Withholding tax: FPS Finance website, source 2021

What is withholding tax?
This is a withholding tax owed by employers and companies on the remuneration they pay or allocate to their employees and company directors.
Withholding tax is also due on unemployment benefits, sickness insurance benefits, pensions, replacement income, etc.
The payer of the withholding tax can deduct this tax from the amounts they pay and remit it to the State. Subsequently, this withholding tax is creditable against the income tax return of the income recipient.

Who is responsible for declaring and paying the withholding tax on their professional income?
Any debtor who pays or allocates income in Belgium that is subject to withholding tax must declare and pay this withholding tax.

Benefits of any kind

Benefits of any kind: FPS Finance website, source 2021

What is a benefit of any kind?
A benefit in kind is an advantage that an employer or company grants to a member of its staff or to one of its managers (company car, use of a building, loan of money at an advantageous rate, etc.).
This benefit in kind is considered professional income. The employee or company director who receives it will therefore have to pay tax on the amount corresponding to the value of the benefit in kind.
Note: Benefits in kind should not be confused with social benefits (for example: low-value collective benefits, individual benefits that are not considered remuneration, minor perks or occasional gifts unrelated to one's profession, etc.). These social benefits are tax-exempt for the recipient, meaning they will not be taxed.
The same applies to benefits explicitly exempted by law, such as meal vouchers, sports/culture vouchers, and eco-vouchers. These benefits are also not taxed for the recipient, provided they meet certain conditions.

In which document should the employer or company mention the taxable benefit?
The taxable amount of the benefit in kind must be included by the employer or company on the individual tax form 281.10 (employee) or 281.20 (company manager).
It is therefore included in the beneficiary's taxable income.

Is the taxable benefit subject to withholding tax?
The taxable benefit is indeed subject to the rules of withholding tax.

Excerpts from articles provided for informational purposes, originating from external sources that may no longer be adequate.

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