News articles written by Nicolas de Limbourg

Business travel within Belgium: new indexed amounts for lump-sum cost reimbursements

15 November 2018

If certain conditions are met, employers are allowed to make lump-sum payments, which are tax-free in the hands of the employees, in order to reimburse these employees for expenses incurred due to business travel within Belgium. As of 1 October 2018 a tax-free meal allowance of EUR 17.06 (instead of EUR 16.73 per day) is

Transitional law for expats under the current Dutch 30% ruling

30 October 2018

In our Newsflashes of 24 April 2018 and 30 May 2018, we already referred to the announcement of the Dutch government that it will reduce the maximum duration of the 30% ruling, notably from 8 to 5 years, as of 1 January 2019. This proposed legislation to reduce the Dutch expat ruling will also apply to

New daily lump-sum allowances list as from 6 July 2018

21 September 2018

An employer/company can pay daily lump-sum allowances for foreign business travel to employees or company directors in order to reimburse certain expenses. If the lump-sum reimbursements for short-term business trips abroad (not exceeding 30 calendar days) are determined on the basis of the list of allowances paid by the Federal Public Department of Foreign Affairs

Company provided housing: anticipated change in tax law

8 August 2018

When a company puts a house or an apartment at the disposal of one of its directors or employees, a taxable benefit in kind arises in the hands of the beneficiary. Typically, the calculation of this benefit in kind depends on whether the housing is provided by an individual (100/60 x indexed cadastral income) or

New lump-sum amount for reimbursement of business use of private car

8 August 2018

Employees using a privately-owned car for business purposes can now be reimbursed a lump-sum amount of EUR 0.3573 per kilometer. Costs that an employee incurs when using a privately-owned car for business purposes can be reimbursed by the employer free of income tax and exempt from social security contributions. Repayment can be made on a

Expected changes in employers’ tax reporting obligations of some equity incentives

26 July 2018

When foreign headquartered companies grant stock options to employees of their Belgian subsidiaries, such option grants, where taxable at grant, are ALWAYS reportable by the Belgian employing subsidiary on the employee’s individual statement 281.10. This reporting obligation is due irrespective of whether such subsidiary is involved in the option grant or expenses the stock option

Dual Pension Savings in Belgium – Practice Note

17 June 2018

A dual system for pension savings has been introduced in Belgium by the law of 26 March 2018 (Official Gazette of 30 March 2018).  Recently, the Belgian tax authorities issued a practice note (2018/C/72) which provides clarification and specific examples in this respect. The existing system for pension savings (pensioensparen / épargne-pension) is well known in

Dutch 30% tax ruling: from 8 to 5 years – update

30 May 2018

In our Newsflash of 24 April 2018 we already referred to the announcement of the Dutch government that it will reduce the maximum duration of the 30% ruling, notably from 8 to 5 years. It is anticipated that this reduced application will be applicable as of January 2019 for both new and existing employment situations