalent to 12 times the injured worker’s monthly salary/pay, as indexed according to the degree of need up to the 91st day of hospitalization.

Workers’ compensation should occur during the normal pay periods, although can be shortened to monthly or quarterly payments after being deemed a long-term incapacitation.

Recordkeeping

Generally, all records related to accounting or the official conduct of a business must be maintained for at least seven years.

FOREIGN WORKERS

Belgian employers who want to hire foreign workers—excluding EU/EEA nationals—for their business must apply for an employer permit and a type-B work permit prior to hiring, unless the worker already possesses work permit A or C. When the employer permit has been granted by the government, the foreign worker may then apply for their visa provided they also possess a passport valid for at least one year.

Other employee requirements prior to obtaining a visa include a certificate declaring good conduct during the previous five years and a medical certificate approved by the embassy and an employment authorization. Employers are responsible for requesting the employment authorization, which is issued simultaneously with the work permit.

Visas: Visa requirements vary based on individual travel intentions—such as family, business, or pleasure—and the duration of the visit. For business travelers visiting Belgium for less than three months, EU/EEA nationals are not required to possess a visa and may move freely through the region. For most non-EU/EEA nationals, visas are required to enter Belgium for less than three months—although travelers may move freely across the Schengen Area after arrival. Visa applications should be filed in person with the foreign worker’s Belgian embassy or consulate. In some cases, applications may be filed by an external service provider or not in person at all, although this requires the diplomatic mission’s approval. Applications should be filed at least three months prior to foreign workers’ planned arrival in Belgium, if a visa is required for entry.

For travelers from some countries on short-stay visas, visa applications may be recognized by Belgium even when filed with another Schengen Area country. Notably, U.S. citizens traveling to Belgium for business do not require a visa for stays of less than 90 days and may move freely within the Schengen Area during that period. All travelers should register with the municipal administration within three days of arrival in Belgium, unless staying in a hotel or lodging house during the stay. The municipal government will provide registering travelers with an arrival declaration, which notes the date the traveler is expected to depart.

Visa extensions may be done through the Immigration Office of FPS Home Affairs.

Employees in Belgium for more than three months must apply for a work permit B, unless in possession of a work permit A or C.

Work permit B is the most important permit for business workers from overseas. The permit is restricted to foreign workers employed by a single employer and is valid for 12 months. This permit is only granted if the foreign employee has already been authorized to be employed by the Belgian employer. However, employees need not continue to work in the same profession that the work permit was issued for so long as they are approved for new employment.

Work permits A and C are both designed for salaried professionals, although work permit A is valid for an unlimited duration for workers previously resident in Belgium for not less than 10 years while work permit C is limited in duration and intended for special categories of workers, such as students and asylum seekers. Work permits are applied for using forms available at each region’s employment offices: Forem in Wallonia, the Flemish Employment and Vocational Training Service (Vlaamse Dienst voor Arbeidsbemiddeling en Beroepsopleiding, abbreviated as VDAB) in Flanders, or Actiris in Brussels.

Long-term stays also must be approved prior to first authorization by the Immigration Office. Work permits are delivered directly to foreign workers.

Employers also are required to file a Limosa declaration for foreign employees not subject to the Belgian social security scheme. For employees subject to the Belgian social scheme, a Dimona declaration has to be filed before the commencement of work in Belgium.

Taxes: Nonresidents with Belgium-sourced income are liable to taxation only on that income at the same rates as residents—between 25% and 50%.

Nonresidents should alert the tax collector’s office of Belgian income and request a tax return, which may be done by filing a nonresidents’ tax form application with the tax collector’s office. The particular tax collector’s office foreign worker file with depends on their status, such as retired, self-employed or nonresident wage earner. Nonresident wage earners should use the tax collector’s office nearest to their Belgian employer. Following initial registration, foreign workers will receive a tax return every year. In order to file their return, nonresident employees must further apply for an electronic foreigners card, or an eID for nonresidents, through the Immigration Service. Like residents, nonresidents have approximately one month to file their tax return following receipt, although the date of submission is on the return itself. Late submission will qualify them for penalty fees and/or an increase in the tax percentage, although taxpayers may have as long as three years to pay their tax dues.

Nonresidents are also subject to a municipal tax rate of 7%. The nonresident tax rate typically does not change from year to year, and is capped at a maximum of 7%.

Returns and Remittance: Nonresidents in Belgium are required to file income tax returns at a date specified each year that is separate from the filing date of residents. Due dates for filing tax returns are released by FPS Finance.

Wages/Payments: Belgium does not have any special requirements for wages or payments due to nonresidents or foreign workers.

WORKING IN THE UNITED STATES

Foreign workers from Belgium must meet general visa requirements and be certified to be employed in the U.S. General visa requirements for the U.S. are included in the separate

Belgium is eligible for the visa waiver program for business visitors, which allows Belgian citizens to travel to the U.S. for 90 days or less for business-specific purposes without having to obtain a B-1 business visa. Stays longer than 90 days will require a visa. Individuals may return to the U.S. under the visa waiver program if a “reasonable length of time” has passed. The determination for reasonable length of time is at the discretion of the Department of Homeland Security.

U.S. employers also must check the names of all new-hires and employees against the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, administered by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Because OFAC prohibits financial transactions with individuals on the list, employers cannot employ them and may face fines for failing to comply.

For tax purposes, Belgian citizens are subject to U.S. employment-based taxation on income earned in the U.S. unless they can claim an exemption under certain tax treaty provisions or they work under specific visa types that exempt earnings from taxes. Belgium has both a tax treaty and a social tax totalization agreement with the U.S.

State and local taxation of Belgian workers also can apply, although some states within the U.S. recognize international tax treaties that can eliminate that income tax liability for foreign workers.

The U.S. labor laws apply to all workers employed and providing services in the country.

Work eligibility as an employee is contingent upon Department of Homeland Security and Labor Department approval and the employee receiving a U.S. Social Security number from the Social Security Administration.

Tax Residency: In general, employees working in the U.S. on a temporary basis are considered nonresidents for tax purposes unless they qualify for resident status. Employees can be granted permanent resident status through the so-called green card test or if they meet the substantial presence test under the U.S. tax code. More information on these requirements is in the

Permanent residents are subject to U.S. tax requirements the same as U.S. citizens and are taxed under the U.S. system on their worldwide earnings.

Income Taxes: Generally, nonresidents in the U.S. who are from Belgium and are working in the U.S. are subject to U.S. taxes based on their U.S.-sourced income. Income is taxed differently based on whether it is categorized as wage income or nonwage income, which includes interest and dividends.

A Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate, must be filed by each employee with their employer. All nonresidents in the U.S. who are from Belgium and are working in the U.S. must claim “single” in Step 1c, regardless of marital status; write “Nonresident Alien” or “NRA” in the space under Step 4c of the form; and may not claim “exempt” in the space under Step 4c.

Nonresident alien employees may adjust withholding using Step 2b or 2c of the Form W-4; certain employees also may be able to use Steps 3, 4a, or 4b. More information about Form W-4 requirements for nonresident alien employees is available in the

Although the versions of Form W-4 issued in 2020 or later significantly differ from the versions issued in 2019 or earlier, nonresident employees that filed a valid version of Form W-4 from 2019 or earlier with their employer do not need to file another Form W-4 with the employer unless they need to implement a change for their withholding. On Forms W-4 issued in 2019 or earlier, nonresident alien employees were required to check the “single” box on line 3, regardless of marital status; write “Nonresident Alien” or “NRA” above the dotted line on line 6; and were not permitted to claim “exempt” on line 7 of the form.

An additional amount is added to a nonresident alien employee’s wages for calculating federal income tax withholding, with the amount based on pay period frequency and the date of the employee’s most recently filed Form W-4. The table of additional amounts applicable to Forms W-4 from 2020 or later and the table applicable to Forms W-4 issued before 2020 are available in the

Nonwage income and self-employed foreign workers can be subject to income tax withholding at a flat rate of 30%.

Additionally, foreign workers may be taxed differently based on the specific type of visa they hold.

Tax treaties: Belgium and the U.S. have a tax treaty with provisions addressing host country taxation of the nonresident workers. A summary of those benefits is listed in the “Tax Treaty Exemption Comparison Chart.” To claim the treaty benefit, the nonresident must file Form 8233, Exemption From Withholding on Compensation for Independent (and Certain Dependent) Personal Services of a Nonresident Alien Individual, with the employer.

Students, trainees and teachers in particular must include a statement with Form 8233 to claim a tax treaty exemption from withholding of tax on compensation for dependent personal services. This statement affirms that the student or trainee is temporarily in the U.S. for purposes of teaching or has accepted an invitation by the U.S. government (or by a political subdivision or local authority) for the purpose of studying or engaging in research for a period of two years by a university or other recognized educational institution in the U.S. It also must affirm that the individual will receive compensation for services performed in the U.S. The student exemption is not to exceed $9,000 a year; no limit is placed on the teacher compensation for Belgian residents.

Examples of the statements necessary to claim a treaty exemption from U.S. taxes are included in Internal Revenue Service Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens.

Social Taxes: Most foreign workers are subject to paying into the U.S. Social Security system. Foreign nationals who are exempt from paying income tax and who do not have the eligibility to receive a social security number may not be required to pay social taxes. Foreign workers contributing to Social Security for a certain time period may be eligible to receive benefits.

Generally, foreign workers in the U.S. that have specific visas as exchange visitors or students or who are temporarily in the U.S. for agricultural work are not subject to social taxes on income that is obtained from the purpose in which they originally entered the U.S.

Totalization Agreements: Social Security totalization agreements can allow foreign workers and U.S. nationals working abroad to avoid paying into two social security systems while being subjected to losing benefits for their home country system. Under totalization agreements, generally, foreign workers will only pay into one of the social security systems- either the home or the foreign system- but not both. Foreign nationals, utilizing a totalization agreement, also can count years of contributions paid to different social security systems to all of the systems they have contributed to in order to be eligible for benefits in one country.

Belgium and the U.S. have entered into a totalization agreement and a summary of those provisions is included in

The agreement establishes that employers with employees normally working in the U.S. will be required to withhold social security taxes only for the U.S. while employers with employees normally working in Belgium only withhold social security taxes for Belgium. However, if workers are seconded from one country to the other for less than five years, then the agreement maintains that employees are still covered by their original home country. If the transfer endures for more than five years, then employees are liable to the social security taxes of the country to which they are seconded.

Wage Payment: Under certain visas for certain types of employment, employers are required to pay foreign workers the higher of either the prevailing wage or the actual wage that is paid to U.S. workers that have similar skills and qualifications.

There are no particular requirements that employees be paid in U.S. dollars.

TREATY ARRANGEMENTS

Belgium has entered into more than 80 income tax treaties, including an income tax treaty with the United States. Belgium also has more than 10 totalization agreements for social tax purposes, including an agreement with the United States.

Belgium’s tax treaties are available in

RESOURCES

All resources are in English unless otherwise noted.

General

Belgian Government

U.S. Central Intelligence Agency:

The World Factbook: Belgium

The World Factbook: Languages

U.S. State Department: U.S. Relations With Belgium

U.S. Department of Commerce: Export.gov: Belgium - Business Travel

Currency Details

Unicode Consortium: Currency Symbols

International Organization for Standardization: Currency Codes - ISO 4217

United Nations: United Nations Terminology Database: Belgium

Taxes

Belcotax On Web (Employer Withholding System, in Dutch)

Federal Public Service Finance (Dutch):

Abolition of December Advances (Dutch)

Federal Public Service Tax Survey

Finprof Online Withholding System (Dutch and French)

Belgium State Gazette (Dutch, French, and German)

Belgian National Office for Social Security (Dutch)

Federal Public Service Social Security (Dutch, French, and German)

Koninklijk besluit van 27 september 2020 met betrekking tot de vrijstelling van doorstorting van bedrijfsvoorheffing [Royal Decree of Sept. 27, 2020, Regarding Exemption from Payment of Withholding Tax], B.S., Oct. 1, 2020 (Dutch)

Programmawet van 20 december 2020 [Program Law of Dec. 27, 2020] and Federal Public Service Finance, Withholding Exemption for Training of Workers, B.S., Dec. 30, 2020 (Dutch)

Wet houdende tijdelijke ondersteunings- maatregelen ten gevolge van de COVID-19-pandemie [Law on Temporary Support Measures Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic], B.S., July 29, 2021 (Dutch)

Compensation and Benefits

Federal Public Service Employment, Labour, and Social Dialogue: Parental Leave (Dutch)

Your Social Security Rights in Belgium (European Commission)

Program law of Dec. 25, 2017, including amendments to the profit participation premium system (in Dutch and French)

Wet van 20 december 2020 houdende tijdelijke ondersteuningsmaatregelen ten gevolge van de COVID-19-pandemie [Law of Dec. 20, 2020, on Temporary Support Measures Following the Covid-19 Pandemic], B.S., Dec. 30, 2020 (Dutch)

Federal Public Service Social Security, Reimbursement of Costs (Dutch)

Federal Public Service Finance, Increase to Tax-Free Reimbursement (Dutch)

Foreign Workers

Employing Foreign Workers (Dutch)

Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs

Federal Public Service Home Affairs - Immigration Office (Dutch and French)

Schengen Area (European Commission)

Social Insurance Guide for Nonresidents

Working in the United States

U.S. Department of Labor:

Foreign Labor Certification
Hiring Foreign Workers

U.S. Internal Revenue Service:

IRS Notice 1392, Supplemental Form W-4 Instructions for Nonresident Aliens
IRS Publication 15, Circular E, Employer’s Tax Guide
IRS Publication 515, Withholding of Tax on Nonresident Aliens and Foreign Entities
IRS Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens
IRS Publication 901, U.S. Tax Treaties

U.S. Department of State, Visa Waiver Program

Treaty Arrangements

U.S.-Belgium Tax Treaty (IRS)

U.S.-Belgium Totalization Agreement (SSA)