{"id":17704,"date":"2025-03-04T13:57:06","date_gmt":"2025-03-04T12:57:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.accountable.eu\/?p=17704"},"modified":"2026-03-18T14:19:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T13:19:40","slug":"tax-changes-for-self-employed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.accountable.eu\/en-be\/blog\/tax-changes-for-self-employed\/","title":{"rendered":"Tax changes for the self-employed in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Just as every new year brings good intentions, every new year brings some changes for the self-employed in Belgium. Want to know what\u2019s new? Here are the main changes in 2026 in terms of tax!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Welcome, e-invoicing!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The time has come: since 1 January 2026, Peppol e-invoicing has been the standard. All Belgian B2B invoices must now be sent electronically and in a structured format (such as XML) via the Peppol network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is currently a tolerance period of three months<\/a> (until March 2026) for self-employed people who are not yet fully compliant.<\/strong> Please note, the tolerance is only valid if you can demonstrate that you’ve made efforts to get your Peppol registration in order on time.<\/p>\n\n\n \n

\n \"check\"\n \n
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With Accountable, you can register your VAT number with Peppol for free in less than 2 minutes. Even in our permanently free plan, you can send and receive unlimited e-invoices.<\/p>\n

Create your first e-invoice for free now.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n\n\n\n

Tax bracket indexation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Do you have the status of natural person (i.e. a sole trader)? If so, your income is subject to personal income tax. Are you the director of a company? In this case too, the salary you pay yourself is taxed under the personal income tax regime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are the\u00a0tax brackets for the 2025 and 2026 income year<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/td>Income year 2025 (tax year 2026)<\/strong><\/td>Income year 2026 (tax year 2027)<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Tax bracket<\/strong><\/td>Income bracket<\/strong><\/td>Income bracket<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
25%<\/td>\u20ac0 – \u20ac16,320<\/td>\u20ac0 – \u20ac16,720<\/td><\/tr>
40%<\/td>\u20ac16,320 – \u20ac28,800<\/td>\u20ac16,720 – \u20ac29,510<\/td><\/tr>
45%<\/td>\u20ac28,800 – \u20ac49,840<\/td>\u20ac29,510 – \u20ac51,070<\/td><\/tr>
50%<\/td>> \u20ac49,840<\/td>> \u20ac51,070<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Advance payments for 2026 income tax<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although it\u2019s not mandatory to make advance tax payments, it\u2019s highly recommended. Because if you don’t, you\u2019ll be subject to an increase in the amount you have to pay.\u00a0Put simply: without advance payments, you\u2019ll end up paying 4.5% more in tax in the end.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u26a0\ufe0f Have you been self-employed for less than 3 years? If that\u2019s the case, this tax increase doesn\u2019t impact you<\/strong>, even if you choose not to make advance payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you make your advance payments before the deadlines mentioned below, you get a tax ‘bonus’ that effectively neutralises the increase, reducing it from 4.5% to 0%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/td>Payment deadline<\/strong><\/td>Tax benefit<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Q1<\/strong><\/td>before April 10th<\/td>6%<\/td><\/tr>
Q2<\/strong><\/td>before July 10th<\/td>5%<\/td><\/tr>
Q3<\/strong><\/td>before October 12th<\/td>4%<\/td><\/tr>
Q4<\/strong><\/td>before December 21st<\/td>3%<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udca1 Read more about advance payments here<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social contributions in 202<\/strong>6<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You pay a maximum of 20.5% of your net taxable income in social security contributions. <\/strong>The exact amount depends on your income, your professional status, and the admin fees charged by your social security fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Self-employed in a secondary occupation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n