{"id":27735,"date":"2026-07-03T09:25:37","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T07:25:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.accountable.eu\/help-center\/switching-between-a-complementary-activity-and-a-main-activity-what-changes-and-what-to-do\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T09:42:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T07:42:58","slug":"switching-between-a-complementary-activity-and-a-main-activity-what-changes-and-what-to-do","status":"publish","type":"help_center","link":"https:\/\/www.accountable.eu\/en-be\/help-center\/switching-between-a-complementary-activity-and-a-main-activity-what-changes-and-what-to-do\/","title":{"rendered":"Switching between a complementary activity and a main activity: what changes and what to do"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"no-margin\">\n<p class=\"no-margin\">\ud83d\udccc <b>In short:<\/b> your self-employed status in Belgium does not change on its own. If your situation changes, for example you start or stop a regular job alongside your self-employment, you need to notify your social insurance fund. This article explains what changes and how.<\/p>\n<p class=\"no-margin\">\n<hr>\n<p class=\"no-margin\">\n<h1 id=\"h_status_definitions\">\ud83d\udca1 What is the difference between the two?<\/h1>\n<p class=\"no-margin\">\n<p class=\"no-margin\"><b>Main activity:<\/b> self-employment is your main job. You have no other significant employment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"no-margin\">\n<p class=\"no-margin\"><b>Complementary activity:<\/b> you are self-employed on the side, while also working as an employee, being a student, or receiving a pension. To qualify as a complementary activity, you need to work at least half-time in your main job (at least 19 hours per week).<\/p>\n<p class=\"no-margin\">\n<div class=\"intercom-interblocks-table-container\">\n<table role=\"presentation\" style=\"border: 1px solid #c6c9c0; border-radius: 6px; border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #fed9db80; padding: 8px;\">\n<p class=\"intercom-align-center no-margin\">\ud83d\udea8 <b>Your status does not change automatically.<\/b> You must contact your social insurance fund (Acerta, Xerius, Liantis, Securex, Partena, etc.) and declare the change yourself.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"no-margin\">\n<hr>\n<p class=\"no-margin\">\n<h1 id=\"h_status_contributions\">\ud83d\udcb6 How does it affect what you pay in social contributions?<\/h1>\n<p class=\"no-margin\">\n<div class=\"intercom-interblocks-table-container\">\n<table role=\"presentation\" style=\"border: 1px solid #c6c9c0; border-radius: 6px; border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #e3e7fa80; padding: 8px;\">\n<p class=\"no-margin\">\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"background-color: #e3e7fa80; border-left: 1px solid #c6c9c0; padding: 8px;\">\n<p class=\"no-margin\"><b>Main activity<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"background-color: #e3e7fa80; border-left: 1px solid #c6c9c0; padding: 8px;\">\n<p class=\"no-margin\"><b>Complementary activity<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #feedaf80; border-top: 1px solid #c6c9c0; padding: 8px;\">\n<p class=\"no-margin\">Rate<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"background-color: #e8e8e880; border-left: 1px solid #c6c9c0; border-top: 1px solid #c6c9c0; padding: 8px;\">\n<p class=\"no-margin\">About 20.5% of your income<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"background-color: #e8e8e880; border-left: 1px solid #c6c9c0; border-top: 1px solid #c6c9c0; padding: 8px;\">\n<p class=\"no-margin\">About 20.5% of your income<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #feedaf80; border-top: 1px solid #c6c9c0; padding: 8px;\">\n<p class=\"no-margin\">Minimum per quarter<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"background-color: #e8e8e880; border-left: 1px solid #c6c9c0; border-top: 1px solid #c6c9c0; padding: 8px;\">\n<p class=\"no-margin\">About \u20ac890<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"background-color: #e8e8e880; border-left: 1px solid #c6c9c0; border-top: 1px solid #c6c9c0; padding: 8px;\">\n<p class=\"no-margin\">Very low or none below \u20ac1,922\/year<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #feedaf80; border-top: 1px solid #c6c9c0; padding: 8px;\">\n<p class=\"no-margin\">Social protection<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"background-color: #e8e8e880; border-left: 1px solid #c6c9c0; border-top: 1px solid #c6c9c0; padding: 8px;\">\n<p class=\"no-margin\">Full (pension, sick pay, family benefits)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"background-color: #e8e8e880; border-left: 1px solid #c6c9c0; border-top: 1px solid #c6c9c0; padding: 8px;\">\n<p class=\"no-margin\">Limited, you rely on your employee rights<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"intercom-interblocks-table-container\">\n<table role=\"presentation\" style=\"border: 1px solid #c6c9c0; border-radius: 6px; border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #e3e7fa80; padding: 8px;\">\n<p class=\"intercom-align-center no-margin\">\u2139\ufe0f As a complementary activity self-employed person, your contributions generally <b>do not build up pension or sickness rights.<\/b> This only changes if you earn more than about \u20ac17.374,08 from your self-employed activity.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"no-margin\">\n<hr>\n<p class=\"no-margin\">\n<h1 id=\"h_status_primostarter\">\ud83d\ude80 Switching to main activity? You may pay less at the start<\/h1>\n<p class=\"no-margin\">\n<p class=\"no-margin\">If you switch from complementary activity to main activity and were not registered as main activity in the past 5 years, you may qualify as a <b>primostarter (starter reduction).<\/b> This means lower contributions for your first 4 quarters, around <b>\u20ac460 per quarter<\/b> instead of \u20ac890, while still building full social rights.<\/p>\n<p class=\"no-margin\">\n<hr>\n<p class=\"no-margin\">\n<h1 id=\"h_status_tax\">\ud83d\udcca How does it affect your tax?<\/h1>\n<p class=\"no-margin\">\n<p class=\"no-margin\">As a complementary activity self-employed person, your self-employed income is added on top of your salary and taxed at your highest tax rate, often 40 to 50%. It is important to keep this in mind when setting your rates as a freelancer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"no-margin\">\n<hr>\n<p class=\"no-margin\">\n<h1 id=\"h_status_steps\">\ud83d\udc49 What to do when switching status<\/h1>\n<p class=\"no-margin\">\n<ol>\n<li>\n<p class=\"no-margin\"><b>Contact your social insurance fund<\/b> and tell them about the change and the date it takes effect.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"no-margin\"><b>Recalculate your quarterly contributions<\/b> to avoid a surprise regularisation bill later.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"no-margin\"><b>Check whether you qualify for the starter reduction<\/b> if switching to main activity.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p class=\"no-margin\">\n<div class=\"intercom-interblocks-table-container\">\n<table role=\"presentation\" style=\"border: 1px solid #c6c9c0; border-radius: 6px; border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #feedaf80; padding: 8px;\">\n<p class=\"intercom-align-center no-margin\">\ud83d\udca1 Not sure whether you qualify as a complementary activity? Contact your social insurance fund or our tax coaches. Being registered in the wrong status can lead to extra costs later.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"no-margin\">\n<hr>\n<p class=\"no-margin\">\n<p class=\"no-margin\">Questions about your status? Our tax coaches are happy to help. \ud83d\ude0a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thinking of changing your self-employed status? This article explains the criteria, the impact on social contributions and tax, and the practical steps to take.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-27735","help_center","type-help_center","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Switching between a complementary activity and a main activity: what changes and what to do - Accountable<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.accountable.eu\/en-be\/help-center\/switching-between-a-complementary-activity-and-a-main-activity-what-changes-and-what-to-do\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Switching between a complementary activity and a main activity: what changes and what to do - Accountable\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Thinking of changing your self-employed status? 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