Unilever’s decision to abandon its dual Anglo-Dutch corporate structure in favour of a single company based in London is good news for Belgian residents. Unilever is the result of the merger of Dutch company Margarine Unie and British soapmaker Lever Brothers in 1929. Unilever has two holding companies: Unilever NV in Rotterdam and Unilever PLC in Merseyside, but its head …
2020 Tax Return: Appeal the Tax Bill
How and where you do that is explained on page 2 of your tax bill. You have to send a letter to the address in the middle of the page within six months after you receive the tax bill. That means the letter must arrive with the tax authorities within six months plus three working days from the date the …
2020 Tax Return : The Tax Bill
Now that you have filed your tax return, all that you can do is wait for the tax man to send you the tax assessment or tax bill. The “avertissement extrait de role”/”aanslagbiljet” is really the tax bill for your 2019 income. If you have not seen one before, you can click here to see one. If the tax bill …
2020 Tax Return: Nowhere to Hide
For years, many people thought they could safely “forget” the income they had outside Belgium; the taxman would never find out. The EU Savings Directive was a rude wake-up call as the Belgian tax authorities started receiving information about overseas bank accounts and enquiring about overseas bank accounts. And when Belgian banks started reporting to the tax authorities abroad, they …
Taxes in Corona Times
Covid-19 has changed certain rules and habits. You cannot visit the tax office to get help to complete your tax return, that has to be done over the phone (see help). You may have been forced to work from home and your employer can pay you a tax-free allowance of €126.94 for working at home, plus €20 (for the use …
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2020 Tax Return: Box XIV – Overseas Bank Accounts and Insurance Policies
In box XIV you have to confirm whether you have bank accounts outside Belgium, even if you didn’t have any income on these accounts. Do I have to report the money on my bank account? No, you tick the box with code 1075, list the countries where you have bank accounts with the name of the account holders. You also …
2020 Tax Return: Box XII – Paying your Taxes in Advance
If you have paid your tax in advance, e.g. because you don’t have an employer who deducts the tax from your salary, you report that under 1570/2570 in Box XII. Paying the tax in advance is highly recommended, in particular for self-employed. Not doing so results in a tax increase of 2.25% of the tax. If you don’t have to …
2020 Tax Return: Box X – Other Tax Deductions
Box X is for all sorts of payments or expenses that you have made and for which you can claim a tax reduction. That goes from donations to charities (1394): the minimum is €40 per charity, if you have a tax certificate of the donation, you can recover up to 45% of the gift by reducing your tax bill; childcare …
2020 Tax Return: Box IX – Mortgages
In box IX you mostly report interest and mortgage payments to buy your main residence (under I) or another property (under II). The tax incentives to buy your main residence are a regional matter and you will see that the codes relating to your main residence start with a 3 (for him, on the left) or a 4 (for her). …
2020 Tax Return: Box VIII – Maintenance Paid and Losses from Previous Years
Losses If you have made losses in past years, i.e. you had more expenses than income, you can carry forward these losses to later years and deduct them here. Maintenance paid If you pay alimony and/or child support to your ex, you can deduct 80% from your income. Maintenance paid can be deducted up to 80% if you have a …