Key updates for Belgium’s self-employed in 2026

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With 2026 just around the corner, a number of changes are on the way that matter for you as a self-employed professional. This page gives you a clear overview of the proposals and concrete measures taking effect from 2026.

At the start of 2025, we updated you on the new Federal Government Agreement 2025–2029. Since then, some of the proposed bills have taken concrete shape and will come into effect from 2026. Other proposals have been dropped or postponed.

More products and services at a 12% VAT rate

From 1 January 2026, the VAT rate on certain products and services will increase from 6% to 12%, including:

• Hotels and campsites
• Takeaway meals
• Activities in the ‘entertainment’ category

It’s not yet clear which activities exactly fall under ‘entertainment’, but we can expect that cinema and festival tickets, among others, will become more expensive.

In addition, the VAT rate for non-alcoholic drinks in the hospitality sector will be reduced from 21% to 12%.

For you as a self-employed professional, this means you’ll need to adjust your VAT rates and prices to comply with the new rules. From the start of the new year, our app will automatically apply the correct VAT rate, giving you peace of mind that everything is accurate.

Shorter waiting period for the liquidation reserve

The rules for the so-called liquidation reserve, a tax mechanism that allows profits to remain in the company and be distributed later at a lower rate, are being adjusted. A new regime will apply to reserves set up after 31 December 2025.

• The waiting period is reduced from 5 to 3 years.
• The withholding tax on distribution increases from 5% to 6.5%, raising the effective tax rate from roughly 13.64% to around 15%.

⚠️ Note: If you want to distribute the reserve earlier or withdraw it before the waiting period ends, you may have to pay the higher rate.

Copyright: IT professionals back in, flat-rate costs may go

Starting in 2026, a few changes will also affect creative entrepreneurs.

• The good news: IT professionals will be able to invoice under the copyright scheme again.
• The bad news: flat-rate costs may be abolished. We are still waiting for official confirmation on this.

You can read more details about the copyright rules in 2026 here.

Peppol e-invoicing

Peppol, Peppol, Peppol… you’ve probably heard a lot about it.
From 2026, e-invoicing via Peppol will be mandatory for all B2B invoicing between Belgian self-employed professionals. Here are the key points:

• The obligation applies to all VAT-registered self-employed professionals issuing invoices to other VAT-registered Belgian businesses (including part-time self-employed and small businesses exempt from VAT due to turnover).
  
• Self-employed professionals exempt from VAT because of the nature of their profession (Article 44), such as most para-medical professions, are not required to follow the e-invoicing rules.
  
• Self-employed professionals who mainly work with private clients (B2C) are advised to register on the Peppol network so they can receive e-invoices from their suppliers.

• To use e-invoicing, you must register on the Peppol network (this can be done for free via Accountable) and have compliant e-invoicing software to send and receive e-invoices.

Accountable provides a full solution for this, even in the free plan.

The tax-free allowance will NOT be increased

The government agreement promised several measures from 2026 to reduce the tax burden, which was particularly relevant for sole proprietors. One of these measures was the gradual increase of the tax-free allowance.

Unfortunately, the planned increase from €10,910 in 2025 to €15,300 in 2029 has now been postponed… until 2030.

This is especially bad news for new self-employed professionals: many starters with a low income will now have to pay tax, whereas they would originally have been exempt. It’s a missed opportunity to provide fiscal relief in their first year and support them in launching their business.

New deadlines and thresholds

Finally, as with every new year, several important dates and thresholds for taxes, VAT, and social contributions will change in 2026.

No worries: in Accountable, all the new figures and deadlines will be automatically updated from 1 January. You don’t have to look anything up or make adjustments yourself.

Also read:

• Important tax deadlines for self-employed professionals in 2026
• Social contributions in 2026

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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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