If certain conditions are met, no income taxes and no social security contributions are due on allowances which are attributed as a ‘repayment of costs proper to the employer’.
The National Social Security Office has recently decided to increase the maximum lump-sum allowance which can be attributed as a cost proper to the employer for homeworking from 119.61 EUR to 122.01 EUR per month (exempt from social security contributions). The aim of such an allowance is to reimburse the employee for costs related to the home office such as heating, electricity or small office equipment. It is required that the employee works at home on a structural and regular basis.
The Belgian tax authorities also accept the payment of lump-sum allowances for homeworking as a tax-free cost proper to the employer, provided that certain conditions are met. Strictly speaking, they are not bound by the administrative guidelines of the National Social Security Office. However, in practice, the tax authorities (and specially the Ruling Commission which is – since May of this year – the only authority competent to grant a ruling on lump-sum costs proper to the employer) tends to bring their practice in line with the amount accepted for social security purposes.
