On 9 July 2026, the Belgian Chamber of Representatives approved the law reforming personal income tax. The law has yet to be published in the Belgian Official Gazette, but the broad lines are set and several measures even apply retroactively from 1 January 2026.
The common thread? Working and running a business should pay off more. There's good news in it for you as a self-employed professional, though there are a few points to watch, especially if you work through a company.
Here's the full rundown, along with a few other tax changes that were recently decided.
The key changes at a glance:
This is perhaps the most tangible change. Until now, you had to pay tax in advance every quarter as a self-employed professional. If you didn't (or paid too little), a tax surcharge was applied.
From income year 2026, that penalty disappears for sole traders and assisting spouses. You're no longer required to pay in advance. If you do so anyway, you're rewarded with a bonus: a discount on your taxes. A fifth advance payment period is even being added, between 21 December and 20 February.
Note: if you’re the director of a company, the obligation to make advance payments remains in place.
The tax-free allowance rises in stages from €10,910 in 2026 to €15,600 in 2030. Every self-employed professional with professional income will keep a little more net each year, without having to do anything.
The tax-free allowance is the part of your income on which you pay no tax. This year it stands at €10,910. That means:
From income year 2027, you can keep part of your profits tax-free through the new entrepreneur deduction. In concrete terms, it amounts to 10% of your profits, with a maximum of €650. That cap rises to €900 by 2029.
Not a huge amount, but it's a deduction you receive automatically, without extra paperwork. It comes on top of the tax credit for the self-employed, which was recently doubled.
Good news for self-employed developers: the favourable copyright tax regime reopens from income year 2026 to those who write computer programs.
That hadn't been possible since 2024. Strict conditions apply, though, so get proper advice before adjusting your invoicing.
💡Read more about copyright revenue in 2026.
Do you have one or two dependent children? Then the supplement to your tax-free allowance rises step by step from 2026. From 2029, every child gives the same supplement, whether it's your first or second. The supplements for three or more children remain unchanged.
Are you a single parent? The extra supplement remains, but from 2029 it will only be granted to genuinely single parents. Parents who cohabit de facto will no longer qualify.
If your partner earns little or nothing, you could until now allocate part of your income to them for tax purposes via the marital quotient. That benefit is being gradually reduced from 2026: by 2029 it will be halved for those who are professionally active. For pensioners, a phase-out scenario of almost twenty years applies.
For a small company to benefit from the reduced 20% corporate tax rate, you must pay yourself a minimum salary as director.
That amount rises from €45,000 to €50,000 from assessment year 2027 and will from now on be indexed annually.
From income year 2026, your pay package may consist of no more than 20% flat-rate benefits in kind (think of the company car, free housing or electricity).
If you exceed that limit as a director, your company loses the reduced rate. If you're mostly paid 'in kind', it's worth reviewing your remuneration mix.
This change doesn't come from the law of 9 July, but from the programme law of 30 May 2026. Yet it affects many self-employed professionals with a company.
If you pay out dividends under the VVPRbis regime, from 1 July 2026 you'll pay 18% withholding tax instead of 15%. The liquidation reserve is also becoming more expensive: for reserves built up from 31 December 2025, you'll pay 9.8% withholding tax instead of 6.5% when distributing after the three-year waiting period. Combined with the 10% anticipatory levy, that also brings the total burden to 18%. Reserves built up on or before 30 December 2025 keep the old, more favourable rates.
Taking money out of your company through dividends therefore remains more advantageous than the top rate of personal income tax, but the gap is narrowing. So run the numbers carefully on the best mix of salary, dividends and other forms of remuneration for your situation.
For most sole traders, the balance is positive: fewer obligations (advance payments), more net income (tax-free allowance, entrepreneur deduction) and less paperwork.
If you work through a company, it's worth reviewing your remuneration strategy: the higher minimum salary, the 20% cap on benefits in kind and the more expensive dividends change the maths.
The law of 9 July 2026 has not yet been published in the Belgian Official Gazette. Details may therefore still change. This article is for information purposes and does not replace personal tax advice.
In principle, yes, because the abolition of the tax surcharge for not paying in advance applies to income year 2026. But be careful: the law hasn't yet been published in the Belgian Official Gazette. You'll only have absolute certainty at the moment of publication, though the risk is small: the Chamber has already approved the law. Don't forget that those who do pay in advance receive a bonus (a discount on their taxes). Paying voluntarily therefore remains slightly advantageous. The next deadline for advance payments of personal income tax is 12 October 2026.
Not just like that. The regime is retroactively open from income year 2026, so this year's income can in principle count.
But the conditions are strict and your invoicing must be legally set up for it: 1) your contract must contain a genuine transfer or licence of copyright, with a separate, market-based split between the fee for your services and the fee for your copyright; 2) absolute and relative caps apply to the share of copyright in your total remuneration; 3) your client must, as the debtor, withhold and pay over the withholding tax.
Moreover, the exact conditions for software will only be final once the law is published. The sensible order: wait for publication, then adjust your contracts (or request a ruling if in doubt) and invoice with the split from then on. Definitely get guidance from an accountant or tax adviser for this.
No, that flat rate of 33% only applies to those who earn extra as an employee. For pensioners who are active as self-employed professionals, nothing changes.
No, that deadline was 30 June 2026. Worth knowing, though: liquidation reserves built up on or before 30 December 2025 keep the old rates of 5%/6.5%.
No, the tax-free allowance is increased automatically via your tax return.
Author - Nicolas Quarré
Nicolas is co-founder and CEO at Accountable. His vision for the company has always been clear: free self-employed from administrative nightmares.
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