Tax Insights

On November 9, 2021, Belgium and France concluded a new double tax treaty (hereinafter: "the new treaty"). The old treaty - still in force at the moment - is one of the oldest treaties concluded by Belgium (1964) (hereinafter: "the old treaty"). The new treaty revises the old one on a few points, including the lump-sum foreign tax.

Since January 1st 2022, the scope of the VAT exemption for (para)medical cares has been amended. End of 2021, the Ministry of Finance has published extended guidelines (Circular Letter 2021/C/144 of 20 December 2021) in which tolerances are also foreseen to give practitioners time to comply with their new VAT obligations.

6% VAT on re-construction Extended beyond 2022 and to include victims of flooding VAT certificate abolished

As a consequence of the federal budget agreement, the Belgian government has decided to adapt the existing special tax regime for foreign executives with a new tax regime that will enter into force on January 1, 2022. Please note that this new regime still must be submitted to the Belgian Parliament who can still make adjustments to the changes mentioned below.

The costs made by an employee who travels within Belgium for professional purposes, can - with due respect of the conditions - be compensated by the employer on a lump sum basis.

As from January 1st 2022 the material and personal scope of the VAT exemption related to medical services will change significantly.  What does this mean in practice? 

As every year, the Belgian tax authorities have issued guidelines on the preparation and the deadline for submitting the 281.50 forms relating to certain expenses incurred by companies and self-employed persons established in Belgium. The deadline is 29 June 2021 for the 2020 income (tax year 2021).

After the entry into force of the Royal Decree of 23 September 2020 amending the Royal Decree of 30 July 2018 on the operating modalities of the UBO register, it is now mandatory to upload every document in the UBO register that shows that the information in the register is adequate, accurate and up-to-date.

In the context of the current COVID crisis, the government has taken a number of VAT measures to give companies the necessary breathing space and to promote liquidity. An overview follows. 

With the upcoming new VAT rules for e-commerce entering into force in all EU Member States as from 1st July 2021, the registration for the new OSS returns in Belgium is open as from 1 April 2021. 

The Brussels Region offers support to companies from certain sectors that were obliged to close on November 2, 2020 due to the corona crisis. To be able to claim the premium, certain conditions must be met.

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic last year, working from home has become the ‘new normal’ for many employees. When working from home, the employee incurs a number of costs for setting up or using a home office, for electricity and heating or in some cases for using his own computer for professional purposes.

By 31 March 2021, certain actions need to be taken from a VAT perspective. We list these here below.

In order to deal with the financial and economic difficulties faced by Belgian companies in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government adopted a series of support measures to promote the liquidity and solvency of companies and the self-employed in Belgium. 

On February 11, 2021, the plenary session of the House of Representatives approved a draft law that will put an end to the unequal treatment of rental income from foreign real estate. Belgium has already been condemned for this by the European Court of Justice.