As a self-employed individual with a sole proprietorship, your income is taxed under the personal income tax regime. But even if you have a company and receive a salary as a company director, you report this through your personal income tax declaration.
In Belgium, personal income tax operates on the basis of progressive tax brackets, which increase as your income rises. This is in contrast to flat taxes, such as corporate tax and VAT, where you always pay the same tax rate.
The Belgium tax brackets are designed to protect those earning the lowest wages and make the tax system as fair as possible.
In this way, the government can levy higher taxes on higher wages, while everyone still pays the same tax rate per bracket.
Those who earn more only pay the higher tax rate on the higher portion of their income.
To calculate how much personal income tax you have to pay as a self-employed individual in a sole proprietorship or as a company director in a company, it’s essential to understand the progressive tax brackets.
This year (2026), you pay taxes on your income from the previous year (2025), according to the rates below. The income you earn this year will only be taxed next year.
In Belgium, there are four tax brackets: 25%, 40%, 45%, and 50%.
These are the tax brackets for the tax year 2026 (declaring 2025 income):
| Bracket 1 | €0.01 to €16,320 | 25% |
| Bracket 2 | €16,320 to €28,800 | 40% |
| Bracket 3 | €28,800 to €49,840 | 45% |
| Bracket 4 | Over €49,840 | 50% |
Next year (2027), you'll pay taxes on your income from this year (2026). These tax rates will then apply:
| Bracket 1 | €0.01 to €16,720 | 25% |
| Bracket 2 | €16,720 to €29,510 | 40% |
| Bracket 3 | €29,510 to €51,070 | 45% |
| Bracket 4 | Over €51,070 | 50% |
You can always find the current amounts on the FPS Finance website.
Everyone is also entitled to a tax-free amount.
In 2026 (for 2025 income), this amounts to at least €10,910. In 2027 (2026 income year), the tax-free allowance amounts to €11,180.
In this case, the tax-free allowance is applied as a kind of discount on the total amount of tax you owe.
How it works:
The tax-free amount can sometimes be increased depending on your personal situation, for example if you have children or other dependents. Expenses such as childcare, pension savings, or charitable donations can also affect the amount of tax you pay.
To calculate your taxes, you need to know your total taxable amount on an annual basis. In a sole proprietorship, this is the amount left after VAT, professional expenses, and social security contributions.
First, you subtract the tax-free amount from this. Then you calculate the taxes for each bracket and add these results together.
Example:
Suppose you earned a net taxable income (excluding VAT, social contributions, and professional expenses) of €50,000 in 2025. You need to set aside around €15,892.50* for personal income tax.
Here’s the calculation:
| Tax bracket | Taxable base | Tax rate | Taxes due |
| Bracket 1: €0.01 to €16,320 | €16,320 | 25% | €4,080 |
| Bracket 2: €16,320 to €28,800 | €12,480 | 40% | €4,992 |
| Bracket 3: €28,800 to €49,840 | €21,040 | 45% | €9,468 |
| Bracket 4: Over €49,840 (in this example up to € 50,000) | €160 | 50% | €80 |
| Total taxes | €18,620 | ||
| Total taxes after tax-free amount | €15,892.50* |
*In reality the total amount of tax to pay may slightly vary, as depending on where you live in Belgium, you also pay communal taxation.
From experience, you may already know that it doesn’t stop at personal income tax. There is also an additional tax on top of it, such as municipal tax, which depends on where you live.
| Municipal tax (in this example, Ixelles) | 7.50% of your basic personal income tax |
That’s a significant chunk of your hard-earned income going to the tax authorities. But as a self-employed individual, you obviously have a way to reduce your taxes: professional expenses. If you incur expenses and make investments for your business, these are tax-deductible, and you can deduct them from your profit.
Are you unsure about which professional expenses you can claim and at what exact percentages? Be sure to check our professional expenses database. Perhaps there are costs you’re not currently claiming, simply because you haven’t thought of them yet./
Would you like to have a clear view of your income and taxes at all times? If you track your income and expenses through Accountable, you’ll know at any moment how much you’ve earned net and how much you still need to set aside for taxes and VAT.
Author - Artyom Ghazaryan
Artyom is Head of Accounting at Accountable, and a chartered Accountant & Tax Specialist.
Who is Artyom ?Thank you for your feedback!
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