Individual Tax return filing

Based on our expertise in the field of individual taxation internationally, Xcelentra offers comprehensive, cutting edge, customised individual tax preparation services and income tax return filing services, along with taxation advisory services (including company tax return, tax filing services for small business, non resident Belgian tax return, Belgian expat tax return, etc). Xcelentra not only prepares regular tax returns for clients in Belgium but also explores and claims various benefits available to an individual in different countries in order to minimize his tax liability. Apart from the regular individual tax return filing, we also represent our clients before relevant authorities in Belgium (such as Income Tax, Social Security, National Insurance, etc.) with respect to their tax and social security matters, as and when needed.

Do note that we correspond and communicate exclusively in English with our Belgian clientsso that there is no scope for misinterpretation and all rules and regulations are completely clear to all parties concerned. Our tax return filing services in Belgium cover the following activities:

• Creating your income tax return for working in Belgium
• Coordination for items that can be deducted from tax
• Getting non-residence status approved wherever applicable
• Checking cases of double taxation adjustments per respective DTAA treaties
• Claiming non-taxable allowances and optimizing effective tax rate

If you wish, we can also assist you in your tax assessment. Further, we can request the tax office to send all notices directly to Xcelentra. On your behalf, we will check the assessments received from the relevant authorities. If the tax office has deviated from your income tax return, or if there are other issues, we can lodge a legal appeal on your behalf within the required time period in order to protect your tax interests.

Expat Employees

Foreign employees working for employers that are part of certain international groups can benefit from a favorable tax regime within Belgium (administrative Circular 8/8/83).

The regulations require the employee to have held a management position before coming to Belgium or to have the necessary academic background to assume a management position in Belgium.

Generally, assignments in Belgium must be temporary, and foreign executives must prove that their primary economic interests are maintained outside Belgium.

Foreign executives with temporary assignments qualify for taxation as non-residents.

Consequently, expatriates’ professional income is subject to Belgian taxation only on the portion of income related to their activities in Belgium.

According to the tax regulations for expatriates, within certain limits, expatriate employees are not taxed on reimbursement of expenses incurred as a result of their temporary stay in Belgium.

The special tax regulations for expatriates apply in principle for an unlimited time period. However, in practice, tax inspectors recently tend to verify (on a periodic basis) whether the conditions to benefit from the status remain fulfilled.

Belgian tax resident or not?

People registered with the community are always presumed to be resident taxpayers unless they can prove otherwise. If you can demonstrate that your principle place of residence or the centre of your economic interests remains outside Belgium then the tax authorities might consider you a non-resident taxpayer.

For this, you would need to prove that your stay in Belgium is only of a temporary nature (e.g. spouse or partner lives abroad, ownership of real estate abroad, foreign life insurance contract, continued affiliation to a foreign social security scheme, etc.).

As a general rule, the residency of married taxpayers is presumed to be located at the place of the actual family residence. In other words, if, for example, your wife and children move with you to Belgium, it will be practically impossible to get a non-resident tax status.

Furthermore, the tax authorities have the right to prove otherwise and demonstrate that you qualify as a resident on the basis of your personal situation (e.g. living in Belgium together with a spouse or partner, opening a Belgian account, buying a car or a house in Belgium, etc.). Again, no single factor is decisive – rather, all aspects will be taken into account.

Note: There are two tables in the old website. These can be retained as it is or latest updates can be included. One of the table carries 2013 data.

Xcelentra provides a comprehensive range of top of the line services to help our Belgium based clients achieve greater efficiencies and productivity. Our services range from routine annual compliance to specialist advice, according to your particular business sector and circumstances. Thus, we offer a very comprehensive set of services, including tax preparation for small business, corporate tax planning services, corporate tax return services, Belgian corporation tax services, etc.

Our corporate tax compliance services in Belgium include:

• Robust processes for gathering tax data and meeting your company’s financial reporting obligations for tax compliance.
• Preparation and submission of tax computations, using the latest software capable of meeting all relevant online filing requirements.
• Advising on specialist areas (such as R&D tax credits) and submitting relevant claims on your behalf.
• Dealing with tax offices on your behalf, responding to their queries and settling any disputes.

With Xcelentra’s expertise and experience, we can help you thoroughly analyse and understand your business environment, thereby helping you to anticipate opportunities and problems, work out a realistic and practical solution, and implement it for you, leaving you free to focus on your business. Our VAT related services include Belgian VAT registration services and VAT refund services. Our VAT related services in Belgium include advisory as well as outsourcing services.

Most goods and services in Belgium have VAT levied on them. The standard rate is 21 percent while there are lower rates for certain categories of goods and services. Daily and weekly publications and some recycled goods attract a zero rate, while a 6 percent rate applies to most basic goods, such as food, water supply, books and medicines. Another rate of 12 percent is applied to social housing and food served at restaurants.

Xcelentra can advise your company with regards to VAT registration in Belgium and about fulfilling Belgian VAT obligations. Xcelentra is familiar with the exact requirements of and the procedures followed by the Belgian authorities for the VAT registration of foreign companies. This ensures that VAT registration for clients is completed as quickly as possible.

We regularly advise our clients on the VAT implications of their future business plans, thus ensuring that they are VAT compliant always. This also ensures that the VAT structure does not become a hindrance for their regular business or its growth. As and when required, we also assist clients with various implementation related activities. We also carry out periodic VAT reviews to ensure that the client’s business is VAT efficient and fully compliant and all of its filings are error free. We also assist clients in identifying VAT related opportunities to improve cash flow.

We regularly assist clients by completing their VAT returns, either at their own premises or at our offices. This enables our clients to use their own staff more efficiently, thus enabling them to focus on their regular business related activities. When clients wish to get their returns prepared at their own premises, then we also provide exhaustive review services to validate that returns have been correctly completed.

Xcelentra is an end to end service provider in Belgium and it has well structured processes to take care of your entire bookkeeping activity. This service is especially helpful for small scale businesses and startups in Belgium and it enables businesses to achieve higher productivity and growth with lower costs. To know more about this service, please get in touch with Xcelentra today. Xcelentra offers comprehensive accounting and bookkeeping services for firms (including small businesses) based in Belgium.

Xcelentra is a comprehensive service provider and at Xcelentra, we believe in taking care of all of our client’s needs and thus offering them complete peace of mind. Hence, we offer comprehensive Belgian Immigration and Visa advisory and consultancy services to our clients. Our aim is to help you achieve a seamless transition from one geographic base to Belgium. Using our initiative, instinct, expertise, and experience, we help you achieve successful gateway approvals quickly and effortlessly.

Travel documents

For individuals of European Economic Area countries (EU countries + Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) and Switzerland, a national passport or identity card is sufficient. For individuals from certain other countries, supplementary documents such as a visa may be required. This depends, amongst other things, on the duration of your stay in Belgium.

Residence permit

Employees who stay in Belgium temporarily in order to provide their services are not tourists legally. They have to create an account in the municipality where they are staying temporarily. There are different sets of procedures to be followed depending on whether the expected duration of the service provision exceeds 3 months.

Employment authorization

In certain cases, the foreign employee must have a Belgian work permit. Persons from the EEA countries do not need a Belgian work permit for the execution of (sub)contracting agreements. That is, however, insofar as these employees have the required residence and work permits in the country where they are normally employed and are officially linked to the employer with an employment contract.

Limosa

The LIMOSA notification is a prior notification for posted workers and self-employed persons who are temporarily or partially employed or established in Belgium but who normally work in one or more countries other than Belgium or who are recruited in a country other than Belgium.

The deadline for expat new starts are as follows:

Inscription in a Belgian commune: Upon arrival in Belgium, the employee should present himself at the municipality he will be living in and should report to the city authorities of his place of residence in Belgium (within 8 days after his arrival)

Limosa notification (if applicable): Before the start of the employment

Xcelentra provides you services related to all aspects of Visa and employment permit processing, related filings, compliances, and also Social security refund claims based on agreements between countries outside the EU and Belgium.

Securing a Belgian work visa can be a daunting task. But, with Xcelentra’s expertise and experience, you can easily get rid of the hassles of this task and secure your visa effortlessly.