Tax rules, decoded
Plain-language updates on the rules, rates and deadlines that decide how much a freelancer keeps. Written for one-person companies.
19 articles
- Remuneration8 min read
€600 a day: what a Belgian IT consultant actually keeps
A freelance developer billing €600/day over 220 days invoices €132,000. Depending only on how the money leaves the company, the same turnover ends up as €58,685 or €71,760 in your pocket. Here is the full money flow, computed by the same engine the optimizer runs.
- Remuneration7 min read
Sole trader or BV? The turnover where incorporating starts paying, for a developer
Everyone tells freelance developers to incorporate. On modelled 2026 rules the crossover sits near €75,000 of turnover — and below €65,000 a BV leaves you worse off once you count what it costs to run. The full table, computed rather than asserted.
- Compliance7 min read
Invoicing a foreign client as a Belgian developer: VAT, reverse charge and the listing everyone forgets
Remote work makes cross-border invoicing routine for IT freelancers — a Dutch scale-up, a German agency, a US startup. The VAT treatment differs for each, and the quarterly EU services listing catches people who got the invoice itself right.
- Expenses & deductions7 min read
The developer’s expense list: hardware, home office, and the deduction that is smaller than you think
A €4,000 machine, a home office, three monitors and a cloud bill. Which of these actually move your tax bill, by how much, and why the investment deduction returns far less than the headline percentage suggests.
- Expenses & deductions5 min read
Disallowed expenses: the costs your company pays but cannot fully deduct
Not every company cost is fully deductible. “Disallowed expenses” are added back to taxable profit — restaurant costs, certain car costs, fines and more. Knowing them protects your bottom line.
- Compliance4 min read
Tax return deadlines 2026: what freelancers must not miss
Personal and corporate tax returns have separate deadlines, and filing through an accountant usually extends them. A quick map of the 2026 filing calendar for freelancers and one-person companies.
- Pension building6 min read
VAPZ vs IPT vs POZ: the three pension pots for the self-employed
Belgian self-employed have three main supplementary pension tools — VAPZ, IPT and POZ. Each has different limits, tax treatment and who pays. Here is how they compare.
- Expenses & deductions4 min read
The home-office allowance: a small monthly tax-free payment
A company can pay its director a fixed monthly home-office allowance, tax-free within the official ceiling, to cover the cost of working from home. Simple, recurring, and often forgotten.
- Vehicle & mobility4 min read
Mileage allowance: reimburse professional trips in your own car, tax-free
If you use your private car for professional trips, your company can pay a per-kilometre allowance that is tax-free within the official rate. Here is how it works and why it is often overlooked.
- Remuneration5 min read
The €50,000 salary rule: paying 20% corporate tax instead of 25%
A one-person company only keeps the reduced 20% corporate tax rate on its first tranche of profit if the director draws a minimum salary — raised to €50,000 for income year 2026. Here is why paying yourself more can cost the company less, and the new limit on benefits-in-kind.
- Expenses & deductions5 min read
The reformed investment deduction: a bigger break on the right assets
The investment deduction lets a company deduct extra on qualifying investments. A reform reshaped the rates into a clearer three-track system — with higher percentages for green and digital assets.
- Compliance4 min read
The VAT exemption for small businesses: when it helps and when it hurts
Small businesses under a turnover threshold can opt for the VAT exemption scheme — no VAT charged, no VAT returns. For B2B freelancers it is often the wrong choice. Here is why.
- Dividends & reserves5 min read
The liquidation reserve in 2026: new reserves now cost more to release
Booking profit into a liquidation reserve still beats the 30% standard dividend rate, but the exit cost rose for reserves booked from 2026: the withholding after the 3-year wait is now 9.8%, not 5%. Here is how the vintage-by-vintage rules work.
- Tax-free benefits4 min read
Meal, eco and gift vouchers for company directors in 2026: the new €10 ceiling
A one-person company can award its director meal, eco and gift vouchers that arrive almost tax-free. From 1 January 2026 the meal voucher face value can rise to €10 (up from €8) — here are the exact 2026 ceilings and why they beat an equivalent raise.
- Compliance6 min read
Self-employed social contributions: how the provisional-then-final system works
Self-employed social contributions are paid provisionally on old income, then regularized when the real income is known. Understanding the lag is key to avoiding a nasty year-three bill.
- Dividends & reserves6 min read
VVPR-bis in 2026: the reduced dividend rate rises to 18%
The VVPR-bis regime lets a Belgian one-person company distribute dividends at a reduced withholding instead of 30% — if the shares have seasoned. From 1 July 2026 that reduced rate rose from 15% to 18%. Here is who qualifies, when the clock runs out, and what changed.
- Vehicle & mobility6 min read
Company car in 2026: how the benefit-in-kind (VAA) is taxed
A company car is taxed personally as a benefit-in-kind based on the catalogue value, CO₂ emissions and the car’s age. Here is how the VAA works in 2026 and why an electric car changes the maths.
- Compliance5 min read
Mandatory B2B e-invoicing from 2026: what freelancers must do
From 1 January 2026, structured electronic invoicing between Belgian VAT-registered businesses is mandatory. Here is what a one-person company needs to send and receive Peppol invoices.
- Remuneration6 min read
Copyright income for IT freelancers: back in from 2026, at half the advantage
Copyright income (auteursrechten) is taxed at a favourable 15% movable-income rate. IT was excluded in 2023, but from 1 January 2026 software developers regain access to the regime — though a companion change removes the lump-sum cost deduction for IT, roughly halving the benefit. Here is where IT freelancers stand now.