Belgium revamped its tax regime for expats a couple of years ago, but is now relaxing the scheme to make it even more beneficial for inbound taxpayers.
The Federal Government approved "significant enhancements" to its special tax regime for inbound taxpayers right before Christmas last year. While the reform was only announced in January 2026, it is effective retroactively from 1 January 2025.
"These changes aim to increase tax benefits and broaden access to the regime, reinforcing Belgium's attractiveness for international talent," announced international auditing and consulting organisation KPMG.
This way, the government is "facilitating the recruitment and retention" of international talent, and doubling down on its previous push to make Belgium – and Brussels, in particular – an international hub.
What is changing?
Belgium's previous expatriate tax regime, introduced in the 1960s, was abolished in 2022. In its place, Belgium launched special tax regimes for inbound taxpayers and inbound researchers – designed to reduce the cost of employing foreign talent and strengthen Belgium's competitive position.
In practice, this meant that inbound taxpayers with a minimum annual gross salary of €75,000 could benefit from certain tax concessions. The same was true for inbound researchers. For them, there was no salary threshold, but a PhD or Master's degree in STEM disciplines or equivalent experience was required.
Now, Belgium is lowering the salary threshold for inbound taxpayers from €75,000 to €70,000 – effective retroactively from 1 January 2025.
This means that people who started employment in Belgium in 2025 but did not meet the previous €75,000 threshold may now qualify retroactively – if their employment started between 1 January 2025 and 9 January 2029, if their annual gross remuneration falls between €70,000 and €75,000, and they meet all other regime conditions.
Retroactive applications must be filed by 9 April 2026.
Flags pictured at a special European Council summit to discuss continued support for Ukraine and European defence, Thursday 06 March 2025 in Brussels. Credit: Hatim Kaghat
For inbound researchers, the salary threshold remains non-applicable. The other conditions – such as the requirement to have lived at least 150 km from the Belgian border during the previous five years and not having earned Belgian taxable income during that period – remain unchanged.
Additionally, some of the fiscal benefits are also being expanded: the tax-free allowance is raised from 30% to 35% of gross remuneration, and the €90,000 annual cap on the allowance is being removed – a major benefit for high earners.
"These changes significantly enhance the financial attractiveness of the regime for both employers and employees," stressed KPMG.
Importantly, the Belgian social security regime remains unchanged, as the Royal Decree of 28 November 1969 has not been amended.
This means that the above-mentioned relaxations apply only to income tax; for social security purposes, the rules remain as they were on 1 January 2022.
