Briefing

What does Peppol cost? Free options compared (Belgium)

You pay for software, not the network. €0 is possible; paid plans start at €3.99 a month excl. VAT.

No public tool; entry prices from €0 to €20.00 a month excl. VAT, each per a different unit. 120% deduction for 2024 to 2027.

Belgian VAT e-reporting from 2028: what the draft law says

Not law yet. File the 2026 client listing as usual, and make sure Peppol sending and receiving both work.

Preliminary draft of 18 July 2026 rewrites art. 53quinquies VAT Code. Start 1 January 2028, conditional; data and deadlines by Royal Decree.

Peppol invoicing for contractors: reverse charge and 6% VAT

On €10,000 of works: €10,000 with no VAT to a main contractor over Peppol, or €10,600 at 6% to a homeowner.

Art. 20 §3 KB no. 1 clause in BT-22/BT-120, category AE, buyer VAT ID mandatory (BR-AE-02). 6% B2C out of scope.

Entrepreneur deduction 2027: 10% of profit, cap about €650

10% of your profit off your taxable income from 2027, up to about €650. On €40,000 of profit, €260 to €325 less tax.

Art. 81 WIB 92 restored: 10% of profits and benefits after losses, base cap €311 from AJ 2028, €415 from AJ 2030.

VAPZ 2026: pay by 31 December, new maximum €4,251.39

You can pay more into your VAPZ for 2026: up to €4,251.39, or €4,891.60 for a social VAPZ. It must arrive by 31 December.

Law of 20 July 2026, BS 12.10.2026: art. 44 at 8.50%, art. 42, 3° opens secondary activity at €1,922.16. Applies to 2026 contributions.

Belgian tax calendar 2027: VAT and tax deadlines, self-employed

VAT, social contributions, advance payments and annual accounts in 2027, month by month. Quarterly VAT: 23 April and 23 July.

Rules applied to 2027, weekend handling per obligation, and what the FPS has and has not published for AJ 2028.

Advance tax payments 2026: no surcharge for Belgian self-employed

No more increase for not prepaying. On €12,000 of tax, prepaying earns €180 by 21 December or €120 by 20 February.

Art. 157 WIB 92 now covers directors only. The bonification stays, and a new VA5 window pays 1% for AJ 2027.

Withholding duty on self-employed social debts (Belgium): 15%

From 30 October, a contractor listed for social-contribution debts receives 15% less on every invoice. Clients have to check before each payment.

Art. 15/1 KB no. 38 adds a third withholding duty next to art. 403 WIB 92 and art. 30bis: 15% excl. VAT to the RSVZ from 30 October 2026, never more than 50% combined.

Electric Company Cars: 100% Deductible Until 2027, and What the Deadline Is Actually Worth

Ordering before New Year is worth €566 to €879 over five years. The four-figure deadline is 2029.

The article 66 step-down, the date that fixes the rate, and what belongs on the file.

The Belgian e-invoicing obligation, in law: scope, format, fines and the 120% deduction

Three instruments, one obligation. Who is in, what counts as compliant, what it costs to get wrong, and four things widely repeated that are not the law.

Dokus Launches Invite-Only Beta

The beta opened by invitation on 24 August 2026. What was in it, and where the current terms live.

Meerwaardebelasting: the opt-out choice, the 31 August ceiling, and the bank cut-offs that came first

You have a choice about how your 2026 portfolio gains are taxed. The legal deadline is 31 August; your bank may have closed it in May.

Art. 265/1 WIB 92: the choice must reach the withholding agent by 31 August 2026 at the latest, but art. 85/1 KB/WIB 92 lets each institution set an earlier cut-off.

The Wrong VAT Payment Notices of August 2026: A Triage Procedure for June and Q2 Files

If the VAT left your account on time, do not pay it twice. If it did not, pay now.

Match each notice to its period and to the provision-account movement before answering it — the waiver covers the fault, not the debt.

Annual accounts 2025: the late-filing surcharge starts on 1 September

Your 2025 accounts were due 31 July. From 1 September, being late starts costing money on a fixed scale.

The surcharge ladder opens 1 September: €151 / €504, then €227 / €755, then €453 / €1,510 — by the model filed, not the size class.

The director's minimum remuneration for assessment year 2027 is EUR 51,000 — not the EUR 50,000 in circulation

A director has to draw EUR 51,000 this financial year or the company can lose the reduced rate. The widely quoted EUR 50,000 is wrong.

Art. 215, 3rd para, 4° WIB 92: base EUR 25,000, coefficient 2.0592, applicable amount EUR 51,000 for AY2027 — plus a separate excessive-benefits exclusion ground.

Receiving Is an Obligation Too: Deduction and Fines Since 1 April 2026

Your invoices go out fine. The question is whether the ones addressed to you ever arrive.

Deduction, the €1,500 / €3,000 / €5,000 scale and the three-month reset, read from the receiving side.

ViDA: What the EU VAT in the Digital Age Reform Means for Belgian Businesses

ViDA changes cross-border invoicing from 2030. Belgium is already mostly prepared.

ViDA adds EU digital reporting and cross-border e-invoicing on top of Belgium's domestic mandate.

Copyright Income Tax 2026: IT Freelancers Are Back In, but the Deal Is Different

Software income is back in the 15% regime — with a smaller net benefit than 2022.

Art. 17 CIR reopens to software from income year 2026; the 50%/25% flat-rate cost deduction is gone without an artist certificate.

The New Belgian Investment Deduction: Basic 10%, Digital 20%, Thematic 40%

10%, 20% or 40% back on the same purchase — which one applies is decided before you invest.

Art. 68–77 CIR restructured into three pillars for assets from 1 January 2025; the thematic 40% requires certificates.

DAC7: What Airbnb, Uber, Vinted and Bolt Report About Your Income, and What You Still Have to Declare

Platforms report what they paid you. What the income is, and how it is taxed, is still your return to get right.

Art. 321quater–321decies CIR: four reportable activities, the 30-sale / €2,000 exclusion for goods, reporting by 31 January. Reporting does not decide classification.

VVPRbis Dividends: How Belgian Small Company Owners Pay Themselves at 18% — and What Changed in July 2026

The 15% era ended on 30 June 2026 — dividends attributed or made payable since then withhold at 18%.

Programme Law of 30 May 2026: the VVPRbis rate is 18% on dividends attributed or made payable from 1 July 2026, aligned with the liquidation reserve.

The Death of the Fossil-Fuel Company Car: What's Deductible in 2026 and the Mobility Budget Alternative

A new petrol or diesel company car now deducts at 0%. The decision runs on drivetrain and date.

Art. 66 CIR: 0% for new combustion cars from 1 January 2026; PHEVs only for the self-employed; EVs step down from 2027.

What-If Scenarios: How to Model a Business Decision Before Committing

One decision, modelled start to finish: the assumptions, three outcomes side by side, and the break-even point.

The Developer's Guide to Belgian Social Contributions (Sociale Bijdragen)

What you pay now, why a later bill can differ, and how to set money aside for both.

From Spreadsheet to Financial OS: One Invoice, Before and After

One invoice, one partial payment, one question, followed through a spreadsheet and through Dokus.

Belgian Banking Integration: Why Your Financial Tool Should Talk to Your Bank

How a bank connection works, the review it leaves you with, and what to check before you connect.

Do Belgian Freelancers Need an Accountant? What Software Can (and Can't) Replace

Which tasks software takes over, which stay with an accountant, and how to decide by the task rather than the price.

Peppol E-Invoicing in Belgium: A Setup and Stabilisation Checklist for Freelancers

Sending, receiving, the identifier, a live test, and who watches for failures. The mandate has been in force since January.

My Client Never Received My Peppol Invoice: A Troubleshooting Guide for Belgian Businesses

Your invoice left via Peppol and never arrived. The five failure modes, and how to fix each.

The 2026 Cash Flow Calendar: Every Tax, VAT, and Social Contribution Deadline Belgian Freelancers Need to Plan For

Every 2026 deadline — VAT, social contributions, voorafbetalingen — month by month, with the amounts.

Five VAT Deduction Mistakes Belgian Businesses Make, and How to Avoid Them

Five VAT rules that work differently from what people expect, with worked examples and the exceptions.

Why Belgian Freelancers Get Surprise Social Contribution Bills — And How to Avoid the Cash Flow Shock

Contributions are billed on income from three years ago. The correction arrives later — and it is rarely small.

Working With Your Belgian Accountant: A Handoff Checklist for Documents, Bank Evidence and Timing

Documents, bank evidence, open questions and timing: what to hand over, and when.

Belgian VAT Filing: A Quarterly Guide for Freelancers

The official 2026 dates, what to file, and what to have ready at quarter-end.

From Receipt to Record: Capture, Check, Review

One invoice through capture, check and review, and where your judgement still comes in.