In these Covid-19 times, many of us are still trying to work from home while educating our children. The government is trying to make life a bit easier with some tax measures (see “Taxes in Corona Times”). Even the taxmen and women have been confined at home and non-essential tax audits have been put on hold. However, they had some WFO-experience as the tax administration …
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Ten myths about the 183 days’ rule
In The myth of the 183 days, we wrote that there was no such thing as a 183 days’ rule. In this post , we will say that there is a 183 days’ rule. Is that a contradiction? Not really. There is no 183 days’ rule to determine whether you are a Belgian resident. There is, however, a 183 days’ rule to determine whether you …
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2019 Tax Return : if this is your first time …
If you are new to Belgium, or if this is the first time you have to file a tax return, these are a few of the things you need to know. The first time you receive a tax return, it comes in the form of a brown envelope with a tax return and a form to prepare the tax return guide (see p. 10). You …
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2019 Tax Return : the Guide
28 June is when the taxman wants your tax return; if you file online, you have another two weeks, until 11 July. It’s time to file your tax return again. Whether you are new to Belgium or have been filing your tax return here for years, you may have a number of questions. We will address some of these questions and we will address some …
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The myth of the 183 days
Tax residence can be a difficult concept, in particular if one has many residences. Johnny Hallyday is a French rock star, who died at the end of last year. In fact, he was Belgian but became the French rocker of all rockers, made millions and moved to Switzerland for tax reasons.  In 2013, he took up residence in Santa Monica, California. When he died, it came …
How are your bitcoins taxed?
If you want to know whether the capital gains you make on bitcoin investments are taxable at all in Belgium, you can ask the Ruling Committee for an advance ruling. The Ruling Committee recently published a detailed questionnaire (NL/FR) that you will have complete when applying for a ruling. If you intend to ask for a ruling on the taxation of your transactions with bitcoin, …
When do you have to file your tax return?
Deadlines for filing the income tax return in 2018: On paper: 29 June 2018 Online via tax-on-web: 12 July 2018 Online via a tax adviser: 25 October 2018 For non-resident individuals, the deadlines for filing the income tax return in 2018 On paper: 8 November 2018 Online via tax-on-web: 6 December 2018 Online via a tax adviser: 6 December 2018 For companies and non-profit organisations …
Tax authorities announce targeted audits
A few days before sending out the tax returns for 2017, the tax authorities announce on their website (FR/NL) which groups of taxpayers they will audit more specifically. For individuals, these are Company directors who deduct their actual business expenses instead of the lump sum deduction. The tax administration suspects that some directors artificially prove more professional expenses in order to pay less taxes. Directors …
Constitutional Court Writes Obituary for Fairness Tax
The Belgian Constitutional Court has annulled the so-called fairness tax, abiding by a judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Union, from which the Constitutional Court had sought a preliminary ruling. However, contrary to what most observers had hoped, the Constitutional Court’s ruling does not cancel the tax retroactively, except in one specific situation. For more, read the contribution in Tax Notes International or …
Belgian Supreme Court Upholds Tax Treaty Precedence Over Domestic Law
The Belgian Supreme Court recently confirmed that Belgian tax authorities cannot hide behind the text of the domestic law to deny Belgian taxpayers the benefit of the Belgium-France tax treaty. (1971 protocol; 1999 protocol; 2008 protocol; 2009 protocol.) The case is a classic example of double taxation of dividends. French dividends are taxed at source at a reduced rate of 15 percent, and the net dividends are taxed again …