Do you create visuals, music or books? Apply for the attestation of work in the arts

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If you receive copyright income as a creative, you paid little tax on it for years. On the first bracket you could deduct half as costs without showing a single receipt, and you paid 15% on the rest. On an ordinary copyright fee, that came down to 7.5%.

Since 1 January 2026, you can only deduct flat-rate costs if you hold an attestation of work in the arts (KWA). The Programme Act of 30 May 2026 ties the flat-rate cost deduction to that attestation, with retroactive effect to the start of this year. Without an attestation, and without proof of actual costs, you pay 15% tax on the full amount. That is double.

Many graphic designers, DJs, writers and other creators have not applied for the attestation yet. For them, now is the time.

What is the attestation of work in the arts?

The attestation of work in the arts is a decision by the Arts Work Commission (Kunstwerkcommissie) that you have a professional artistic practice. You don’t get a card or certificate, but a decision in your eBox or by post. The current scheme has applied since 1 January 2024, and you apply for the attestation through the Working in the Arts platform.

Your status doesn’t matter: self-employed, employee or civil servant, anyone who does professional artistic work can apply for the attestation. Professional means that you earn part of your income from it and spend a substantial part of your time on it.

There are three types of attestation. You don’t choose which one you get: the commission issues the one that best fits your file.

• The classic attestation is valid for 5 years and can be renewed.
• The ‘plus’ attestation is also valid for 5 years and also gives access to the arts worker allowance. For a first application, you need at least €13,546 gross from core artistic activities over 5 years, or €5,418 over 2 years.
• The ‘starter’ attestation is for people who are just starting out and don’t yet meet those conditions. It lasts 3 years and cannot be renewed. Note: the starter attestation does not entitle you to the flat-rate cost deduction.

Who is the attestation of work in the arts for?

The commission recognises eight domains:

• audiovisual arts
• visual arts
• music
• literature
• spectacle (variety and live shows)
• theatre
• choreography
• comics

It isn’t only the creator who qualifies. Artistic-technical and supporting work also counts, as long as your contribution is needed for the artistic result.

What do you gain by applying for the attestation of work in the arts?

For most creatives, the tax benefit is the most important. Copyright income is taxed at 15%, up to €77,220 per year (2026 amount).

With a classic or plus attestation, you first deduct flat-rate costs from that: half of the first €20,590 and a quarter of the part between €20,590 and €41,180. Without an attestation, you can only deduct your actual costs, and you have to be able to prove them.

An example:

In 2026 you receive €10,000 in copyright income. With an attestation, you deduct €5,000 in costs and pay 15% on €5,000, so €750. Without an attestation and without provable costs, you pay 15% on €10,000, so €1,500. The attestation saves you €750 here, every year.

The attestation also opens up 3 social schemes:

• through Article 1bis you build up social security as an employee, even without an employment contract, as long as your client has no authority over you;
• if you start as a self-employed person in a main occupation, the primostarter scheme means you pay lower social security contributions for eight quarters;
• and with a plus attestation or a starter attestation, you can ask the ONEM (RVA) for an arts worker allowance for periods without work. The ONEM adds its own conditions.

What counts as copyright?

Copyright is the money you receive because someone else may use your work: publish, copy, show or broadcast it. You receive it for that right of use, not for the hours you worked on it. For those hours you receive ordinary professional income, which is taxed like your other income.

The tax authorities look at three things:

• Your work is original and bears your own stamp
• It is intended for a wider audience, not for a single client or a closed group.
• You grant the right of use to someone else. What you publish yourself or sell on your own channel therefore doesn’t count. Artistic value is not a condition: a judge even accepted photos for a holiday brochure.

If you make the work on commission, since 2025 a maximum of 30% of your income can be copyright. The rest is professional income. Put that split in your contract or on your invoice, otherwise the tax authorities assume that you gave your rights away for free. Work you made on your own initiative and sell afterwards, a reprint, or a client who reuses your work later does not fall under that 30% limit.

There are also neighbouring rights. Performing artists, such as musicians and actors, receive these when a recording of their performance is played or broadcast. They are taxed in the same way.

What does this mean for your profession?

For each profession below, you can see what can count as copyright, what remains ordinary income and whether you can get an attestation of work in the arts. Without an attestation, the 15% rate stays, just without flat-rate costs.

1. YouTubers, influencers and podcasters

• What the platform pays you for ads on your own channel is generally professional income. You release your work yourself, just like someone who self-publishes a book.
• If you make a video or post for a brand that may use it, part of it can be copyright, 30% at most. If a brand later buys extra rights of use on existing content, that counts in full.
• Sponsorship, affiliate income and merchandise remain ordinary income.

You can also place your rights in your own company, but that requires solid justification.

You usually won’t get an attestation of work in the arts, because marketing falls outside the scheme. For genuinely artistic work, such as a short film, music video or animation, it may still be possible.

2. Web designers

• The design of a website, its look and the user experience, can be copyright, 30% at most on commission.
• Code you write yourself counts as software. It was excluded from 2023 to 2025 and is possible again since 2026, if it is your own creation.
• Building, hosting, maintenance and support remain ordinary professional income.

You won’t get an attestation of work in the arts, because making websites is excluded. So there is no flat rate.

3. Graphic designers

• A logo, a visual identity or illustrations for a client can be copyright, 30% at most on commission.
• Your own work that you later license as a stock image or print, or a client who reuses an existing design, counts in full as copyright.
• Layout, print supervision and consultation are ordinary income, as is the sale of an original or a print: then you are selling an object, not rights.

For the attestation, only illustration or your own visual work counts. Logos, flyers and birth announcement cards fall outside it. If you make both illustrations and logos, the flat rate applies to the illustrations and not to the logos. So keep those two separate in your invoices and contracts.

4. Copywriters

• Texts for a website, brochure, advertisement or social media can be copyright, 30% at most on commission. Reuse of an existing text counts in full.
• Briefing, strategy, rounds of corrections and managing (social media) accounts are ordinary income.
• A text that is only used internally by one client has a hard time qualifying, because it is not intended for a wider audience.

You won’t get an attestation of work in the arts, because marketing doesn’t count as artistic work. So there is no flat rate.

5. Writers

• Royalties from your publisher are copyright, and you receive a 281.45 form for them. If you wrote the book on your own initiative, everything counts.
• If you write on commission for the publisher, 30% at most.
• A reprint, translation or film adaptation counts in full.
• A self-published book doesn’t count, because then you aren’t granting your rights to anyone.
• Fees for copies that come in through a collective management company do count.
• Talks and writing workshops are ordinary income.

For literature, you can get an attestation. A cookbook, a legal handbook or a scientific publication does not count as artistic work.

6. Photographers

• A reportage commissioned by a magazine or company is copyright, 30% at most. Photos that are ultimately not published count too.
• Photos you took on your own initiative and license later, or a client who reuses a photo, count in full.
• The shoot day itself, travel time, post-processing as a service and the sale of prints are ordinary professional income.
• A private shoot for a family has a hard time qualifying, because it is not intended for a wider audience.

For art photography, you can get an attestation. For purely commercial work, the commission decides per file.

7. Videographers, filmmakers and animators

• A film, clip, animation or company video that your client distributes can be copyright, 30% at most on commission. Editing and post-production can count too.
• A later broadcast or a new version counts in full.
• Shoot days, technical hours and equipment rental are ordinary professional income.

You can get an attestation, because you fall under the audiovisual arts. A promotional video without your own artistic input has less chance.

8. Illustrators and comic artists

• Drawings for a book, comic or magazine are copyright, 30% at most on commission.
• Royalties per copy sold and reprints count in full.
• The sale of original drawings, workshops and signing sessions are ordinary income.

You can get an attestation. Comics are even a separate domain.

9. Musicians, composers and DJs

• Your own compositions and lyrics, paid via Sabam, are copyright.
• If a recording of your performance is played or broadcast, you receive neighbouring rights via PlayRight.
• Music on commission, such as a jingle or soundtrack, is copyright up to 30%.
• Your fee for a gig or DJ set is ordinary income, as is teaching.

You can get an attestation, because you fall under music. For DJs, the attestation is often mainly of social interest: through Article 1bis you build up social security when an organiser books you without an employment contract, and with a plus or starter attestation you qualify for the arts worker allowance.

10. Actors, dancers and performers

• Your fee for a performance or recording is ordinary income.
• A fee for the broadcast, repeat or streaming of a recording is a neighbouring right.
• If another company performs your text or choreography, that is copyright.

You can get an attestation.

11. Journalists

For journalists, the tax authorities accepted a separate split: of the first publication of an article, about 17% counts as copyright, and of later publications everything. Regular editorial tasks are ordinary income.

You won’t get an attestation, because journalism is excluded.

12. Teachers and speakers

• A course can be copyright too. A syllabus, slides or a recording that the organiser distributes count if it is your own work.
• If you give the course and supply the material in the same assignment, you split it up: 30% copyright at most.
• A course or handbook of your own that you later give to a training centre or publisher counts in full. The teaching itself, an in-house training for a single company and an online course that you sell yourself on your own site are ordinary income.

You won’t get an attestation of work in the arts for a course, because teaching and workshops don’t count. So since 2026 there is no flat rate on course rights. You pay 15% on the full amount, unless you can prove actual costs.

An example with €10,000 in course rights in 2026:

Before, with the flat rate, you paid 15% on €5,000, so €750. Now, without proof of costs, you pay 15% on €10,000, so €1,500. If you can prove €2,000 in actual costs, you pay 15% on €8,000, so €1,200. You must be able to substantiate those costs, they must relate to that income and you may not already deduct them elsewhere. If you work through your own company, it usually pays the costs and you cannot deduct them again personally.

13. Architects

Plans for a single client have a hard time qualifying. The tax authorities take the view that they are not intended for a wider audience, and the minister sees it as abuse. A judge did rule that plans can be protected. If you want to apply this, it is best to request a ruling first.

You won’t get an attestation of work in the arts, because architecture is not a recognised domain.

14. Software developers

Software was excluded from 2023 to 2025. Since 2026 it is possible again if the code is your own creation.

• On commission, 30% at most applies.
• Hours, implementation and support remain ordinary income.

You won’t get an attestation, because IT is excluded. So there is no flat rate. A ruling from the tax authorities only applies to the person who requested it, so your own situation may differ.

How do you apply for the attestation of work in the arts?

You apply for the attestation online at workinginthearts.be and log in with your eID or itsme. In your application you describe your artistic work and at least one core activity. You add a portfolio with images, your website or videos, preferably an artistic CV, and proof of your income: 281.45 forms, invoices, contracts or statements from your publisher or collective management company.

If you only want the attestation for the flat-rate cost deduction, it goes faster. State in your motivation that you are applying only for the tax measure. The commission then only assesses against the classic attestation. You then need at least €1,000 in income from core artistic activities in the two calendar years before your application. For an application in 2026, those are 2024 and 2025. Teaching and workshops don’t count.

If you work through a company, the commission does not count your income as a company director. Have that checked beforehand. If you also want the social schemes, say so in your motivation, so that the commission assesses your full file.

The commission decides in principle within 3 months after your file is complete. July and August don’t count towards this. You can submit at most two applications per calendar year. If you disagree with the decision, you have one month to appeal, either to the commission itself or to the labour court.

Why apply for an attestation of work in the arts in 2026?

The flat rate only applies if you hold the attestation at the moment your copyright income is paid or awarded. For a first application, the attestation runs from the day you submit it. Every month you wait can therefore cost you money. If you are unsure whether you qualify, have it checked and don’t wait until after your next payment.

Legal check: Programme Act of 30 May 2026, Belgian Official Gazette of 1 June 2026, articles 10 to 12 (amendment of articles 3 and 4 RD/ITC 92, effective from 1 January 2026). What counts as copyright, the 30% limit and the examples per profession follow the Belastingalmanak 2026 (ITAA), pp. 122 to 127, with the rulings cited there (2023.0698, 2024.0302 and 2025.099), Antwerp 28 October 2025 and Liège 8 March 2023. Conditions, types of attestation and procedure follow workinginthearts.be (Act of 16 December 2022 and Royal Decree of 13 March 2023). 2026 amounts follow Cultuurloket and Securex. Actual costs follow Van Havermaet (22 June 2026) and Andersen (28 July 2026). Situation as at 19 October 2026.

Author - Christophe Meesters

Christophe Meesters is a certified ITAA tax advisor and founder of NUMB3RS, the firm that helps self-employed professionals with everything number-related.

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