All you need to know about income tax prepayments

Got a tax question? We’ll answer for free by email.

Bitte gib eine gültige E-Mail-Adresse ein

Ask your question

1. Introduction

Paying your taxes in advance? The idea may not sound appealing, we acknowledge, but it has its merits. You stand to benefit if you are a self-employed individual at the outset. You can avoid a tax surcharge if you are self-employed in a liberal or commercial profession, a business executive, or an assisting spouse. Companies subject to corporate tax can also steer clear of a heavier tax surcharge.

In the context of financial optimization, the tax authorities prefer to collect taxes as early as possible rather than waiting until the end of the fiscal year. The Federal Public Service (SPF) Finance requests advance payments to ensure a steady tax collection, highlighting a financial incentive mechanism for your advance payments.

In practical terms, you receive a bonus for paying your taxes in advance (and a penalty if not). To take advantage of this bonus, it is crucial to make your advance payments in accordance with the rules.

Note that income tax prepayments are optional during your first 3 years as a self-employed individual. After the initial 3 years, to avoid the surcharge, you must make your advance payments.

Here's everything you need to know to come out ahead in dealing with these taxes that have a head start.

2. For Self-Employed Individuals

2.1 How to make those prepayments?

What you pay for:

Accountable suggests an amount to pay for your prepayments based on the estimated taxable income. From the Taxes > In­come tax pre­pay­ment, you can click on “Improve this estimate” and choose the method for estimating your taxable income:

From the bank screen > available cash, you will find information on the “To set aside for 2025 in­come tax”:

→ This is the amount you need to set aside today for income tax in relation to your actual 2025 income and expenses. It does not represent the total tax amount for the entire year.

Due dates:

• Quarter 1: by 10/04

• Quarter 2: by 10/07

• Quarter 3: by 10/10

• Quarter 4: by 22/12

How to make the payment?

• Make the payment through Accountable: In the Taxes > Income tax prepayments section, you will find the information (account number, structured communication, and QR code):

• Or make the payment from MyMinfin.

You can make quarterly advance payments, but as you can see from the table above, prepayment in the first quarter has the most impact.

The bonus:

The bonus is a tax reduction granted to:

• All self-employed individuals who settle their tax debt faster than required.

• All self-employed individuals whose advance payments exceed what is necessary to avoid the tax surcharge (6.75%).

• All self-employed individuals who are first-time main occupation entrepreneurs in 2023, 2024, or 2025.:

⚠️ Note: to be eligible for this bonification, you must have paid 106% of the amount of your final owed taxes in advance.

In the case of a joint tax return: the bonus is calculated individually for each partner based on their own incomes.

Example of tax reduction (bonus) for advance payments:

• Total taxes owed: €10,000.

• To be eligible for the Bonus, you must have paid €10,600 in advance (106% of the amount of your final owed taxes).

💡By making advance payments, you have eliminated the tax surcharge, and in this example, you will pay €378.75 less in taxes.

Example: largest advance payment in Q1:

It is recommended to make the largest advance payment in the first quarter. This is because a payment in Q1 provides a tax benefit of 9%, whereas a payment in the last quarter only yields 4.5%.

• Let’s say you make an advance payment of 75% of your estimated tax, which in this case amounts to €7,500.

• This entitles you to a tax benefit of €675 (€7,500 × 9%).

In other words, thanks to this advance payment in Q1, you reduce the surcharge from €715.50 to just €40.50 (€715.50 - €675).

• Next, the Federal Public Service Finance applies a reduction of 90% on the remaining surcharge (90% × €40.50 = €36.45).

• If the final surcharge is less than €100 or 0.5% of the tax base, it will not be applied—effectively bringing the surcharge to €0.

By paying in Q1, you can significantly reduce or even eliminate the tax surcharge.

Example: spread-out advance tax payments:

It's quite normal for self-employed individuals not to be able to make a 75% advance payment in the first quarter. However, be aware that the tax reduction decreases each quarter, so it is always beneficial to make the largest advance payment in Q1.

• A recommended approach is to make the largest payment in Q1, followed by smaller advance payments in the subsequent quarters. This strategy helps maximize tax benefits while maintaining financial flexibility.

• You can also choose to make equal advance payments each quarter.

💡 Note: During the current financial year, you don’t yet know how much tax you’ll ultimately need to pay. Therefore, try to make as accurate an estimate as possible and make a substantial advance payment in the first quarter, but don’t overdo it. Of course, you will receive a refund if you overpay your taxes in advance.

2.2 Haven't made income tax prepayments?

Are you self-employed, engaged in a liberal profession, a business executive, or an assisting spouse? You will face penalties if you neglect these payments.

How is the tax increase calculated?

The tax increase is calculated as follows: 106% of the due tax × 6,75 %.

For self-employed individuals, only 90% of the tax is considered for the surcharge calculation.

→ Example:

Total tax amount: €4,500

Tax increase calculation base: €4,500 x 106% = €4,770

Calculation base for the tax increase due: €4,770 × 6,75% = €321,975

Reduction at 90%: €€321,975 × 90% = €289,78

Have you recently become self-employed?

In the first three years of full-time independent activity? You do not risk a tax increase for these fiscal years. As mentioned earlier, you benefit from a bonus or tax reduction if you make advance payments.

3. Is your company subject to corporate tax?

Companies must make advance payments to avoid tax increase.

What you pay for:

You need to estimate the amount of income to which the tax surcharge may apply:

• Calculate this tax by multiplying it by 102%.

• Subtract applicable withholding taxes and relevant deductible items. In theory, the result represents the amount to be paid in advance for this year.

• This way, you can also determine the amount you can deposit each quarter, but be aware that you can choose a different distribution of deposits: Divide this annual amount by four. It is advisable to round the resulting quotient to the nearest ten euros.

Due Dates:

• April 10 for Quarter 1

• July 10 for Quarter 2

• October 10 for Quarter 3

• December 20 for Quarter 4

Avoid a tax increase or obtain a reduction in the tax increase:

The FPF first calculates a tax increase and then deducts the benefits associated with the prepayments made. For the 2026 tax year (2025 income), the amount of these benefits is equal to the sum of the following calculations:

• Amount of the 1st prepayment (AP1) × 9%

• Amount of the 2nd prepayment (AP2) × 7,5%

• Amount of the 3rd prepayment (AP3) × 6 %

• Amount of the 4th prepayment (AP4) × 4,5 %

Example: (ITC = Income tax prepayment)

1. Corporate tax due for the year 2025: €20,000

2. Advance payments made during the year 2025

   ITC €4,000

   ITC II €5,000

   ITC III €4,000

   ITC IV €3,000

3. Total surcharge (due tax × total surcharge rate) €20,000 × 6,75% = €1,350

4. Reduction of the surcharge resulting from the advance payments

   ITC I: €4,000 × 9 % - €360

   ITC II: €5,000 × 7,5 % - €375

   ITC III: €4,000 × 6 % - €240

   ITC IV: €3,000 ×4,5 % - €135

5. Tax increase finally due: €1,350 - €360- €375 - €240 - €135 = €240.00

   
   🚨 The overall tax increase rate is 6,75 % for the 2025 income. 🚨

No bonus for companies:

4. Are you willing, yet not able, to pay?

Go see your banker, that is his/her job: banks lend money specifically to help self-employed make advance payments on their taxes. Interest rates on these loans are inferior to tax increases’ rates. In some cases, interest rates can fall under 1%.

Obtaining that credit allows you to make advance payments at the right time, for the right amount. Now that you know all about tax bonuses and increases, that credit may make much more sense.

In short: no more excuses. Provided that you have a clear view of your finances, you can easily avoid losing hard-earned cash thanks to advance payments.

5. How to set up income tax prepayments in Accountable?

You'll find all the information you need in this article.

Author - Valesca Wilms

As content marketing lead at Accountable Belgium, Valesca writes about freelancing, self-employment, and taxes based on her own experience as a freelancer.

Who is Valesca ?