Tax & VATRegulatory
Entrepreneur deduction 2027: 10% of profit, cap about €650
From 2027 income, Belgian sole traders deduct 10% of their profit from taxable income, capped at about €650, rising to about €900 from 2029 income.
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What matters now
- Effective now
- Nothing yet for 2026 income. The deduction applies from 2027 income (assessment year 2028): 10% of profits and benefits, capped at about €650 after indexation.
- Next change
- From 2029 income (assessment year 2030) the base cap rises from €311 to €415, about €900 after indexation.
- Main impact
- The cap is reached at about €6,500 of profit. A deduction of €650 saves about €260 at a 40% marginal rate, €325 at 50%.
- Action today
- Nothing to file. Count the deduction in your 2027 tax estimate, and check the exact cap when the FPS Finance publishes the indexed amounts.
Sources
- 01Law of 15 July 2026 reforming personal income tax, Belgian Official Gazette 29.07.2026, numac 2026005724, Title 11, art. 57 to 62
- 02Chamber of Representatives, bill DOC 56 1243/001: explanatory memorandum and impact analysis (indexed cap estimates)
- 03Art. 23, 78 to 81, 129/1 and 198quater WIB 92 / CIR 92
From 2027 income, sole traders and liberal professions get a new entrepreneur deduction (ondernemersaftrek): 10% of their profit comes off their taxable income, up to a cap of about €650. On €40,000 of profit that is €650 less taxable income, worth roughly €260 to €325 in tax depending on your bracket. Nothing changes for 2026 income.
The deduction comes from the law of 15 July 2026 reforming personal income tax. It applies from assessment year 2028, which means the profit you make in 2027. From 2029 income the cap rises to about €900.
Who gets the entrepreneur deduction?
Everyone taxed on profits or benefits in personal income tax: sole traders, and liberal professions such as doctors, architects, consultants or translators working in their own name. It makes no difference whether this is your main activity or a side activity next to a salary.
Not covered:
- Company directors, on the remuneration they take from their company. That remuneration is not profit or benefits, and companies themselves are excluded too.
- Helping spouses, on the income their partner allocates to them. A helping spouse who also has profits or benefits of their own gets the deduction on those.
- Helpers who assist or stand in for a self-employed person without an employment contract.
- Attendance fees, compensation that replaces lost profit, and income that is taxed separately at its own rate.
How is it calculated?
10% of your net profit: what is left after your business costs, including your social contributions, and after any professional losses carried forward. The cap applies per person, per year.
| Income year | Cap in the law (base amount) | Cap after indexation |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 (assessment year 2028) | €311 | about €650 |
| 2028 (assessment year 2029) | €311 | indexed, not yet estimated |
| 2029 onward (assessment year 2030) | €415 | about €900 |
The law sets base amounts that are indexed every year. The figures of about €650 and about €900 are the government's own estimates in the impact analysis of the bill. The exact cap follows when the FPS Finance publishes the indexed amounts for the year.
With a cap of about €650 you reach it at €6,500 of profit. From 2029 income, at about €9,000.
If you file jointly with a partner, each of you gets your own deduction on your own profit.
What is it worth in tax?
The deduction lowers your taxable income, so it saves tax at your highest rate, the marginal rate.
Example 1. A sole trader in main activity makes €40,000 of net profit in 2027. 10% is €4,000, so the cap stops the deduction at about €650. Taxable profit becomes €39,350.
Example 2. Someone with a side activity next to a salary makes €5,000 of profit in 2027. 10% is €500, which is under the cap, so the full €500 comes off.
| Your marginal rate | €500 deducted | €650 deducted |
|---|---|---|
| 25% | €125 | €162.50 |
| 40% | €200 | €260 |
| 45% | €225 | €292.50 |
| 50% | €250 | €325 |
These are estimates, not your assessment. Which rate applies depends on your total taxable income, and the brackets for 2027 are indexed too. The municipal surcharge comes on top, so the real saving is slightly higher. If your total income stays below the tax-free amount, there is no tax for the deduction to reduce.
Do I have to apply for it?
The law asks for no application. It builds the deduction into the way your net profit is calculated, so it follows from the profit you declare. The return for 2027 income is filed in 2028, and whether that form gets its own line for the deduction is not known yet.
What should I do now?
- Nothing for your 2026 return or your 2026 tax. The deduction starts with 2027 income.
- When you estimate your 2027 tax, for example to decide on advance payments, take up to about €650 off your taxable profit.
- If you are weighing a company against staying a sole trader, count it on the sole-trader side. A director's remuneration does not get it, and the minimum director's pay comes from the same law.
Title 11 of the law of 15 July 2026 (art. 57 to 62) restores art. 81 WIB 92 as an entrepreneur deduction (ondernemersaftrek): 10% of profits and benefits (art. 23, §1, 1° and 2°) after deduction of professional losses, capped at a base amount of €311 from assessment year 2028 and €415 from assessment year 2030. The government puts the indexed caps at about €650 for 2027 income and about €900 for 2029 income.
Which articles, and from when?
The law of 15 July 2026 reforming personal income tax, Belgian Official Gazette of 29 July 2026, numac 2026005724, Title 11:
- Art. 57 restores art. 23, §2, 4° WIB 92: profits and benefits determined under 1° to 3° are reduced by the deduction of art. 81.
- Art. 58 and 59 restore subsection D, "Ondernemersaftrek", and art. 81 itself.
- Art. 60 replaces €311 with €415 in art. 81, fourth paragraph.
- Art. 61 restores art. 198quater: the deduction does not apply in corporate income tax.
- Art. 62: art. 57 to 59 and 61 enter into force on 31 December 2026 and apply from assessment year 2028. Art. 60 enters into force on 31 December 2028 and applies from assessment year 2030.
Art. 103, 3° adds art. 81, fourth paragraph, to art. 129/1, so the cap is prorated where the taxable period is not a full calendar year for a reason other than death (from assessment year 2028, art. 105).
Assessment year 2027 (2026 income) is not affected. Some secondary sources give a different start year; the text of art. 62 is unambiguous.
What is the base?
Art. 81, second paragraph: 10% of profits and benefits after deduction of professional losses under art. 78 to 80. The explanatory memorandum puts it as profits and benefits after business expenses and losses, so the base is net of social contributions (art. 52, 7°).
Excluded from the base:
- compensation for a temporary loss of profits or benefits;
- attendance fees;
- the allowances of art. 27, second paragraph, 5° and 6°;
- profits or benefits of a person who assists or replaces a self-employed person without an employment contract (helpers under art. 6 of RD no. 38);
- for the helping spouse, the income allocated under art. 86;
- income taxed separately under art. 171.
Income allocated to a helping spouse under art. 86 comes off the allocating partner's base before their own losses are set off, according to the memorandum. A helping spouse with own profits or benefits is entitled on those.
In a joint assessment the deduction is computed per taxpayer, before art. 87 to 89 and 129. Each partner has their own cap. Via art. 235, 1° it also applies in non-resident tax.
Company directors are out of scope: their remuneration falls under art. 23, §1, 3° and 4°, not 1° and 2°.
What is the cap?
| Assessment year | Income year | Base amount (art. 81, fourth paragraph) | Indexed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2028 | 2027 | €311 | about €650 (impact analysis) |
| 2029 | 2028 | €311 | not estimated |
| 2030 onward | 2029 onward | €415 | about €900 (impact analysis) |
For reference, the memorandum gives €620 as the indexed equivalent of €311 for assessment year 2026. The cap is reached at a base of about €6,500 for 2027 income and about €9,000 for 2029 income. Use €650 and €900 as planning figures only until the FPS Finance publishes the indexed amounts.
Worked figures
| Client | Net profit 2027 | 10% | Deduction | At 40% | At 50% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main activity | €40,000 | €4,000 | about €650 (cap) | €260 | €325 |
| Side activity next to a salary | €5,000 | €500 | €500 | €200 | €250 |
Tax effect before municipal surcharge, at the client's marginal rate. No effect where total taxable income stays under the tax-free amount.
What is still open?
- The return form for assessment year 2028 has not been published. The law requires no claim; the deduction is part of determining net profits under art. 23, §2.
- The law does not amend the social-contribution rules. Whether the deduction will flow into the income used for social contributions is not addressed in the law, and we have found no position on it.
- The law does not amend the tax credit for low activity income (art. 289ter WIB 92). Whether the lower net profit flows into that credit's calculation is not addressed.
For the file
- No effect on assessment year 2027 returns.
- Build the deduction into estimates of 2027 tax, including advance payments, at the planning figure of about €650.
- In incorporation advice, count it on the sole-trader side only. For a client with both a sole-trader activity and a directorship, it applies to the profits or benefits alone. The director's minimum pay is set by the same law.