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• Allowance for working from home in Belgium

Compensation allowance for working from home in Belgium

Tax authorities have clarified the scope of the homeworking allowance and home office expenses.

Now that homeworking will be part of our professional life after the corona crisis, the Belgian tax authorities have issued a circular outlining an allowance which an employer can grant to employees that is free from tax and social security contributions.

The new circular, applicable from 01 March 2021, defines homeworking as working at least one day per week from home (or the equivalent of one day a week, e.g. two half-days, or a number of hours per day).

As mentioned in our previous insight Compensation for working from home, an employer can reimburse certain home office costs to employees who work regularly from home on a monthly basis, of up to 129.48 EUR per month.

The authorities have provided a non-exhaustive list of costs to be covered by the  allowance (currently 129.48 EUR per month, increasing to 144.31 EUR per month during the second quarter of 2021):

• use of space at the employee's home for office work (including rent and any depreciation of the space);
• printer and computer consumables (this does not mean the printer and computer themselves but paper, USB sticks, mouse pad, ink, etc.);
• office supplies (folders, notepads, pens, etc.);
• utilities such as water, electricity and heating;
• maintenance;
• property tax; or
• coffee, water and snacks, etc.

In addition, the authorities have decided that this monthly allowance can be combined with the use of furniture and IT equipment provided by the employer. Furniture and IT equipment must be provided by the employer is not therefore covered by the allowance.

In this regard the following exhaustive list of costs that not to be covered by the monthly office allowance is provided:

• office chair, office desk, desk cupboard, functional desk lamp;
• a second computer screen;
• printer/scanner;
• mouse, foot mouse, trackpad or trackball;
• headphones; or
• specific equipment needed by persons with disabilities to work smoothly with the computer.

The authorities accept that any reimbursement of the above office furniture/IT equipment is considered to be separate reimbursement of the employer's expenses and not to be deducted from the monthly  allowance, (provided that employees have evidence of the costs and  these costs relate to  items that are necessary to be able to carry out the professional activity at home in a normal way). Also, in regard to these expenses, normal depreciation of these goods will be assumed (e.g. office chair 10 years, desk chair 10 years, etc.) and may not be replaced prior to this.

Action point : We strongly recommend Belgian employers evaluate current practice and policies regarding the reimbursement of home office expenses and our employment team are able to discuss this with you further.

See our coronavirus (COVID-19) feature for more information generally on the possible legal implications of COVID-19.

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This document (and any information accessed through links in this document) is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Professional legal advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from any action as a result of the contents of this document.

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• New circular published around working from home

Read the latest updates from the Belgian tax authorities

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It's now clear that employees will also work from home on a regular basis post-COVID. It's important for both employer and employee that employees can work from home in an efficient and ergonomic way. However, there are still discussions around the reimbursement of certain homeworking expenses and the provision of homeworking equipment.

The tax authorities are now trying to clarify the matter with a new circular that has taken effect on 1 March 2021 and has been approved by the NSSO (Circular 2021/C/20 on employers' contributions for homeworking). In this article we look at some of the new elements.

Scope of application

The circular only relates to homeworking organized as part of normal working days and therefore does not apply to employees who merely work from home outside normal working hours. The circular will also not apply to company managers. It is also noteworthy to mention that the circular does not apply to special regimes, such as employees benefiting from the Belgian expatriate tax regime or employees working in a "salary split” (employees working simultaneously in Belgium and another country). However, there is the possibility of submitting an application for a ruling to the Office for Advanced Tax Rulings.

Flat-rate home office allowance

An employer can grant employees who work from home on a structural and regular basis a fixed office allowance of maximum EUR 129.48. For the second quarter of 2021, this amount is temporarily increased to a maximum of EUR 144.37. This amount does not need to be reduced in the case of part-time work.

A new feature is that a differentiation can now also be made on the basis of a personnel category. However, a justification is required as to why a higher or lower cost reimbursement is granted to a particular category. We recommend justifying this in a policy or requesting a tax ruling. The circular also describes what exactly is meant by 'structural and regular' homeworking. The rule of thumb remains that there must be at least 5 homeworking days per month. In principle, the lump-sum allowance cannot be paid (not even pro rata) if there is no structural homeworking.

In addition, the circular goes into detail about the content of the lump-sum allowance. In summary, it means that all expenses incurred in the context of working from home should be taken into account, except for the costs of office furniture and computer equipment. Office furniture was included in the lump-sum allowance in the past. Note that the lump-sum allowance may no longer apply if any of the office expenses, such as ink or electricity, are already reimbursed.

Reimbursement of material for homeworking

The tax authorities confirm that it is possible, in addition to the flat-rate homeworking allowance, to reimburse the following expenses:

• office chair
• office table
• desk cabinet
• a second screen
• printer/scanner
• keyboard or mouse
• mouse or trackpad
• specific equipment that people with a disability need to be able to work comfortably with a PC.

An important condition applies to the office chair, desk, mouse or trackpad: they only qualify if they are also made available under normal working conditions. How can this be interpreted in practice? The circular stipulates, for example, that this does not apply to an expensive designer desk lamp or a large computer screen that is intended more for gaming. In any case, we recommend putting a reasonable maximum price on all furniture and equipment and not including designer furniture in the offer.

The above items can only be reimbursed if they are based on actual supporting documents. In addition, the investment must be necessary to carry out the professional activity at home in a normal way. Therefore, the employee will always have to provide an invoice to the employer before payment can be made.

The circular also pays attention to the normal period of use of some equipment and furniture in order to avoid abuse of the measure. Suppose that an employee submits an invoice for an ergonomic office chair for EUR 500, the employer can then choose to repay that amount in one lump-sum (once every 10 years) or to repay it in installments. When leaving the company, the employee must repay the (pro rata) amount, otherwise taxes will be paid on the benefit in kind. 

Provision of homeworking material

The circular refers to the same list and conditions for reimbursement as for the provision of homeworking material. Providing material yourself brings a lot of advantages. On the one hand, it is easier for the employee. On the other hand, the employer usually enjoys interesting discounts. In addition, there is the possibility of including the benefit in a cafeteria plan, so that it remains budget-neutral for the employer. The threshold must of course be as low as possible for the employee and the employer; it is in everyone's best interest that the employee can work from home in the best possible circumstances.

No benefit in kind should be charged. Thus, no withholding tax or social security is payable unless the value of the equipment unreasonably exceeds the needs of homeworking. Upon leaving the company, the employee should be taxed on a benefit in kind equal to the residual value if he or she is allowed to keep the equipment. A personal contribution may be deducted from that amount.

Lump-sum reimbursements of other material

Some new flat-rate reimbursements are also listed in the circular:

• the already existing internet fee of EUR 20;
• a new reimbursement of EUR 20 for the use of the private computer at home;
• a new reimbursement of EUR 5 per accessory (e.g. screen, printer, etc.) with a maximum of EUR 10.

All reimbursement of expenses proper to the employer in the framework of homeworking must, from now on, also be mentioned on the 281.10 form.

This circular is a game changer. There are now clear instructions regarding the reimbursement and provision of homeworking material. It is up to employers to implement this correctly and ensure that employees can work in an ergonomic way at their home workstation. We recommend looking closely at all the implications: fiscal, legal, accounting and IT-aspects. The practical aspects (e.g. suppliers, delivery and exit) also need to be looked at well in advance. KPMG's Reward team will be happy to assist you. 

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Changes to home office cost allowances

07 Jun 2022

Over the last couple of years, the benefits of working from home have become apparent to all but its staunchest opponents. At the same time, working from home does come with a specific set of home office related costs for the employee, such as heating and electricity costs and the cost of small office supplies.

However, an employer can opt to reimburse (part of) these expenses and for employees structurally working from home, two different types of lump sum cost allowances existed in this respect; the National Social Security Office’s (‘NSSO’) 10% cost allowance for teleworkers and the home working cost allowance adopted in Circular letter no. 2021/C/20, accepted by both the tax and social security authorities. The beginning of June saw changes to both systems: the phasing out of the first one and the indexation of the maximum amount of the second one.

Note that these two specific cost allowances only concern so-called ‘home office costs’. Different lump sum cost allowances, free from income taxes and social security contributions, are in place for i.a. the professional use of the private internet connection (EUR 20,00 per month) and the professional use of the private PC (also EUR 20,00 per month).

Phasing out 10% teleworking cost allowance

For employees working from home in execution of a teleworking agreement – concluded in the framework of Collective Bargaining Agreement no. 85 – the NSSO accepted a cost allowance amounting to a maximum of 10% of the part of the employee’s gross salary that related to telework. No social security contributions were due on this amount. That being said, it’s important to point out that the tax authorities didn’t accept this 10% rule.  

In their Administrative Instructions for the second quarter of 2022, the NSSO announced the phasing out of this type of cost allowance. As of 1 June 2022, employers can no longer introduce new applications of this 10% cost allowance. Only such cost allowances that were already being paid to employees before this date can continue to be awarded afterwards and only if there are no changes to the teleworking agreement.

Indexation of lump sum home working cost allowance

In case an employee structurally works from home – i.e. minimally the equivalent of one normal working day per week – a lump sum cost allowance can be attributed, free from social security contributions and income taxes, to cover the related home office expenses.

In this respect, the NSSO fully follows the principles adopted in the Circular letter no. 2021/C/20. To account for inflation, the maximum amount of this cost allowance increased to EUR 140.15 per month as of 1 June 2022 (up from  EUR 137.40 per month for the period from 1 April 2022 up until and including 31 May 2022).

Key takeaway

If your company has been using the above-mentioned system of a teleworking cost allowance amounting to maximum 10% of the telework-related gross salary, you must take care to no longer introduce new iterations of this method of cost reimbursement. Teleworkers who already received this form of cost allowance before 1 June 2022 can continue to do so afterwards, however, some active monitoring of these employees’ teleworking modalities is preferable, as changes in this respect could render this type of cost reimbursement invalid.

To the extent that these employees structurally work from home in the meaning of the lump sum home working allowance (see above), their home office expenses can still be reimbursed free from social security contributions and income taxes, currently up to a maximum amount of EUR 140.15 per month.

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Pascale Moreau

Lawyer - Partner, PwC Legal BV/SRL

Tel: +32 479 90 02 76

© 2020 - 2024 PwC. PwC Legal. All rights reserved. PwC Legal is a separate and independent law firm that entered into a multidisciplinary cost sharing arrangement with PricewaterhouseCoopers Business Advisory Services BCVBA (PwC Business Advisory Services) which on its turn is a member of the network of member firms of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited (PwCIL). Neither PwC Business Advisory Services, nor PwCIL nor any of its member firms controls, acts as an agent of, or assumes liability for the acts or omissions of PwC Legal. Similarly, PwC Legal does not control, act as an agent of, or assumes liability for the acts or omissions of PwC Business Advisory Services, PwCIL or any other member firm.

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Home / Belgium: Work From Home Allowance

• September 21, 2022

Belgium: Work From Home Allowance

Employees in Belgium who “structurally and regularly” work from home can receive a flat-rate cost allowance from their employer. The Belgian tax administration issued a circular (2021/C/20) applying to employees continuing to work from home post-COVID.  Please note, this allowance is not obligatory so what employers actually offer will differ from business to business.

The maximum amount of this allowance was again increased on 01/09/2022 to reflect inflation to 142,95 EUR per month.

Work from home allowances in Belgium

• 1 September 2022 on: €142,95
• 1 June 2022 to 31 August 2022 : €140,15
• 1 April 2022 to 31 May 2022 : €137,40
• 1 January 2022 to 31 March 2022: €132,07
• 1 July 2021 to 31 December 2021: €129,48
• 1 April 2021 to 30 June 2021: €144,31
• 1 January 2021 to 31 March 2021: €129,48
• 13 March 2020 to 31 December 2021: €126,94

What the Belgium working from home allowance covers

Since the costs associated with homeworking are relatively small and difficult to prove, the social security and tax authorities accept that these costs are estimated on a flat-rate basis. The flat-rate home-work allowance is intended to cover, among other things, costs for heating, electricity, water, insurances, office supplies and refreshments.

The flat-rate work from home allowance amount of 142,95 EUR is exempt from social contributions and taxes.

Employer decisions around the work from home allowance

The amount of 142,95 EUR per month is a maximum. It isn’t mandatory to grant this maximum amount, but employers are free to do so.

Employers can decide to categorise staff and pay a different allowance based on category of staff but there must be a justification as to why a higher or lower allowance is being granted to a particular category.

For employees to qualify as “structurally and regularly” working from home, according to the circular, there must be at least 5 days of working from home per month.  It is available to employees even those that were not working from home prior to the pandemic. The amount is not to be reduced for part-time work.

Other lump sum costs and reimbursements for home offices

There are different lump sum cost allowances that employers can pay employees towards working from home costs.  These are also free from income taxes and social security contributions and are considered as reimbursements including for the professional use of the private internet connection (€20,00 per month), the professional use of the private PC (also €20,00 per month), and the professional use of the private printer/scanner (€5 per month).

There are reimbursements for office materials that can be made in addition to the flat-rate office allowance, such as an office chair, table, cupboard, desk lamp, second screen, printer/scanner, keyboard, mouse, headset and any spec of equipment that someone with a disability would need to be able to work easily with a PC. Rules do apply on the scope of what these reimbursements could mean, requirements for supporting documents and subject to what is usually on offer at the place of work.

How to implement the allowance and any changes in it

Are homework allowances granted to your employees and would you like to apply the increase? Please notify us by e-mail in order that we can take the necessary steps.

We would also like to remind you that a policy and written agreement should be drawn up for homeworkers, in principle at the latest when the employee starts working from home. Certain mandatory provisions must be included, such as where the employee will work from home, how expenses will be reimbursed, etc.

We can help you draw up a home working policy and agreement.  Contact us here for more information.

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