You have a foreign company, and you are thinking about expanding your business to Belgium? The Belgian tax and work legislation might seem complicated and daunting, but not to worry! Our payroll experts know all the ins and outs of the Belgian legislation and can handle the entire Belgian payroll administration for you.

You can count on us for:

• Wage calculations: calculate net wages and deductions, index the wages and take the collective bargaining agreements into account.
• Payroll: submitting all necessary legal and administrative documents, such as payroll administration and payments of the social security, to the government.
• Personnel administration: we guarantee that all your mandatory administrative formalities as an employer will be carried out as required.
• Payment: we make sure that all your employees receive their wage on time and we submit all the required declarations to the authorities.

You can rely on Acerta for flawless payroll calculations, correct social and personnel administration and timely payments. You can keep your focus on the core business of your organization. Our experienced payroll administrators take care of your payroll.

Do you only want to outsource a part of your payroll process, or do you want us to take care of your complete personnel administration? We can support you any way you prefer. Contact us below and together we will work out a service perfectly suited to your needs.

Leave your entire Belgian payroll administration to Acerta and put your mind to rest. Our consultants know all the complexities of employment laws and are experts in Belgian payroll administration. Based on the salary data you provide, we ensure correct payroll calculations while taking into account all legal obligations. We calculate social security contributions, payroll withholding tax, contribution funds and the like and invoice you on behalf of the government. 

We take care of all the necessary formalities to start up as an employer in Belgium. We register your company with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises, assist you in your affiliation with the work accident and legal assistance insurances, register you with the social insurance fund and the medical service for prevention and protection at work. 

Through our extensive network, we connect you with experts on starting up a business in Belgium. Acerta acts as an intermediary to insurance companies (mandatory insurances), accounting firms (financial plan) and notaries to draw up and deposit the deed of incorporation for your company.

For certain business activities, special permits are required (e.g. food, catering...). As your partner, we arrange all necessary permits for you.

Your employees have questions about their pay, or they want to get an insight in their rights? Their situation has changed and they want to change their personal data? Our employee contact center takes care of all their questions and requests. They can contact us directly by phone or e-mail, or they can consult our online tool.

If you employ Belgian or foreign employees (nationality does not matter) in Belgium, they might be eligible for a beneficial special tax status. This status must be applied to each employee individually.

When the incoming taxpayer/researcher has a tax residency certificate of another country during the employment in Belgium, the taxpayer/researcher is treated as a non resident of Belgium when it comes to taxation. When such a certificate is not available, the taxpayer/researcher is treated as a resident for Belgian tax purposes. A part of the income is considered an expense allowance. For both the employer and the incoming taxpayer/researcher this can imply substantial benefits.

In order to take advantage of this special tax regime certain requirements must be met, both by the employee and by the employer. The employee is either hired directly from abroad by a Belgian company, a Belgian establishment of a foreign company or a non-profit organisation. Or the employee is assigned by a foreign company (belonging to a multinational group) to a Belgian company, a Belgian establishment of the multinational group or a non-profit organisation.

Incoming taxpayers as well as incoming researchers within a 60 month period prior to the start of the employment in Belgium:

• May not have lived within a distance of less than 150 kilometers from the Belgian border
• May not have been taxed as a resident of Belgium
• May not have been subject to Belgian non-resident taxation with respect to professional income.

For incoming taxpayers a minimum annual salary (including benefits in kind) applies of at least 75.000 EUR.

Incoming researchers must meet a certain degree requirement (master or doctor in specific scientific fields) or have at least 10 years of relevant professional experience. At least 80% of their work must be spent on R&D. Only employees, not company directors, are eligible for the special tax regime for incoming taxpayers.

The special tax regime must be requested for each employee individually and comes with quite a few administrative challenges.

Do you want to know whether employing an incoming taxpayer or incoming researcher executive could be interesting for you? The international experts at Acerta can assist you with all your questions. You can count on us for:

• Analysis of your specific situation and customised advice
• Calculations and simulations of the costs and benefits
• Taking care of all formalities

You are considering hiring foreign employees to work in your Belgian organization? Make sure you pay attention to the procedures regarding work documents and permits in case it concerns non-EU nationals.

Since 2019 it is possible to arrange the work and residence permit of non-EU citizens with one application, called the single permit. This single permit simplifies administration which might make it more attractive for you to recruit foreign staff. Foreign employees must carry their work document and permit with them at all times in order to be allowed to work in Belgium. EU citizens are exempted from these regulations. They are free to work in any of the EU member states.

So how does the single permit work? The basic rules are the same for everyone but, depending in the Region in Belgium, more specific rules and deviations might apply.
The Flemish rules are as follows:

If your non-EU employee is staying for less than 90 days, the combined permit procedure does not apply. In that case you will have to rely on the paper version. The combined permit is only valid if you recruit a non-EU citizen for a period of more than 90 days. You can submit a single permit application to the regional migration service for your future employee. On the website of werk.be you can view per category which documents you need to submit with such a request.

You want to hire someone with a foreign nationality but you are not sure that everything is taken care of? Contact Acerta for advice.

The Belgian payroll administration and legislation regarding employment is a complicated matter. Employing in Belgium as a foreign employer implies even more rules to comply with. To make sure that you have all administration legally in order, you can rely on Acerta’s audit on your cross-border employment.