Tighter ground rules for withholding tax exemption
July 2023 – In 2022, the Administration formulated stricter application conditions for the exemption from withholding tax for shift and night work. To qualify for a pass-through of only 80%, a company must meet the following conditions:
The work is done in at least two shifts of at least two workers.
The shifts do the same work, both in content and scope.
The shifts follow each other without interruption.
Each employee must perform at least 1/3rd of his working time in shifts.
Each employee performing shift work must receive a shift bonus.
There is no overlap of more than 1/4th of their daily job between consecutive shifts.
As the condition 'same work in terms of content and form' is often subject to debate, the ball is currently in the Constitutional Court's camp to clarify this.
In addition, from 1 August 2023, the Administration is tightening the timing condition for qualifying for the exemption from withholding tax on research and development. With this exemption, companies only have to pass on 20% of the withholding tax to the Belgian State.
