Search Q&A
How to calculate my final monthly salary as freelancer in Belgium
I've been offered a job as freelancer with a rate of 400€ per day. I've been checking tax on web and belgotax but I'm not able to find any calculator table to know how much of social security and taxes I have to pay. Imagine that I can deduct 6000 euros on expenses a year. How would you calculate it?
Don't touch a cent of it until you've seen an accountant, got a VAT number, and probably set up a limited company.
You're clearly utterly clueless about this, and have no hope of doing it legally without the help of an accountant.
Anonymous, please ignore J, he's a charmless prat. Difficult to answer your question, but you won't need to set up a company. You should register as "independent" at the commune. As far as I know, all expenses must be justified with receipts. The social insurance costs will be the shocker! Maybe ask the company who is employing what to do?
And be VERY careful who you take advice from. Anyone who limits their experience of freelancers to "As far as I know" is talking out of their arse.
"Maybe ask the company who is employing what to do?"
Err - no. Don't. For starters, it's NOT an employment relationship, so you are not being "employed" by anyone.
I may be a bit direct, but I am right, as your accountant will tell you.
Just hire an accountant to explain what is what. Depending on how much you earn in a year, you may not need a VAT number or to set up a company.
Also, it depends on what kind of work you are doing; some professions don't require setting up a company for instance because they have legal exceptions.
It's complicated.
and...getting registered in Belgium as an "indépendant" is pretty much the most inefficient and costly way.
There was an Irish company I used once....basically you sent them a timesheet, they paid you your gross, minus 5% for transaction costs, and it was up to you to do the rest, ie. get accountant etc etc....but I never bothered...so I ended up taking 95%....but its not really advisable...
I am an independant and the way i did it was to go to a social security office called ACERTA and register there. They found me an accountant who does my taxes for about 400 euros per year.
Social security is indeed high and you can prepare to pay about 40 TO 50 percent of your salary to social security and taxes. So 400 per day will become about 200 per day. Please note that is my case yours might be different but ACERTA should be able to give some very good advice.
