[...] From 1919 to 1963, Belgium did not levy a uniform tax on total income. The income of individuals and corporations was taxed according to a schedular method based on its source. [...]

2. “The unity (of Belgian history) arises not from a community of race as in Germany, not
from a centralizing action, as in England or France, but from the unity of social life”.
Henri Pirenne
Histoire de Belgique
Foreword
1900
INTRODUCTION
Belgian Tax Structure
1. Taxes must be enacted by Statute1
.
They must be renewed yearly2
.
Equality must be respected between taxpayers3
and the Constitutional Court will sanction
laws contrary to this provision.
Constitutional equality and fundamental rights of free movement guaranteed by the EU
treaties apply simultaneously. When the violation of both is asserted, the law gives
priority to the Constitution : a question must be asked to the Constitutional Court first.
Belgium is a federal country. Most taxes are federal but the proceeds are shared with the
Communities4
(Dutch, French and German-speaking)5
and the Regions (Flanders,
Wallonia, Brussels)6
.
The Regions may levy surtaxes, grant tax reductions or operate general fiscal reductions
and increases.
Some taxes are regional taxes :
- Inheritance duties of residents and transfer duties upon death of non-residents ;
- Real property withholding tax ;
- Stamp duties on transfers subject to payment of real property located in Belgium,
except for transfers upon contribution to a company by an individual of a dwelling ;
- Stamp duties on gifts of personal property or real property ;
- Radio and television fees ;
- Traffic tax on car vehicles ;
- Circulation tax ;
- Euro road tax.
1
Constitution, Art. 170, § 1.
2
Const., Art. 171.
3
Const., Art. 172.
4
Special law of 16 January 1984 concerning the financing of the Communities and the Regions.
5
Shared taxes : VAT, personal income tax.
6
Joined taxes : personal income tax.

3. 2
Income Tax
2. From 1919 to 1963, Belgium did not levy a uniform tax on total income. The income of
individuals and corporations was taxed according to a schedular method based on its
source.
A Law of fiscal reform of November 20, 1962 replaced the schedular tax system by a
system similar in principle to the U.S. income tax and to the tax systems of other EU
countries. All income is subject to a single tax. However, withholding taxes (“précomptes
– voorheffingen”) are due on income depending on its source. They are creditable
against the final tax due, within certain limits, with the exception, however, of the real
property tax
7
which is improperly called real estate withholding tax (“précompte
immobilier – onroerende voorheffing”).
Within this system of a single income tax, a distinction is made between :
(a) Resident individuals, who are taxed on their global income, under the Individual
Income Tax regime ;
(b) Resident corporations, which are taxed on their global income under the
Corporate Income Tax regime;
(c) Non-residents, both individuals and corporations, which are taxed on their income
from Belgian sources under the Non-resident Income Tax regime ;
(d) Non-profit making organizations and government agencies, which are taxed on
certain categories of income under the Legal Persons Income Tax regime, which
mainly consists of withholding taxes at source.
The Belgian income tax legislation was first coordinated into an Income Tax Code, by a
Royal Decree (R.D.) of February 26, 1964. The main regulations implementing the
provisions of this Code were embodied in the Royal Decree of March 4, 1965.
A Royal Decree of April 10, 1992, coordinated the income tax legislation into an Income
Tax Code 1992, hereinafter abbreviated CIT1992 or, generally, CIT. The main
regulations implementing the provisions of this Code are embodied in the Royal Decree
of execution of the 1992 Code of August 27, 1993, hereinafter abbreviated RD-CIT 1992
or RD-CIT.
7
By real property we mean property which is immovable according to the Civil Code (land, buildings
…) and by personal property we mean property which is movable according to the same Code, being
all other property, whether tangible such as chattel, machinery, etc. or intangible (“incorporal”) such as
securities, claims, intellectual property rights.

4. 3
TITLE I –BELGIAN INDIVIDUAL AND CORPORATE
TAX LAW
3. The tax administration has issued :
- the Administrative Commentary of the Code of Income Taxes (Com.CIT),
regularly updated on the Internet;
- the Administrative Commentary of Double Taxation Conventions (Com.DTT).
Belgium is a member of the OECD and follows the OECD Model in the drafting of its
treaties.
It has developed a model Belgian treaty draft 2010 (replacing a 2007 version)8
.
Chapter I – Taxation of individuals
Section I Taxation of resident individuals
A. Taxable persons
4. The Belgian personal income tax is applicable to individuals who are considered to be
residents of Belgium for tax purposes.
B. Residence
1. Domestic Law
5. Individuals are considered residents for income tax purposes if they keep their
permanent domicile or customary residence in Belgium or if the “centre of administration
of their wealth” (Centre of economic interests) is established in Belgium
9
.
The notion of “domicile” is characterized by the place where a person effectively lives or
resides, while “the centre of administration of wealth” is the place where a person
effectively manages her wealth. Temporary absence is not considered a change of
domicile.
A person registered in the National Register of inhabitants is deemed to be resident
unless proven otherwise. The fiscal residence of married persons is located at the place
where their household is established. The same presumption applies to people who
have established a legal cohabitation.
8
De Broe, L., Belgium Tax Treaty Policy and the Draft Belgian Model Convention, Bull. Int. Taxation,
2008, p. 322 ; Schoonvliet, E., Unilateral and Treaty Measures in Belgium for the Avoidance of
Double Taxation, Bull. Int. Taxation, 2008, p. 430.
9
CIT, Art. 2, 9, 1° ; Jorion, G., Le non-résident ou la société étrangère face à l’impôt belge, Bruxelles,
Larcier, 2006, p. 73.

5. 4
Domicile
The definition, developed by case-law and doctrine, of the main home or domicile10
for
income tax purposes emphasizes its factual nature: it is a ‘specific and actual dwelling,
that can be different from civil domicile or nationality, which is constituted, confirmed and
consolidated by a whole sum of facts and circumstances and which is characterized by a
certain permanence or continuity’.11
The main home is the centre of one’s vital
interests12
(family related, professional, cultural, economical and other). As such it must
not be deemed to change easily. The intention to return to the country of origin has no
impact on the issue.
Residence necessarily implies an element of permanence or continuity. The duration of a
stay in a country is sometimes a sufficient criterion to determine whether a person is a
resident, but the assessment of the stability in dwelling goes mostly beyond the mere
temporal element. In their Commentary on income taxes the tax authorities admit that this
stability cannot be the sole criterion without taking into account the situation of the
family.13
Other elements can influence the determination of the main dwelling and
reduce the importance of the duration of the stay in Belgium. Did the person leave all his
possessions behind when coming to Belgium?14
What is the nature of his employment in
Belgium?15
What is the reason of an (early) return abroad?16
Is the foreign employment continuously
exercised on the same location or is one living out of a suitcase?17
Is one’s home
connected to the Belgian telephone network18
and, if so, how high were the costs and
where were the invoices sent to19
(the same applies to the use of water and electricity)?
Is someone owning or renting a house?20
Where are a person and/or his property
insured?21
Does the contract of employment stipulate a return to the country?22
Which
address do official documents23
, letters and name cards mention?24
10
The words ‘domicile’ and ‘residence’ are used here as synonyms, and not in their English civil law
meaning.
11
See for instance Cass., November 15, 1990, Pas. (1991), I, at 1226.
12
P. Hinnekens, Belasting der niet-inwoners (Kalmthout: Biblo, 1994), n° 6.
13
Com. IT 3/10 and 3/60.
14
Compare with: Antwerp, December 18, 1984, A.F.T. 1985, 140: a person moved furniture and
appliances weighing 1020 kg to Tunisia together with his car. He was also accompanied by his wife.
As such he can be considered a non-resident from then on.
15
Compare with: Liege, May 2, 1972, Bull. Bel. 511 (1973), at 2075: a person sent by his employer to
the USA for ten months for training purposes did not reside their on a permanent basis.
16
Compare with: Brussels, September 25, 1990, R.G.F. (1991), at 216: a deputy program administrator
whose contract obligated him to work at least 41 months in Arabia, but who had to return to Belgium
because of failure of his employer, can still be considered a non-resident, because the return was not
motivated by the intention of the employee.
17
Compare with: Liege, March 13, 1985, F.J.F., 85/130: person employed on different locations in
different countries not considered to have become a Belgian non-resident.
18
See Cass., February 7, 1979, Bull. Bel. 611 (1979), at 2713; Liege, April 24, 1996, Fisc. Koer.
(1996), at 383-386.
19
Liege, April 14, 1988, F.J.F. (1988), n° 209; also regarding other types of invoices: Cass., October
28, 1982, F.J.F. (1983), n° 41.
20
Antwerp, March 5, 1984, A.F.T. (1984), at 87; Antwerp, June 29, 1999, T.F.R. (2000), at 21,
observation of Marc Delboo; Brussels, October 21, 1976, J.D.F. 1977, at 260; Brussels, May 4, 1982,
F.J.F. (1982), n° 112; Brussels, September 17, 1998, Fisc. Koer. 1998, at 537.
21
Antwerp, February 18, 1982, F.J.F. (1982), n° 71; Liege, January 18, 1995, F.J.F. (1995), n° 149.
22
Liege, January 18, 1995, F.J.F. (1995), n° 149.
23
Trib. Nivelles, November 4, 2003, Rec. gén. Enr. Not. 1 (2004), at 31.
24
Antwerp, February 18, 1982, F.J.F. (1982), n° 71.

6. 5
A practical question often heard is how long a stay in Belgium has to last before there
can be a shift in residence at all. First of all, it is clear that for income tax purposes a stay
of 183 days or even during the whole taxable period is normally insufficient to become a
resident in Belgium, because the law itself contains special arrangements – within the tax
on non-residents – for employees who live here for more than 183 days25
or who are
keeping a (temporary) abode here during the whole taxable period.26
Secondly, we find a vast amount of case law27
vis à vis the required duration of the stay.
So, for example, ten months were not long enough for an engineer, sent to the United
States by his employer for training purposes, to lose his Belgian residency.28
For a pilot
of Sabena on a mission of technical support to Air Congo thirty months in Zaire was also
insufficient to become a non-resident of Belgium.29
Also, three years were considered
insufficient for a person teaching at the faculty of law in Ouagadougou (Burkina Fasso) to
lose her status as Belgian resident for tax purposes.30
But for a professor working in
Canada eight years was a long enough period for a change of fiscal residence.31
In two
of the so-called ‘Eurosystem cases’ (with regard to persons working in Arabia) a
continuous stay abroad of respectively six and seven years sufficed.32
Remarkably, since 1990, a shortening of the required permanence in staying abroad,
needed to free oneself from Belgian resident taxation, can be noticed.33
In the third
Eurosystem case forty-one months sufficed in order to lose Belgian tax residency (even a
shorter period because the forty-one months of employment stipulated in the contract
were not all performed because of failure of the employer).34
The same was held for two
years of detachment to China.35
The Court of Appeal of Antwerp found that periods of
sixteen and fifteen months were already long enough for an employee of the Anhyp Bank
in Luxemburg to change his residency for tax purposes to Luxemburg, even if he
returned to Belgium when he was not supposed to work.36
Centre of administration of wealth
The second legal criterion to determine residence is the centre of one’s economic
interests (‘siège de la fortune’). This concept does not relate to the material location of
one’s assets, but to the place from which the elements of one’s estate are managed37
,
i.e. where the important decisions regarding the estate are taken. This place is inevitably
characterized by a certain unity.38
It will, except in rare cases, coincide with the main
dwelling.39
25
Article 228 §2 7° I.T.C.
26
Article 242 §1 1° and art. 244 1° I.T.C.; see Luc Hinnekens, “Het (niet-)rijksinwonerschap van de
gedetacheerde werknemer volgens de laatste stand van wetgeving en rechtspraak”, A.F.T. (1995), at
275.
27
The following examples are taken from Luc Hinnekens, “Nieuwe krachtlijnen in de rechtspraak over
het rijksinwonerschap”, A.F.T. (1991), at 21.
28
Liege, May 2, 1972, Bull. Bel. 511 (1973), at 2075.
29
Trib. Brussels, February 20, 1979, Rec. Gen. Enr. Not. (1980), at 216.
30
Brussels, March 21, 1989, F.J.F. (1989), n° 167, confirmed by Cass., November 15, 1990, R.G.F.
(1991), at 218.
31
Brussels, January 9, 1979, J.D.F. (1980), at 283.
32
Brussels, May 15, 1990, R.G.F. (1991), at 218; Brussels, September 25, 1990, R.G.F. (1991), at 220.
33
Hinnekens, L., “Het (niet-)rijksinwonerschap van de gedetacheerde werknemer volgens de laatste
stand van wetgeving en rechtspraak”, A.F.T. (1995), at 275.
34
Brussels (Court of Appeal), March 13, 1990, R.G.F. (1991), at 216.
35
Mons, April 10, 1992, A.F.T. (1993), at 27, observations Luc Hinnekens.
36
Antwerp, June 29, 1999, T.F.R. 2000, at 21, with disapproving observations of Marc Delboo.
37
Cass., February 7, 1979, Bull. Bel. 611 (1979), at 2713; Cass., October 28, 1982, F.J.F. (1983), n°
41; Cass., June 30, 1983, F.J.F. (1983), n° 139.
38
Liege, June 18, 1986, F.J.F. (1987), n° 94.
39
Malherbe, J., Droit fiscal international (Brussels : Larcier, 1994), at 28.

7. 6
Different elements are used in Belgian case law to locate a person’s centre of economic
interests. Again, these elements have to be pondered bearing in mind their relative
importance. A first element can be the country where a person holds immovable assets.40
In the Eurosystem-cases it was held, however, that an individual does not lose his status
of non-resident when he remains the owner of a building in Belgium which is managed by
his wife. This is also true when she does so by a general mandate in execution of
decisions taken by her husband abroad41
, or by a mandate in the general council of the
Belgian association of which the spouses hold the shares and which is the owner of the
dwelling of the spouses.42
The same judgment also underlined the importance of the
place where the spouses receive their main professional income (the husband in Arabia,
the wife in Belgium)43
. Other criteria which can influence the position of the centre of
economic interests are a (bank) account44
and the relative importance of the money
deposited on such account as compared to the total estate, as well as other (movable)
assets.
In an interesting case, the Court of Appeal in Brussels put forward a new and peculiar
criterion: the place from which an individual builds his career.45
A man of British
nationality had built a career in Belgium by calling upon the Belgian employment market
and by working for Belgian employers (with an international calling, but this was deemed
irrelevant by the Court). Even when he was unemployed for a considerable time, he did
not apply for a job outside Belgium. The court submitted that: “without elements to the
contrary, which were not accounted for in this case, it is allowed to consider that his
working capital comprises the main component of the fortune of a ‘homo economicus’,
and that it is managed from the place where he constructs his career” (our translation).
Relationship between the two criteria
Knowing the importance of the centre of economic interests, the question arises as to the
nature of its relation to the main dwelling-criterion. The law itself uses the word ’or’ to
connect both notions. This would suggest that both criteria are used alternatively. This is
also the view of the Cour de Cassation. In 1965, in the Derks-case46
, the Court ruled,
after having reminded that Mr. Derks had his domicile in Monte-Carlo where he also
actually resided, that he could still be considered a Belgian resident since he owned
immovable assets and shares of the NV ‘Entreprises Derks’ and ‘Bureau d’Etudes Derks’
in Belgium. In doing so, the Court pointed out that the legislator has used both criteria as
alternatives. This opinion is now unanimously followed by all Belgian courts. As a result,
the notion of ‘centre of economic interests’ can be used as a sufficient criterion when it is
not located in the same country as the main dwelling.47
40
Cass., September 7, 1965, Pas. (1966), I, at 34.
41
Brussels, May 15, 1990, R.G.F. (1991), at 217.
42
Brussels, March 13, 1990, R.G.F. 1991, at 216.
43
See also: Brussels, September 17, 1998, Fisc. Koer. (1998), at 537.
44
For example Brussels, October 21, 1976, J.D.F. (1977), at 260.
45
Brussels, October 14, 1993, F.J.F. (1994), n° 155.
46
Cass., September 7, 1965, Pas. (1966), I, at 34.
47
Com. IT 3/4. This view has been frequently criticized (See for example Zondervan, R., Les impôts
sur les revenus et l’extranéité : étude théorique et pratique du régime fiscal belge en matière de revenus
d'origine étrangère ou attribués à des "étrangers", (Brussels : Pauwels, 1967), at 87 and E. Schreuder,
« L’habitant du Royaume », Ann. Not. Enr. (1967), at 6-33). One of the most ardent critics is surely
Hinnekens, L. This author refers to the history of the law (investigated by DONNAYm-, M.,
“L’habitant du royaume”, Rec. Gén. Enr. Not. (1975), n° 21936, at 233) to submit that it does not
support an alternative use of the concepts. The definition of Article 37 of the Coordinated Laws has his
predecessor in art. 2 of the law of December 27, 1817 (now Article 1 of the Code of Succession). The
project of that law contained an article stating that was liable to tax he who was an inhabitant of the
Kingdom of the Netherlands. Fearing that this would lead to taxation of persons recently arrived in the
kingdom, another definition was sought. It was found in an executive decree to the law concerning the

8. 7
Therefore, if individuals wish not to be subject to Belgian personal income tax and
inheritance tax (both with worldwide tax liability) neither their main home (‘domicile’), nor
the centre of their economic interest should be located in Belgium.
2. Treaty Law
6. Pursuant to Article 4-2 of the OECD model treaty, the criteria of residence are the
following:
- permanent home;
- centre of vital interests;
- habitual abode;
- nationality.
These general OECD model criteria are used in Belgian tax treaties. The Model Belgian
tax treaty (2010) uses them also.
3. Income from Real Property
a. “Cadastral Income”
6bis. Cadastral income48
(revenu cadastral / kadastraal inkomen) is attributed to all
pieces of real property, whether or not built on, located in Belgium. It corresponds to the
deemed net annual rental income, as determined by the tax authorities. Plant or
equipment used for the exploitation of the real property concerned and belonging to the
owner of the real property will also be considered real property and will be attributed
cadastral income if they are permanently and materially attached to the property or if, in
view of their size or other characteristics, they are intended to remain in place.
Cadastral income with respect to buildings is based upon their normal net rental value on
January 1 of the year preceding a general revision (péréquation / perekwatie) of all
cadastral income. The net rental value is the gross rental value decreased by a lump-sum
deduction for maintenance and repairs of 40% (buildings) or 10% (land). The gross rental
value of buildings is determined by a comparison with rentals of similar buildings or with
the cadastral income in respect of similar buildings that have been assessed, when the
assessment has become final. In cases in which such comparison is not possible, the
cadastral income is equal to the market value of the property multiplied by 5.3%. The
cadastral income with respect to plant and equipment is calculated by multiplying their
value for purposes of use, as established on January 1, 1975, by 5.3%. The value for
purposes of use is deemed to be equal to 30% of the investment value, increased by
transformation costs (if any).
The last general revision of cadastral income was based upon market prices on January
militia. But in this decree the conjunction used was ‘and’ instead of ‘or’. Without any obvious reason it
was changed to ‘if’. It would not be the first time that a legislator made such a mistake out of
sloppiness. (Hinnekens, L., “Nieuwe krachtlijnen in de rechtspraak over het rijksinwonerschap”, A.F.T.
(1991), at 24). Hinnekens also points out that before the Derks-case jurisprudence always opted for a
conjunctive interpretation of the definition (for example Trib. Brussels, November 30, 1895, Rec. Gén.
Enr .Not., n° 12522). To him, main dwelling and centre of economic interests are merely different
facets of one single residency concept (Hinnekens, L., “Rijksinwonerschap. De complexe feitenbalans
van de hoedanigheid van (niet-) verblijfhouder”, A.F.T. (1985), at 125).
48
CIT, Arts. 471 to 486.

9. 8
1, 1975 and came into effect on January 1, 1980. The next general revision has been
delayed. In the meantime, the cadastral income is adjusted annually on the basis of the
retail price index. A new cadastral income is assessed for new or improved real property.
Interim revisions may be made in areas where significant changes in the value of real
property occur.
The cadastral income with respect to newly constructed buildings must be established by
the tax authorities at the latest for the year that follows the year of first occupancy and the
taxpayer must be notified accordingly by registered mail. A taxpayer is entitled to lodge a
claim against the cadastral income proposed by the tax authorities.
b. Taxable Income
7. The determination of taxable income derived by resident taxpayers from real property
is dependent upon: (i) the use made of the property; and (ii) the location of the property,
i.e., in Belgium or abroad. The following four kinds of property may be distinguished:
(i) Privately used real property located in Belgium;
(ii) Real property used for professional purposes located in Belgium;
(iii) Rented real property located in Belgium; and
(iv) Real property located abroad.
Real property privately used
8. If the real property is occupied by the owner for private dwelling purposes, the taxable
income is the cadastral income with respect to the property (revenu cadastral/ kadastraal
inkomen). Taxable income from second residences that are not rented is equal to the
cadastral income increased by 40 %.
Real property used professionally
9. If a building is used by its owner for the exercise of a professional activity, the
cadastral income is deemed to be professional income and, thus, needs not be reported
as real property income. If the real property is used for both private and professional
purposes, the cadastral income is apportioned to determine the income portion that is
taxable as real property income.
Rented real property
10. If the real property is rented to an individual who uses the property exclusively for
private habitation purposes, the taxable income is the cadastral income increased by
40%. If the lessee is a legal entity, such as a corporation or a nonprofit association, an
entity without legal personality, or an individual who uses the property in whole or in part
for business purposes, the taxable income derived from the rented real property will be
equal to the cadastral income increased by that portion of the net rent received in excess
of the cadastral income.
The net rent corresponds to 90% (for land) or 60% (for buildings) of the gross rent
received, the deductions inherent in these percentages representing maintenance and
repair costs. However, the 40% lump-sum deduction for maintenance and repairs

10. 9
applicable to buildings may not exceed two-thirds of the cadastral income, as revalued
annually by a coefficient defined by Royal Decree.
If the lessee is an individual who uses the real property for both private and professional
purposes, and provided the rent has been apportioned in the rental agreement to reflect
the double use, the taxable income will be the sum of: (i) the cadastral income increased
by 40% for the portion of the rent relating to the private use; and (ii) the total net rent
received for the portion of the rent relating to the professional use.
Foreign real property
11. Taxable income derived from real property located outside Belgium is determined on
the basis of the rental value if the property is not rented, and on the basis of the actual
rent and rental charges received if the property is rented. The gross amount of the rental
value or of the actual rent and rental charges received is reduced by the foreign taxes
directly related to the property and an additional 40% (for buildings) or 10% (for land) to
cover maintenance and repair expenses.
Belgium's tax treaties provide that income derived by Belgian residents from real property
located in the other Contracting State is taxable only in that State. Hence, such income is
exempted in Belgium. The income will nonetheless be included in the taxpayer's global
taxable income, but only for purposes of determining the tax rate applicable to the total
income from which the foreign real property income will have been deducted, under an
"exemption with progression" (réserve de progressivité / progressievoorbehoud). If
Belgium has no double taxation agreement with the country in which the real property is
situated, Belgium grants unilateral tax relief by reducing by 50% the amount of Belgian
income tax on the foreign real property income49
.
Long-term leases
12. Real property income also includes amounts obtained upon the granting or assigning
of a right to a long-term lease (emphytéose/erfpacht or superficie/opstal) or similar rights
that are in the nature of property rights.50
Such amounts are taxable when received
whether they cover the whole or only part of the duration of the long-term lease. The
following are not considered to be such lease-related income: rents allowing the recovery
of either the capital invested by the owner of a new building or the market value of an
existing building plus interest or other charges, where at the end of the contract the right
to the property is automatically transferred to the user, or where the contract provides for
a purchase option in favor of the user.51
In that case, the interest component is income
from capital52
.
c. Exemptions, Reductions and Deductions
Exemption for charitable purpose
49
CIT, Art. 156, 1°.
50
CIT, Art. 10, §1.
51
CIT, Art. 10, §2.
52
CIT, Art. 19, § 1, 2°.

11. 10
13. The cadastral income is tax-exempt if the real property is used for a charitable or
nonprofit purpose, as a church, a school, a hospital, etc.53
Reductions
14. The cadastral income and, hence, the real property withholding tax is reduced on the
grounds of "non productivity" when an unfurnished building is unoccupied and does not
generate any income for at least 90 days in a taxable year.54
The amount of the reduction
depends on the duration and the degree of the non productivity of the property. The non
productivity of the property must be "involuntary," i.e., it may not be attributable to the
owner. Thus, for example, no reduction is granted if the non productivity of the property is
caused by reconstruction works or when it results from the fact that the owner puts the
building up for sale without putting it up for rent at the same time.
A reduction will also apply if the property or a part of it representing at least 25 % of the
cadastral income is destroyed55
.
Similar reductions apply to the cadastral income of plant and equipment.
Exemption for residential use
15. The cadastral income is tax-exempt with respect to the house owned and occupied
by the taxpayer, except as far as the real property withholding tax (see nr. 17) is
concerned56
. This exemption is available only with respect to one house, designated by
the taxpayer, where the taxpayer occupies more than one house. The exemption is not
available for any part of a house that is used for professional purposes or is occupied by
persons who are not part of the taxpayer’s household.
Deduction of interest on debts
16. Interest paid on debts incurred for the sole purpose of acquiring or maintaining real
property is deductible from real property income. Such interest may be deducted from
total real property income, even if the loan on which the interest is paid was entered into
for the purpose of acquiring or constructing only one of the houses owned by the
taxpayer. Any interest exceeding total real property income may not, however, be
deducted from other sources of income (for example, from income from capital or
professional income), nor can it be carried over to previous or subsequent tax years.57
An additional interest deduction is granted to an individual taxpayer for interest paid and
reimbursement of capital on a mortgage loan taken out to acquire or construct a new
house located in Belgium. The additional interest deduction, which is a deduction from
global taxable income rather than a deduction from real property income, only applies in
respect of a single building acquired or constructed by the taxpayer58
.
53
CIT, Art. 12.
54
CIT, Art. 15, §1, 1°.
55
CIT, Art. 15, § 1 , 3°.
56
CIT, Art. 12, § 3.
57
CIT, Art. 14, 1°.
58
CIT, Art. 104, 9°, 115 and 116.

12. 11
d. Real Property Withholding Tax
17. Individual taxpayers are subject to a prepayment in the case of real property located
in Belgium, i.e., the real property withholding tax (précompte immobilier / onroerende
voorheffing).59
The real property withholding tax is levied on the value of the cadastral
income with respect to the real property concerned. An assessment for real property
withholding tax purposes is made in the calendar year during which the real property
income is obtained.
The tax is a regional tax.
The basic rate of the prepayment is: 1.25% of the cadastral income in the Walloon or
Brussels Region and 2.50% of the cadastral income in the Flemish Region. Provinces
and municipalities levy additional taxes on the real property withholding tax.
The prepayment is in principle paid by the individual who owns the building on January 1
of the taxable period, even where the property changes ownership between January 1
and the date on which the prepayment has to be made. Purchase deeds for real property
located in Belgium will, therefore, generally contain a clause pursuant to which the
purchaser is under the obligation to reimburse the seller that part of the prepayment that
corresponds to the portion of the year after the date of the sale.
Landlords typically shift the burden of the real property withholding tax to their tenants if
this is not expressly prohibited by law, as in the case of residential loans. This
convention, while legally valid as between the parties (provided the rented property is
used for professional purposes), cannot be upheld against the tax authorities. Thus, a
landlord is not entitled to invoke the nonpayment of the prepayment by his tenant vis-à-
vis the State.
Exemptions
18. Exemptions from the real property withholding tax are available for: (i) real property
income that is exempted from income tax (for example, income from real property used
for charitable purposes); (ii) the cadastral income with respect to real property falling
within the "public domain," provided and to the extent that such property does not
produce any income and is used for a public service or a service of general interest (both
these conditions must be satisfied); and (iii) income from real property that benefits from
special or temporary exemptions.
Reductions
19. Reductions in the real property withholding tax may be granted at the request of the
taxpayer. Most of these reductions take account of the taxpayer's situation (for example,
the number of the taxpayer's dependents, the disability of the taxpayer). Other reductions
are made available under social housing programs or on the basis of factual situations
(for example, in the case of unfurnished buildings unoccupied for at least 90 days in a
taxable year).
The real property withholding tax pertaining to a taxpayer's principal private dwelling is
not creditable against his final individual income tax liability60
. There is therefore a
certain double taxation of real property income.
59
CIT, Art. 249.
60
CIT, Art. 271, abolished by Law of December 27, 2004. However, this provision will remain
applicable if certain conditions are fulfilled (e.g. the loan acquiring the house was entered into before
January, 1, 2005). See CIT, Art. 526.

13. 12
C. Determination of Gross Income
Overview
20. The taxable income of a resident individual includes real property income, income
from capital and personal property, professional income and certain miscellaneous
income61
. Each class of income is subject to particular rules. Tax is assessed in principle
at progressive rates on global income from domestic and foreign sources.
Certain classes of income (such as income from capital, taxable capital gains, back pay,
miscellaneous income) are taxed separately at flat rates if such taxation is more
favorable to the taxpayer62
.
Income that is exempt by virtue of a tax treaty is taken into account with other taxable
income in order to determine the tax rate on income taxable in Belgium63
.
Application
20bis. A couple, before receiving a pension capital, rents a house in Bray-Dunes, a
beach resort in France close to Belgium and grants a lease on their house in Veurne
(Belgium – 10 miles from there) to a company which they control. They pay for that
house a municipal tax on a second residence.
The Court applies the tie-breaker. They have a “lasting residence” in both countries but
their closest links are with Belgium. The husband was director of a Belgian company
which had no personnel. The couple had bank accounts in Belgium and could not prove
expenses in France64
.
2. Income from Capital and Personal Property
a. Introduction
21. Income from capital and personal property includes dividend income, interest income,
royalties and rentals with respect to personal property, as well as annuity income other
than pension income granted by legal entities or enterprises65
.
A important distinction is made between income derived from capital or personal property
that a taxpayer must include in his annual return because no withholding tax on such
income has been collected, and income subject to a withholding tax, which need not be
reported. In the latter case, the payment of the withholding tax discharges the taxpayer
from paying any additional tax. Although income from capital or personal property not
subject to withholding tax must be included in the annual tax return, it will be taxed at a
separate flat rate identical to the withholding tax rate.
A taxpayer may nevertheless elect to include the income subject to a withholding tax in
his tax return and, hence, globalize it with other income items instead of the income being
61
CIT, Art. 6.
62
CIT, Art. 171.
63
CIT, Art. 155.
64
Ghent, June, 24, 2008, Fisc. Koer., 2008, p. 690.
65
CIT, Art. 17.

14. 13
taxed at a flat rate66
. This will be useful only if he has little or no income. In the latter
case, indeed, the taxpayer may even receive a refund of the withholding tax levied.
Income derived from capital or personal property used in the taxpayer’s profession is
included in his professional income67
. It will, therefore, be taxable at ordinary rates on its
full amount net of eventual expenses. This qualification does not, however, exclude the
application of the withholding tax on such income. The withholding will be creditable and,
if it exceeds the tax due, refundable.
b. Income to Be Included in the Taxpayer’s Return
22. Income items that have to be included in the annual tax return, but will be taxable at a
flat income tax rate equal to the withholding tax, are as follows68
:
• income from a foreign source, collected outside Belgium;
• income from loans secured by a mortgage on real estate located in Belgium;
• all items of income which were not subject to a withholding tax, such as:
- income from life annuities: if paid by a business or a legal entity, they are deemed
to amount to 3% of the capital69
;
- income from temporary annuities;
- royalties and rentals : a standard deduction of 15% of royalties or rentals derived
from personal property which is not invested in a business is allowed, but this
amount may be increased if it is justified70
. A deduction is allowed up to 85% for
rentals of films and up to 50% for rentals of furniture in furnished dwellings (40%
of the rent received on a furnished dwelling is considered to be rent for
furniture)71
.
c. Income Not to Be Included in the Taxpayer’s Return
23. Income derived from personal property subject to a withholding tax when collected in
Belgium essentially includes investment income, i.e. dividend and interest income.
(1) Dividends
24. Dividends include all benefits attributed to shares by a company, whatever their
denomination or form. A reimbursement of capital is considered a dividend if it occurs
without a legitimate decision of the general meeting of shareholders or, even when
legally decided, to the extent that it exceeds effectively paid-up capital (including
issuance premiums)72
.
Thin capitalization
Interest income paid or attributed on loans granted to a company by a director (whether
individual or corporate) or by an individual partner or shareholder is assimilated to
dividends insofar as either the interest income exceeds interest income calculated at a
66
CIT, Art.313.
67
CIT, Art. 37.
68
CIT, Art. 171, 2 bis and 3 bis ; Art. 519; Art. 313.
69
CIT, Art. 20.
70
R.D.-CIT, Art. 3, conversely, 60 % of the rent is income from real property.
71
R.D.-CIT, Art. 4.
72
CIT, Art. 18, 1°.

15. 14
“normal” rate (the market rate) taking into account the particular risk involved in the
operation, or if the total amount of the loans exceeds the paid-up capital as of the end of
the tax year plus the taxed reserves as of the start of the tax year73
.
This provision is not applicable where loans have been granted by corporate directors if
the corporation is a Belgian resident. The ECJ found this limitation to Belgian companies
contrary to the freedom of establishment : the foreign company which was a director of
the Belgian company and a lender was indeed its parent. The Belgian provision,
however, applied irrespectively of a relationship of participation between the two
companies : a directorship is enough.
Such a provision could be justified only to counter an abuse, in the case of a wholly
artificial scheme. The existence of a ratio of 1 to 1 between debt and equity is no
evidence of an abuse74
. The restriction to the freedom of establishment is therefore
disproportionate.
The Court had taken the same decision in respect of a 3 to 1 ratio applicable in
Germany75
.
Dividends of corporations are subject to withholding tax at the rate of 25% (see infra at
nr. 76) as is the excess of the repurchase price over investment value in the case of a
corporation repurchasing its own shares76
and liquidation distributions.
However, the withholding is reduced to 15 % on shares issued by small companies on
new capital contributed in cash after July 1, 2013, when dividends are distributed after
the third accounting year following the contribution. If the contribution is made after the
second accounting year following the contribution, the withholding will be 20 %77
.
The shares must remain in possession of the contributor.
(2) Interest
25. Interest income is any income derived from fixed or variable income securities, loans,
and deposits78
.
Interest derived from fixed income securities (i.e., bonds, loans and other similar
securities, including securities with capitalized interest or securities which do not give rise
to a periodic payment of interest and which have been issued with a discount equal to the
interest capitalized until the maturity date) includes every payment that exceeds the
principal amount, whether or not the payment is made on the agreed maturity date of the
securities79
.
Interest is in principle subject to withholding tax at the rate of 25%.
Interest awarded by a judgment or otherwise for late payment of a debt is not treated as
income from capital.
73
CIT, Art. 18, 4°, and Art. 55.
74
ECJ, January, 17, 2008, Case C-105/07, SA Lammers & Van Cleeff v Belgian State.
75
ECJ, December, 12, 2002, Case C-324/00, Lankhorst-Hohorst.
76
CIT, Art. 269.
77
CIT, Art. 269, § 2.
78
CIT, Art. 19, § 1, 1°.
79
CIT, Art. 19, § 2.

16. 15
d. Tax Rules
26. It is the gross amount of the income derived from personal property that is taxable,
i.e., the amount collected without deduction of expenses incurred plus the amount of the
withholding tax. Conservation and collection expenses relating to that income are
deductible only where the income is globalized with all other income items and is thus not
taxed separately80
.
Interest paid on loans entered into for the acquisition or conservation of income derived
from personal property is not tax deductible. An exemption is, however, made for interest
paid by remunerated directors of companies on loans contracted for the acquisition of
shares in the company but it is deductible from professional income (see infra nr. 27)81
,
not from personal property income.
3. Professional Income
Introduction
27. Any enrichment directly or indirectly derived from the taxpayer’s professional activity82
is considered professional income83
whether or not the activity carried on is legal.
Professional income is divided into five income categories84
:
• business profits85
;
• profits derived from independent professions or independently performed
services;
• profits derived from a professional activity previously exercised;
• wages and salaries derived from employment contracts, including severance
payments and remuneration of directorships and leading independent functions in
companies;
• pensions, rents and periodic payments indemnifying a permanent loss of profits
or wages.
Some types of professional income are tax exempt (family allowances, some social
advantages which cannot be individualized in an enterprise, …).86
Only the net amount of a taxpayer’s professional income is subject to tax. This net
amount is obtained by deducting the following items from the gross amount :
• professional expenses within the limits of the Code;
• losses generated by the same or other professional activities during the tax year
or losses resulting from previous tax years; and
80
CIT, Art. 22, § 1, 2°.
81
CIT, Art. 52, 11°.
82
For an interpretation of the notion of “professional activity” see Cass., September 2, 1969, Pas.,
1970, I, 3.
83
CIT, Art. 23, 1st line.
84
CIT, Art. 23.
85
Willoqué, K. and Cassaer, E., Belgium, in Maisto, G., ed., The Meaning of « Entreprise »,
« Business » and « Business Profits » under Tax Treaties and EU Tax Law, IBFD, 2011 at 197.
86
CIT, Art. 38.

17. 16
• certain private expenses encouraged under the legislation.
Copyright income, up to 37,500 €, is treated as income from capital87
.
4. Miscellaneous Income
28. This category includes income items, other than professional, which are either
globalized with the other income items and taxed at progressive rates, or taxed
separately at a flat tax rate.
a. Globalized with Other Income and Taxed at Progressive Rates
29. Under certain conditions, 80% of the alimony paid during a tax year and received
from a grantor who is bound by a legal obligation88
to support the taxpayer-beneficiary,
when the latter is not part of the grantor’s household89
, will be taxable to the beneficiary
and deductible from the grantor’s taxable income.
b. Taxed Separately at a Flat Rate
(1) Profits derived from Occasional or Speculative Activities90
30. This category includes profits derived from occasional or speculative activities or
operations, not including profits derived from the normal administration of one’s private
assets consisting of real property, securities, and tangible movable assets. Gains made
upon the disposal of all other types of assets, even of a private nature, are taxable (know
how, e.g.).
These profits are taxed at a flat rate of 33% after deduction of expenses. The distinction
between a taxable and a nontaxable private transaction is a difficult one to draw. The
importance and frequency of such operations, the short time between acquisitions and
sales evidencing the intent to realize quick and large profits, the sophistication of the
means used in the transactions such as borrowing the necessary funds and the
relationship with the taxpayer’s profession, are all elements which could make the
transaction a taxable one.
Purely private management activities, including sales and purchases of securities to
improve the quality of a family portfolio, do not generate taxable income.
The classification of income as miscellaneous income or as professional income is not
always easy to operate, for example when the income is derived from an occasional
activity that is related to the main professional activity of the taxpayer. Thus, the income
derived by a lawyer from book copyrights and fees earned as an arbitrator was held to be
derived from occasional activities, notwithstanding the fact that the activities were related
to the lawyer’s principal activity. Consequently, the income was taxable as miscellaneous
income91
.
Tax base
87
CIT, Art. 17 § 1, 5°.
88
Between parents and descendants : Civil Code, Arts. 203, 205, 206 and 207; between spouses: Civil
Code, Arts. 213, 221 and 223.
89
CIT, Art. 90 , 3°.
90
CIT, Art. 90, 1, Art. 97, Art. 103 and Art. 171, 10, a).
91
Trib. Brussels, November 2, 2000, Courr. Fisc. 2001, 33.

18. 17
A discussion arose as to the tax base in the event that the taxpayer had realized a capital
gain on shares : the Supreme Court held that the provision did not tax the “normal” gain
but only the portion which was due to actions going beyond private management, such
as hiring an intermediary or using business connections92
.
The law was then changed to make it clear that the whole gain was taxable as
miscellaneous income93
.
(2) Capital Gains Realized on Transfer of Land94
The taxable income of a resident individual (other than a real estate professional)
includes gains realized on the disposal of unimproved real estate located in Belgium,
acquired for consideration and held for less than eight years, or acquired by gift and sold
within three years following the gift and less than eight years after the donor’s acquisition
for consideration.
The taxable amount corresponds to the difference between :
(i) the consideration received, less the expenses incurred for the disposal of the
property; and,
(ii) the original acquisition price (or the donor’s purchase price or the market value at
the time of gift or inheritance if the property was not purchased).
The cost basis of property is increased by actual acquisition expenses, or, in the absence
of supporting documents, by a flat amount of 25% of the base amount. It is further
increased by 5% for each full year during which the property was held.
The tax is assessed at :
• 16.5% for gains on land transferred within eight years of acquisition, but held for
more than five years;
• 33% if the holding period was shorter.
(3) Capital Gains Realized on Transfer of Buildings
31. Capital gains on the transfer for consideration (e.g., on the sale or the contribution to
the capital of a corporation) of a building other than the main residence of the taxpayer,
are taxable if the building95
:
(i) is transferred within five years following the purchase; or
(ii) was acquired by gift and is transferred within three years of the gift and five years
after the purchase by the donor.
The date of acquisition or transfer is the date of the relevant notarial deed.
The tax also applies if a piece of land is acquired by purchase or gift and construction of
a building starts within five years of acquisition for consideration by the taxpayer or the
92
Cass., November, 30, 2006.
93
CIT, Art., 90, 9°, first indent.
94
CIT, Art. 90, 8, Arts. 91 to 93, Art. 101 and Art. 171, 1, b) and 4, d).
95
CIT, Art. 90, 10° .

19. 18
donor, and if the land and building are sold within five years after first occupancy or first
letting of the property.
The tax rate is 16.5%.
In computing the gain, the purchase price is increased by 5% per year elapsed since the
purchase.
(4) Capital Gains Realized on a Transfer of a Substantial Interest in a Belgian
Company96
32. This category includes capital gains realized on the transfer of shares in Belgian
companies to a foreign company, when the transferor (or his predecessor if the shares
were acquired by gift or inheritance) owned, at any time during the five years prior to the
transfer, alone or with close family members, more than 25% of the shares or rights in the
company. Closely related taxpayers, for this purpose, include the spouse, ancestors,
descendants, and relatives up to the second degree of kinship to the taxpayer or his
spouse.
The transfer to a Belgian company is not taxable. This was found by the ECJ to be a
discrimination within the European Union insofar as the purchaser was an EU company.
It was contrary to the freedom of establishment if the seller’s holding conferred on him an
influence in management and contrary to the free movement of capital otherwise97
. The
legislation was therefore changed to exclude sales to EEA companies.
In the case of successive transfers during the 12 months preceding a taxable transfer,
each transfer will be considered taxable if the required 25% holding existed at the time of
the first transfer.
The tax is levied at a 16.5% rate on the difference between the sales price and the
acquisition price paid by the transferor’s predecessor.
Gains are not taxable as miscellaneous income if realized on the occasion of the
distribution of a company’s assets to its shareholders, the repurchase by a company of its
own shares, or of a merger, division, or change in corporate form. Eventually, income
from capital will be taxed In that case.
But for the above exceptions, capital gains realized by individuals not engaged in
business activities are, in principle, not taxable.
5. Treaty rules
Treaties may change the tax regime of income under domestic law.
Company Manager
Under the Belgian Model Treaty, director’s fees and income received in the capacity of
member of a board of directors are taxed in the country of the company; remunerations
received in respect of activity such as day-to-day functions, either as a manager or as a
partner in a company other than a company with share capital, is taxed as employment
income.
96
CIT, Art. 90, 9°, Arts. 94 to 96, Art. 102 and Art. 171, 4, e).
97
ECJ, June, 8, 2004, Case C-268/03, De Baeck v Belgische Staat (Order).

20. 19
Capital gains
Most treaties grant the State of residence the right tax capital gains.
Some treaties grant it to the State of source for important participations or participations
in real property companies.
The treaty between Belgium and the Netherlands (2001)98
allows the Netherlands to tax
the capital gain on an important participation (5 p.c.), if the seller has been resident in the
Netherlands during the ten years preceding the granting of the benefit received and if a
“conservatory” taxation took place upon the time of his emigration to Belgium.
D. Tax rates
33. The applicable rates are the following :
Taxable annual income Rates
Below € 8,590 25 %
From € 8,590 to 12,220 30 %
From € 12,220 to € 20,370 40 %
From € 20,370 to € 37,330 45 %
Above € 37,330 50%
A series of tax exemptions, tax reductions and tax increases must be taken into account
in order to determine the final tax liability of a resident individual for a given assessment
year. As seen above, certain types of income, however, are generally not included in the
global taxable income (e.g. dividend and interest income, certain types of miscellaneous
income such as taxable capital gains) but are taxed separately at flat rates if such
taxation is more favorable to the taxpayer.
Income from personal property (dividends, interest, royalties) is not longer taxed globally
with other income. Tax applied at the rate of 25% (dividends, liquidations surpluses,
interest, royalties) satisfies the total tax liability on such income. If no tax has been
withheld (for instance on income paid abroad), the taxpayer must report the income and
will be taxed at the same rate as would apply under the withholding technique (see supra
al. 22).
A municipal surcharge applies to tax on all income reported in the return (not to
withholdings)99
.
Where the withholding tax is final in Belgium for both national and foreign dividends (and
interest), the foreign dividend or interest that has not borne the withholding tax must be
reported in the individual tax return and is charged with a tax at the same rate as the
withholding tax, increased by local taxes. Such local taxes discriminate against foreign
dividends and interest, said the ECJ in Dijkman100
.
The surcharge applies to professional income exempted by treaty if the treaty so
allows101
. It is then computed on the individual income tax which would be due in
Belgium, but for the treaty.
98
Art. 13 § 5.
99
CIT, Art. 465.
100
ECJ, 1 July 2010, Case C-233/09, Gerhard Dijkman, Maria Dijkman-Lavaleije v Belgische Staat.
101
CIT, Art. 466 bis.

21. 20
An amount of € 6,690 generally is exempted102
. A supplement per child is added.
A taxpayer earning less than the exempt amount may report his income from capital : if
his total income is lower than the exempt amount, the personal property withholding tax
will be reimbursed to him.
33bis. Application
John Wealthy has a son, Bill, who is good at baseball and goes to Duke University (N.C.,
USA) to study. It would be more advantageous for his father to pay him alimony
(deductible up to 80 %, taxable to Bill, but at a low rate) than to count him as a
dependent child.
But does Bill still belong to the household of his parents or does he not ? Alimony is
deductible only in the second case.
There is considerable case law on the topic. The answer is no if Bill marries. But does
he want to go that far ?
Section II Taxation of non-resident individuals
A. Overview
34. Non-resident individuals are subject to the non-resident income tax on income from
Belgian sources. On certain types of income, they are subject to withholding tax that
either may be credited against their tax liability or may be considered as their final
liability.
Only Belgian-source income is taxable, i.e., income produced or collected in Belgium. It
includes103
:
(a) Income from real property located in Belgium;
(b) Income from capital or personal property income produced or collected in
Belgium;
(c) Income resulting from the status of partner in a partnership without legal
personality;
(d) Professional income, such as :
- Business profits produced by a Belgian establishment. In some circumstances,
business profits may be taxed even in the absence of any Belgian establishment
(e.g., rental income and capital gains on Belgian real property) ;
- Remuneration and pensions, either when paid by a Belgian debtor or when paid
to a non-resident present in Belgium for more than 183 days per year.
Remuneration for activities exercised abroad is not taxable, when paid by the
foreign establishment of the Belgian paying entity ;
102
CIT, Art. 131.
103
CIT, Art. 228.

22. 21
- Income from independent professions or other occupations derived from activities
exercised in Belgium ;
(e) Miscellaneous income :
- Occasional or speculative profits produced or collected in Belgium104
;
- Alimony paid by residents ;
- Certain capital gains on land and buildings105
located in Belgium ; and
- Capital gains on the sale of a substantial interest in a Belgian company to a non
Belgian (other than an EEA) company.
The amount of the taxable income is determined in the same way as for resident
individuals106
.
B. Assessment
35. For non-resident individuals, a global non-resident tax is assessed107
:
(a) on income from real property located in Belgium when the taxpayer receives
rental income or income from the grant or the assignment of a long-term lease;
(b) on the total Belgian real property income, professional income (including income
from personal property invested in professional assets) and gains on the sale of
shares of closely held companies, of :
- non-residents having a Belgian establishment;
- non-residents receiving real property income, partnership income, profits from
independent activities, remunerations and pensions, as well as capital gains on
the sale of shares of closely held corporations.
The tax is assessed as for resident individuals, including a surcharge equal to 7% of the
tax for the State108
, but certain exemptions or reductions (family exemptions) are not
granted109
.
According to EU law, exemptions and reductions (including family allowances) available
to residents are also granted to non-residents if :
- they have kept a home in Belgium for the whole tax year;
- or if they draw 75 p.c. of their professional income from Belgium110
.
For non-residents who have no special connection with Belgium or who receive only
miscellaneous income, the tax is deemed to correspond to the withholding taxes and the
104
Malherbe, J. and Verstraete, H., Belgium, Taxation of Capital Gains to Nonresident Aliens, 34 Tax
Management International Forum, nr. 2, June 2013 at 8.
105
Subject to a special assessment under CIT, Art. 301, levied by the Registration Tax Administration
when the deed is registered.
106
CIT, Art. 235, 1°.
107
CIT, Art. 232.
108
CIT, Art. 245.
109
CIT, Art. 243.
110
CIT, Art. 244.

23. 22
special assessment on the sale of land and buildings111
. The non-resident income tax is
also equal to the withholding tax for income from partnerships and for income from real
property when the latter does not exceed € 2.500.
Applications
36. An Italian heart surgeon is involved in a contract enabling him to perform surgery in
Belgium. Does he have a permanent establishment (fixed base) in the Belgian hospital ?
No, because, he does not have any exclusive right to use the facilities. The management
rests with the Belgian hospital and the foreign doctor do not even have a key112
.
37. A truck driver should be taxed on his remunerations in the country where he
physically works.
It was held that he was taxable in the country of his employer whereas this exception
applies only to employment on ships or aircraft113
.
A lower Court disagreed and taxed a truck driver in the country where his employment
was exercised. As he failed to inform the administration about kilometers driven in
various countries, he was considered to work in Belgium114
.
38. A Belgian resident is director of a Luxembourg company. He is also remunerated for
additional activities performed for the company.
He claims to be taxable only in Luxembourg on such remunerations because :
- they remunerate a director’s function ;
- or they have a fixed base at the seat of the company.
The Court considers that the remunerations are taxable in Belgium. They are received in
another capacity than the capacity of director and the taxpayer has no office in
Luxembourg115
.
Chapter II – Taxation of companies
The creation of a company may be related to individual tax planning : there is always an
alternative between holding assets personally or through a company.
Section I Taxation of resident companies
39. A company is resident and therefore subject to Belgian corporate income tax on its
worldwide income if it has a statutory seat or principal establishment, or its seat of
management in Belgium116
.
A. Taxable persons
111
CIT, Art. 248.
112
Antwerp, May, 13, 2008, F.J.F., nr. 2008/276, 1044.
113
Cass., November 9, 2007, May 28, 2004, November 6, 2000.
114
Mons, October 22, 2008. See De Broe, TRV, 2010, 125.
115
Civ. Mons, December 20, 2007, F.J.F., nr. 2009/187.
116
CIT, Art. 179 and Art. 1, 5°, b) ; Osterweil, E., and Quaghebeur, M., Taxation of Companies under
Belgian Income Tax Law, Bull. Int. Taxation, 2008, p. 346.

24. 23
40. The Belgian corporate income tax applies to resident “companies”, i.e. companies,
associations, establishments and organizations that are engaged in profit-making
activities or in the operation of a business. Only entities with legal personality are subject
to corporate income tax117
.
Resident legal entities that are not engaged in profit-making activities or in the operation
of a business are subject to the income tax on legal entities.
Non-resident entities, with or without legal personality, which have a form comparable to
the above-mentioned legal entities, are subject to the income tax on non-residents and
treated as corporations (see infra nr. 55).
B. Residence
41. Resident corporations are corporations having their registered office, principal
establishment or their seat of management in Belgium. In general, this will be the place
indicated in the articles of incorporation. However, a company having its official seat
abroad, but which is effectively managed in Belgium, will be considered a resident
corporation. On the other hand, if a company is managed abroad and only has a branch
in Belgium, it will be subject to the non-resident income tax.
The Belgian Company Code distinguishes between two basic types of business entities :
"capital" companies which issue shares which are in principle freely transferable,
including the société anonyme – naamloze vennootschap (SA/NV) and the société en
commandite par actions – commanditaire vennootschap op aandelen (SCA/VGA) and
"personal" companies, which issue “participations” which are in principle not freely
transferable and where the person of the partners is essential, including the société en
nom collectif – vennootschap onder firma (SNC/VOF), the société en commandite simple
– gewone commanditaire vennootschap (SCS/VEG) and the société privée à
responsabilité limitée – besloten vennootschap met beperkte aansprakelijkheid
(SPRL/BVBA). In the "société en nom collectif", partners are jointly and severally liable.
In the "société en commandite simple", and in the "société en commandite par actions",
unlimited partners are, limited partners are not. Both categories of companies and the
société cooperative – samenwerkende venootschap (SC/SV) are subject to corporate
income tax118
. This also applies to non-profit making organizations when regularly
engaged in business or seeking a profit.
The nature of foreign corporations having their head office in Belgium is determined by
analogy to comparable forms of legal entities in Belgium.
C. Principles
1. Taxation of Worldwide Income
42. The taxable income of a corporation is its total income derived from business
activities and from other sources, including foreign source income. Corporate income is,
by definition, business income.
117
CIT, Art., 179 and Art. 1, 5°, a).
118
Hinnekens, Ph., Taxation of Partnerships in Belgium : An Imbroglio ?, Bull. Int. Taxation, 2008, p.
353.

25. 24
Taxes are often levied through prepayments in the form of withholding taxes at the
moment the payment occurs or the benefit is granted. Withholding taxes are creditable
against the final tax on global income, except for the real estate withholding tax119
.
Amounts withheld in excess of the tax due are refundable.
Corporations may (but need not) estimate and pay in advance the entire annual
corporate income tax. Failure to pay in advance will subject the taxpayer to a surcharge.
Income from Foreign Sources
The gross income of corporations includes all revenue from whatever source, including
foreign source income. Hence, the corporate taxable income includes net foreign source
interest, dividends, interest and royalties and income from foreign branches. Credits or
exemptions are, however, granted under certain conditions so as to avoid double taxation
of foreign source income.
2. Accounting
43. The determination of taxable income is generally based on the financial accounts of
the company. However, in case of lack of reliability of the financial accounts, the tax
administration may substitute an estimated amount of corporate income to the reported
income.
Accounting standards are defined in the Law of July 17, 1975, and the Royal Decree of
implementation of the Company Code, governing the annual accounts of enterprises.
Failing an exception in the tax law, accounting rules will apply for the determination of
taxable income.
D. Determination of Gross Income
1. Overview
44. Gross income of corporations includes all revenue from whatever source. All income
of a corporation is considered professional income: the concept of exempt income
generated by a purely private activity, which may allow an individual to exclude such
income from gross income, does not apply to corporations120
. The gross income of a
corporation is computed on the basis of its accounting records; it is equal to the increase
in the net asset value of the enterprise from one year to the other.
Gross income of a corporation includes technically121
:
• reserved profits;
• disallowed deductions; and
• profits distributed as dividends.
Income from patents is taxable only on 20 % of their amount, meaning an effective
corporate tax rate of 6,8 % down from the general 33,99 %. 80 % of the income is
deductible.
119
CIT, Art. 277.
120
Cass. , June 7, 1966, Pas., I, 1281; Cass., January 28, 1969, Pas., I, 489.
121
CIT, Art. 185

26. 25
2. Capital Gains
a. General principles
45. Capital gains are equal to the difference between the realization value and the
acquisition value less the amount of the write-offs and depreciation annuities that have
been deducted tax-wise122
.
Capital gains realized by corporations are, in principle, part of their gross income and
subject to the standard corporate tax rate.
However, capital gains realized on tangible and intangible assets held for more than five
years by the enterprise may be rolled over, upon condition of reinvestment of the sale
proceeds in depreciable assets within a three – or five - year period123
.
The determination of taxable income closely relates to the valuation of fixed assets,
inventory, and other assets in the balance sheet. The tax authorities will, in principle,
accept a valuation made in accordance with rules on annual accounts, subject to certain
qualifications.
By way of exception, long term capital gains realized on shareholdings are mostly tax
exempt subject to certain conditions being met (see nr. 47).
b. Unrealized Capital Gains
46. Unrealized capital gains are not taxed, except when they relate to the revaluation of
raw materials, products, or merchandise, or to the recapture of allowable capital losses
on shareholdings and securities up to original cost124
.
c. Long-Term Gains and Involuntary Gains
46 bis. Gains resulting from involuntary disposals of capital assets, such as following an
accident or expropriation, as well as gains on any disposal (sale, exchange, contribution
to the capital of a corporation) of fixed assets recorded as such by the enterprise for more
than five years are rolled over if the indemnity or the sales proceeds are reinvested in
depreciable assets used in the business in Belgium within a three-year period125
. This
reinvestment period starts at the end of the tax year during which the indemnity was paid
or on the first day of the year during which the sale occurs; in any event, the reinvestment
must be made before the business is wound up126
.
The capital gains that have been temporarily exempt are taxed according to the
depreciation schedule of the assets acquired as reinvestment of the indemnity or sales
proceeds. This is the equivalent of a roll-over. In a roll-over, the basis (cost for tax
purposes) of the old asset carries over to the new asset.
The three-year investment period is extended to five years if the reinvestment is made in
buildings, ships or airplanes127
.
122
CIT, Art. 43.
123
CIT, Art. 47.
124
CIT, Art. 24, 3 and 44, § 1, 1°.
125
CIT, Art. 47. Is the limitation to Belgian assets in conformity with the principle of freedom of
establishment under the Treaty of Rome ?
126
CIT, Art. 47, § 3.
127
CIT, Art. 47, § 4. For those assets in the case of voluntary disposals, the reinvestment period may
also start two years before the year of the sale, the reinvestment being made in anticipation of the sale.

27. 26
In the absence of reinvestment within the prescribed period, the gain will be taxable
during the year in which such period expires. Interest is assessed on the amount of tax
due from the year during which the exemption was granted128
.
In order to benefit from the temporary exemption of the capital gain, the enterprise is
required to book the gain in a special account on the liabilities side on the balance sheet;
it may not serve as a basis for the calculation of the legal reserve nor for any
remuneration or distribution129
.
d. Capital Gains on Shares
Sales or contributions to capital
47. Capital gains on shares realized by a Belgian company are in principle taxable at the
ordinary corporate income tax rate, unless the gains relate to shares the income from
which qualifies for the dividends received deduction130
. Unlike under the dividends
received deduction, however, the minimum holding requirement (i.e., 10 % of the shares
or a holding with a value of at least € 2,5 million) is not a condition for the application of
the tax exemption, e.g. the special tax rates for capital gains on shares. It follows that the
relevant conditions for the tax treatment of capital gains on shares are the taxation
condition and the minimum holding period requirement under the dividends received
deduction, as follows :
(i) if the gains relate to shares that meet both the taxation condition and the
minimum holding period requirement, they are fully tax exempt if realized by a
company other than a large company ; if realized by a large company, such
gains are subject to tax at a rate of 0.4 % (to be increased by the 3 % crisis
surcharge, resulting in an effective rate of 0.412 %) ;
(ii) if the gains relate to shares that meet the taxation condition but not the minimum
holding period requirement, they are taxable at a special rate of 25 % (to be
increased by the 3 % crisis surcharge, resulting in an effective rate of 25.75
%) ;
(iii) if the gains relate to shares that do not meet the taxation condition, they are
taxable at the standard corporate income tax rate.
According to the tax authorities, if part of the dividends that could have been distributed
by the company do not fall under the participation exemption regime, the total gain is
subject to tax131
.
Capital gains on shares are unconditionally exempt or eligible for the special tax rates;
their amount must not be recorded under a distinct heading on the liabilities side of the
balance sheet.
On the other hand, capital gains and losses or reductions in value on the “trading
portfolio” of banks, investment companies and companies managing UCITS will be
subject to the normal regime of taxation of gains and deduction of charges.
The transfer from their investment portfolio to their trading portfolio will be considered as
a realization.
128
CIT, Art. 47, § 6.
129
CIT, Art. 190, § 1.
130
CIT, Art. 192 ; Navez, E.J., Belgium, in Maisto, G., ed., Taxation of Companies on Capital Gains on
Shares under Domestic Law, EU Law and Tax Treaties, IBFD, 2013 at 409.
131
Administrative Circular of March 9, 1993.

28. 27
Reorganizations
47bis. Gains resulting from exchanges of shares due to mergers, divisions, “mixed
divisions”, change of the form of a company are tax-exempt only if the corporations
concerned are established either in Belgium or elsewhere in the EU and the applicable
tax law exempts the corporate reorganization from taxation. The basis of the old shares
and their date of acquisition will be rolled over to the new shares132
.
The one-year holding period required fro the application of the capital gains exemption
must be calculated by reference to the date of acquisition of the shares exchanged (i.e.,
the date on which the exchanged shares had initially been acquired) and not as of the
date of acquisition of the shares received in exchange as a result of the transaction133
.
When certificates are issued in exchange for shares - under a so called “certification” of
shares - , any resulting capital gain is treated as unrealized. The basis of the shares
carries over to the certificates134
.
Gains are also exempt when realized upon a contribution of shares to a Belgian or intra-
European company135
by which the acquiring company acquires 50 p.c. of the shares or
increases a 50 p.c. plus participation and no cash payment of more than 10 p.c. of the
nominal or par value of the shares is made136
.
e. Capital losses
48. Capital losses and write-offs on shares are not deductible, whether or not they relate
to shares which meet the above taxation requirement. By way of exception, capital losses
will be deductible when incurred upon liquidation and to the extent of the real paid-up
capital of the liquidated company137
.
If the paid-up capital has been reduced to absorb losses, the capital reduction will not be
taken into account in determining a capital loss on the disposal of shares, which will be
allowed up to the capital of the liquidated company, as if the reduction had not taken
place138
.
E. Deductible expenses - Limitations
Expenses are deductible, if paid or incurred during the taxable year in order to preserve
or acquire business income139
.
1. Interest and Royalties
132
CIT, Art. 45, § 1, 1°.
133
CIT, Art. 192, § 1.
134
Law of July 15, 1998, relating to the certification of shares by commercial companies, Art. 13, § 2.
135
An intra-european company is a non-resident company having on the forms cited in the Tax Merger
Directive and resident in a State of the EU without being considered under a double tax treaty as
resident in a third country outside of the Union, subject to corporation tax without a possibility of
option for another tax regime or exemption (CIT, Art., 1, 5°, b bis)).
136
CIT, Art. 45, § 1, 2°.
137
CIT, Art. 198, § 1, 7°.
138
CIT, Art., 198, last §.
139
CIT, Art. 49.

29. 28
49. Interest on capital borrowed from third parties that has been used within the
enterprise, and all charges and analogous fees relating to such borrowings are deductible
business expenses140
.
Interest is deductible as a business expense, provided the interest rate is fixed at a
market rate taking into account the risks relating to the operation, namely the financial
situation of the debtor and the duration of the loan141
. No limit applies, however, to
interest paid by Belgian banks and Belgian branches of foreign banks. Neither does any
limit apply to interest paid by any taxpayer on publicly issued bonds or interest paid to
Belgian banks or insurance companies as well as Belgian branches of foreign banks or
foreign insurance companies142
.
2. Taxes
Corporation tax is not deductible143
.
Foreign taxes are deductible.
50. Taxes that are specifically regional, i.e. instituted by the Regions, are no longer
deductible for federal corporation tax purposes
144
.
F. Losses
51. Losses are deductible in the year during which they are incurred, but may be carried
forward without any time limit to be set-off against profits in future years145
. They cannot
be carried back.
Reserve for future losses
52. Where a company considers it likely that it will incur a loss in a foreseeable future, it
may make a provision against the anticipated loss and deduct this provision from taxable
profits. This to some extent replaces the carry-back of losses that many other countries
allow146
.
G. Rates
53. The basic rate of Belgian corporate income tax is 33%147
. However, this rate is
increased to 33,99% through the application of a 3% austerity surcharge. The abolition of
this additional austerity surcharge remains a goal, as well as a decrease of the basic rate
to 30%.
140
CIT, Art. 52, 2°.
141
CIT, Art. 55.
142
CIT, Art. 56.
143
CIT, Art. 198, § 1, 1°.
144
CIT, Art. 198, § 1, 5°.
145
CIT, Art. 206, § 1.
146
CIT, Art. 48 and RD-CIT, Art.22 ff.
147
CIT, Art. 215.

30. 29
The following reduced rates apply to companies with a taxable income lower than €
322,500 :
Income Rate
Below € 25,000 24,25 %
From € 25,000 to € 90,000 31 %
From € 90,000 to € 322,500 34,5 %
These rates are increased through the application of the 3% austerity surcharge to
24.98%, 31.93% and 35.54% respectively.
The reduced rates are not applicable to :
- companies owning participations exceeding certain limits (financial
companies)148
;
- companies whose shares are at least 50% owned by one or more companies;
- companies whose dividend distributions exceed 13% of the paid-up capital at the
beginning of the financial year;
- companies which do not pay a remuneration of at least € 36.000149
to at least one
of their directors (if the taxable income of the company is less than € 36.000, the
remuneration should be equal to the taxable income.
53bis. “Secret commissions”
Salaries, commission, rebates, fees and other similar expenses that constitute earned
income are deductible if the identity of the beneficiary is disclosed in a special annex to
the tax return. These expenses must be supported by individual fee slips and a
comprehensive statement of all such expenses, which must be provided before June 30
of the year following the year in which they were paid150
.
Commissions and fees not supported by such individual records are taxed as “secret
commissions” at a flat rate of 300 % (309 % including the crisis surcharge of 3 %), unless
it can be proven that they are taxed in the hands of the beneficiary151
. The latter
condition is met if the commissions and fees are taxed within the ordinary 3-year
assessment period (Article 354 of the ITC) in the hands of the beneficiary and with the
beneficiary’s consent. The Circular Letter of July 22, 2013 extends this “tolerance” to
final tax assessments in the hands of the beneficiary without his/her consent and/or
outside the 3-year assessment period. The special levy on secret commission, to the
extent applicable, is deductible as a business expense152
. The secret commissions
themselves, provided that they are taxed at the level of the beneficiary, also constitute
deductible business expenses, absent such taxation, they are disallowed expenses, in
the latter case, however, the Minister of Finance can allow the deductibility of the secret
commissions themselves as business expenses if :
148
The value of the shares they hold, to the extent such shares represent less than a 75% participation in
the capital of the issuing company(ies), exceeds 50% of the higher of their (reevalued) paid-up capital
or their paid in capital plus taxed reserves and booked capital gains.
149
This amount is not indexed yearly whereas most amounts stated in Euros in the Code are.
150
CIT, Art. 57, 1°.
151
CIT, Art. 219.
152
CIT, Art. 197, 1°.

31. 30
(i) the payment of secret commissions can be regarded as current practice in the
relevant sector of the economy ;
(ii) the taxpayer applies for this favorable tax regime beforehand ;
(iii) the commissions paid are not excessive ; and
(iv) the taxpayer pays a flat rate on these commissions (as fixed in the Royal Decree
granting the request), which cannot be lower than 20 % of the commissions
paid153
.
The Ministry of Finance cannot allow the deduction of secret commissions paid for the
acquisition or maintenance of a public market (for example, the granting of a public
tender) or administrative authorizations.
H. Groups of companies
54. In contrast with French and German rules, no tax consolidation is possible in
Belgium.
Section II Taxation of non-resident companies
A. Domestic Law
1. Definition
55. Formerly, the non-resident tax was applied to non-resident corporations,
organizations and other institutions with or without legal personality having their statutory
seat, principal establishment or seat of management outside Belgium.
Today, non-resident associations without legal personality are no longer subject to non-
resident tax as such unless they are set up under a form analogous to one of the legal
forms provided by Belgian company law154
.
2. Tax base of foreign companies
56. A foreign corporation is subject to non-resident income tax in Belgium, either because
it has an establishment in Belgium or because it receives Belgian-source income.
Any partner or member of a partnership without legal personality which has its statutory
seat, principal establishment or seat of management in Belgium or which has at its
disposal an establishment in Belgium, is deemed to have a Belgian establishment155
.
Even without an establishment, a foreign corporation may be taxed on its profits (other
than personal property income). Thus :
- all rental income and capital gains derived from Belgian real property owned by
non-residents are subject to income tax156
by way of assessment157
;
153
CIT, Art. 58.
154
CIT, Art. 227, 2°.
155
CIT, Art.229, § 3.
156
CIT, Art. 228, § 2, 3°, a.
157
CIT, Art. 232, 1°.

32. 31
- directors’ fees received by a non-resident corporation are taxed158
by way of a
withholding tax159
;
- profits realized by a foreign company providing artistic or sporting services160
in
Belgium are taxable.
When a non-resident company has no establishment in Belgium (and does not have
income referred to above), it is subject to non-resident income tax by way of a
withholding tax on certain Belgian-source income (mainly income from capital or personal
property).
3. Method of taxation
57. If a non-resident corporation has a Belgian establishment, a distinction should be
made between the income attributed to the Belgian establishment and the other income.
The following income is allocated to the establishment :
- business income produced through the establishment, including161
.
- income from capital and personal property (such as dividends, interest and
royalties) if the property is invested in the business activity of the establishment in
Belgium;
Rental income and capital gains relating to Belgian real property may also be assessed
even in the absence of any establishment of the foreign company in Belgium.
Income allocated to an establishment and the income referred to above is subject to non-
resident income tax by way of assessment162
.
Other types of income are subject only to a withholding tax, which is not credited against
the tax due by the branch163
.
If a foreign corporation does not have a Belgian establishment or real property income in
Belgium, only income produced or collected in Belgium is taxable, including income from
capital and personal property. Such income is subject only to withholding taxes. No tax
assessment is made.
B. Treaty rules
58. When a tax treaty applies, the taxpayer is subject to the particular treaty rule if it is
more favorable.
In all conventions following the OECD or the Belgian model, a foreign corporation will
only have to pay tax in Belgium if it has a permanent establishment i.e. a fixed place of
158
CIT, Art. 228, § 2, 3°, d.
159
CIT, Art. 248.
160
CIT, Art. 228, § 2, 8°.
161
CIT, Art. 233.
162
CIT, Art. 233 and 246.
163
CIT, Art. 248.

33. 32
business through which the business of an enterprise is wholly or partly carried on or if it
derives real property income from Belgium.
Unrelated income is subject to withholding tax only within the limits of the relevant treaty
provisions.

34. 33
TITLE II – INTERNATIONAL ASPECTS – INBOUND
AND OUTBOUND INCOME
Chapter I – Business income
Section I Inbound business income: income earned abroad
by Belgian residents
A. Domestic law : double taxation
59. For individuals, the part of the tax that proportionally relates to real property or
business income from a foreign source is reduced by half.
The amount of exempt income is however added to the other income to determine the
applicable tax rate (reserve of progressivity)164
.
For corporations, the tax on foreign-source income that, in the absence of other treaty
relief, was reduced to one-fourth, does not benefit any more from any reduction165
.
Foreign taxes are deductible. Double taxation will deter a Belgian company to create a
permanent establishment in a non-treaty country.
Interest and royalty income realized and taxed abroad is subject to the reduced rate (for
an individual) only if the income-producing asset is invested in an establishment abroad.
If the asset producing foreign interest or royalty income is invested in a Belgian
establishment, the normal rate will apply, but, if the income has been taxed abroad, the
taxpayer may, under certain circumstances, be granted a foreign tax credit.
Dividends on foreign or domestic shareholdings received by a foreign branch are
excluded up to 95% of their amount from income in the same conditions as
intercorporate dividends received by the head office (see infra nr. 79); the balance is
subject to tax at the standard rate.
Foreign losses are deductible and can offset domestic income.
B. Treaties : exemption
a. Income
60. All foreign source income attributable to a foreign permanent establishment is exempt
from Belgian tax. However, Belgium reserves the right to take such income into account
to determine the progressive rate of tax applying to other income. Under the Belgian
Code of Income Tax, the provision taking foreign source income into account to
determine the progressive tax rate applies only to individuals, not to corporations166
.
The exemption applies to dividends, interest, and royalties when the income-producing
asset is invested in a permanent establishment abroad.
164
CIT, Art. 155 and 156.
165
CIT, Art. 217, abolished.
166
CIT, Art. 155.

35. 34
b. Losses
61. Foreign losses are deductible. Double deduction of losses incurred in treaty countries
is prevented by the levy of a Belgian tax on foreign-source income arising in subsequent
years if such income is not taxed abroad because it is set off against a loss previously
deducted from income taxable in Belgium.
The company must demonstrate each year that the foreign loss has not been deducted
from the profits of the foreign establishments.
The loss may not be deducted if it can be set off against exempt profits of other foreign
establishments of the company167
. This provision may be contrary to the freedom of
establishment in the EU as it discriminates between foreign and Belgian branches.
Besides, if the foreign establishment is transferred to another company by way of
contribution, merger, division or an assimilated transaction, the deductible foreign loss
will be recaptured168
.
Losses incurred in non-treaty countries are deductible without any recapture, as the
business income arising in such countries is taxable at the full corporate rate.
If a loss is incurred by a Belgian company in Belgium and the company’s permanent
establishment (PE) abroad has generated profits in the same year that are exempt under
the tax treaty between the foreign country and Belgium, Belgium required the company to
set off the Belgian loss against the profits of the foreign PE rather than allowing the
carryover of the loss to a subsequent tax year. This position had been upheld by Belgian
case law because the computation of losses is not a treaty matter, despite the fact that it
denies the carryover of losses and that it de facto nullifies the foreign income treaty
exemption.
However, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has held that this rule was contrary to the
principle of freedom of establishment guaranteed under the European Union Treaty.
According to the ECJ, the freedom of establishment principle precludes a Member State
from applying legislation under which a company incorporated under national law and
having its seat in that Member State may, for purposes of corporation tax, deduct a loss
incurred the previous year from the taxable profit for the current year only on the
condition that the loss was not susceptible of being set off against the profit made during
that same previous year by one of its PE's situated in another Member State, when the
loss, although set off, cannot be deducted from taxable income in the Member States
concerned, whereas it would be deductible if the establishments of that company were
situated exclusively in the Member State in which it has its seat169
. The Belgian position
is therefore no longer applicable in the case of PE's created within the EU, but may
continue to be applied with respect to non-EU countries.
c. Determination of profits
62. The problem just referred to above arose from the way in which the taxable profits of
a Belgian corporation are computed.
167
CIT, Art. 185, § 3.
168
CIT, Art. 206, § 1.
169
ECJ, December 14, 2000, Case C-141-99, AMID ; Hinnekens, L., European Union, AMID : The
Wrong Bridge or a Bridge too far ? An Analysis of a Recent Decision of the European Court of
Justice, Eur. Tax., June 2001, p. 206.

36. 35
The taxable profit of a company is determined in the following sequence :
(1) The elements of the tax base, i.e., reserved profits, disallowed expenses and
dividends paid, are added up.
Exempt capital gains and exempt reserves, including reserves created by a transfer of
capital (in a capital reduction) or in respect of premiums on issuance of shares, are
excluded from the tax base.
(2) Profits are broken down according to their source, that is :
• Belgian profits;
• foreign profits realized in non-treaty countries which were formerly taxable at a
reduced rate170
;
• foreign profits exempted by a tax treaty.
If losses were incurred in Belgium and abroad, they are deducted as follows:
• losses incurred in a country where profits are exempted by treaty: first from profits
so exempted, then from profits realized in non-treaty countries formerly taxable at
the reduced rate, and then from Belgian profits;
• losses incurred in a non-treaty country the profits of which were formerly taxable
at the reduced rate: first from profits in non-treaty countries, then from profits
exempted by treaty, and then from Belgian profits;
• losses incurred in Belgium: first from Belgian profits, then from profits in non-
treaty countries formerly taxable at the reduced rate, and then from profits
exempted by treaty.
(3) The following amounts are deducted :
• foreign-source profits exempted by a tax treaty;
• exempted gifts; non-taxable items.
If there are foreign source profits arising in non-treaty countries, the deduction applies
first to Belgian source profits.
(4) Deductible dividends and liquidation surpluses are deducted (see infra nr. 79
intercorporate dividend deduction).
Belgian source dividends and liquidation surpluses are deducted from Belgian source
profits and foreign source dividends and surpluses arising from shares invested in
branches located in non-treaty countries are deducted first from foreign source income.
(5) Income from patents up to 80 p.c. (see nr. 174) ;
(6) Notional interest (see nr. 157) ;
(7) Losses from previous years are deducted in the following order :
(a) losses from treaty countries (not set off against profits exempted by treaty):
170
This category does not make sense, but remains on the books.

37. 36
• first from profits in non-treaty countries formerly taxable at the reduced rate;
• then from Belgian profits;
(b) losses from non-treaty countries :
• first from profits in non-treaty countries formerly taxable at the reduced rate;
• then from Belgian profits;
(c) Belgian losses:
• first from Belgian profits;
• then from profits in non-treaty countries formerly taxable at the reduced rate171
.
(8) The investment deduction, where applicable, or the deduction carried forward172
is
deducted from the remaining amount of Belgian source profits173
.
Corporate gifts to authorized institutions are deductible up to 10 % of income with a
maximum of € 500,000 (indexed).
Section II Outbound business income: income earned in
Belgium by foreign residents
A. Domestic law
1. Definitions
63. A distinction should be made between a domestic subsidiary, a branch of a
nonresident corporation and a non-resident corporation without a Belgian branch:
• a domestic subsidiary is an entity having legal personality which is subject to the
Belgian corporate income tax because its statutory seat or principal office is
located in Belgium;
• a branch of a foreign corporation is a commercial concept. Tax-wise, a branch
constitutes, in principle, an establishment of a foreign corporation in Belgium. The
concept of a Belgian establishment is similar to but broader than the treaty
concept of a “permanent establishment”;
• a nonresident corporation which does not have an establishment in Belgium may,
however, receive Belgian source income.
2. Tax base of a Foreign Corporation
64. A foreign corporation will be subject to nonresident income tax in Belgium, either
because it has an establishment in Belgium or because it receives Belgian source
income.
171
R.D.-CIT, Art. 75, 2d indent. The reference to the reduced rate only applies until assessment year
2003.
172
A special deduction – rarely – granted for some new investments, in the nature of a tax expenditure.
173
R.D.-CIT, Arts. 74 to 79.

38. 37
A Belgian establishment is defined as any fixed installation through which a foreign
corporation conducts part or all of its professional activities in Belgium174
. The term
“Belgian establishment” includes especially :
• a place of management;
• a branch;
• an office;
• a factory;
• a workshop;
• an agency;
• a mine, an oil or gas well, a quarry or any other place of extraction of natural
resources;
• a building site, construction or installation project if it lasts more than 30 days;
• a warehouse;
• an inventory of goods or merchandise175
.
For such an establishment to exist, there must be an element of permanence. Business
profits need not be produced directly by such establishment, as long as it participates in
producing the business profits176
.
Any person – other than an agent having an independent status acting in the ordinary
course of his business – acting in Belgium on behalf of a nonresident, must be
considered a Belgian establishment, even if such person does not have the authority to
conclude contracts in the name of the nonresident177
.
Any partner or member of a partnership without legal personality that has its statutory
seat, principal establishment or seat of management in Belgium or that has at its disposal
an establishment in Belgium, is deemed to have a Belgian establishment178
.
If reciprocal treatment is afforded by the country of domicile of the enterprise, the
employment of an agent whose activity is limited to soliciting orders does not constitute a
Belgian establishment.
A Belgian establishment will also exist if services are supplied by individuals present in
Belgium during more than 30 days during a 12 months period for a same or connected
projects179
(“service establishment”).
174
Denys, L., Belgium : The Concept of Permanent Establishment Revisited and Other Reflections
Beyond, Bull. Int. Taxation, 2008 at 440 ; Faes, P., Belgium, Tax Ramifications to a Foreign
Corporation of Using a Service Provider in Host Country, 33 Tax Management International Forum, nr.
3, September 2012 at 8.
175
CIT, Art. 229, § 1.
176
Dierckx, F., How « Permanent » should a « Material Permanent Establishment » be ?, Eur. Tax.,
2009, p. 34.
177
CIT, Art. 229, § 2.
178
CIT, Art. 229, § 3.
179
CIT, Art. 229, § 2.1.

39. 38
Activities of associated enterprises will be taken into account.
Business profits of international shipping and air transport companies are exempt from
tax under the same reciprocity condition180
.
Foreign insurance companies collecting insurance premiums in Belgium, other than from
reinsurance, are subject to tax even if they do not have a permanent establishment in
Belgium181
.
An establishment in Belgium is deemed to exist where a non-resident company reveals
its presence through agents’ mail on letterheads, advertising, or in any other manner.
When a foreign corporation has an establishment in Belgium, all its profits connected with
the activities of the Belgian establishment (including income from personal property which
is invested in the Belgian establishment) are subject to income tax in Belgium.
As seen above, in exceptional circumstances, a foreign corporation may be taxed on its
profits (other than income from capital and personal property) even without having a
Belgian establishment :
• All rental income and capital gains derived from Belgian real property owned by
non-residents are subject to income tax182
by way of assessment183
.
• Director’s fees received by a nonresident corporation are taxed184
by way of
withholding tax185
.
• Profits realized by a foreign company performing artistic or sports services186
are
taxed by way of withholding tax.
When a non-resident company has no establishment in Belgium (and does not have
income such as referred to above), it may be subject to nonresident income tax by way of
a withholding tax on certain Belgian source income (mainly income from capital and
personal property).
3. Method of Taxation
65. If a non-resident corporation has a Belgian establishment, a distinction should be
made between the income attributed to the Belgian establishment and other income.
The following income is allocated to the establishment :
• business income produced through the establishment, including187
;
• income from capital and personal property (such as dividends, interest and
royalties) if the asset is invested in the business activity of the establishment in
Belgium;
180
CIT, Art. 231, § 1, 3.
181
CIT, Art. 231, § 1, 3.
182
CIT, Art. 228, § 2, 3, a.
183
CIT, Art. 232, 1.
184
CIT, Art. 228, § 2, 3, d.
185
CIT, Art. 248.
186
CIT, Art. 228, § 2, 8.
187
CIT, Art. 233.