Note for the expatriates arriving in Belgium who will benefit from the special tax statute.

When you plan to come to work in Belgium you may find quite beneficial to seriously analyze your tax situation before your arrival taking into account that Belgium is a country with (very) high rates of taxation. For example as soon as you gain more than 32.500, 00 EUR each additional euro is taxed at 53, 50%.

Computations, in general, are carried out by considering that your family will also be established in Belgium with a non working spouse. Be attentive to the fact that if during a taxable period your family remains abroad even partially (1) and that you travel more than 25% of your time your Belgian taxes will be higher. Be also attentive to the fact that if your family remains abroad, that you travel less than 25% of your time and that your wife works abroad your Belgian taxes will be higher. In this last case your taxes will be higher as the fact that your wife works abroad decreases one of your Belgian tax deductions. Even if her foreign income is not taxed as such in Belgium one could view this Belgian approach as a way to tax indirectly the foreign earned income of your spouse.

Better to know.

Stephen G Hürner
Tax adviser


(1) This can be checked quite easily by the tax people as they have access to the data given by you when registering to the Commune of your stay (which is a legal obligation by the way).