Since 1 November 2026, withholding tax on pay has been calculated differently (Royal Decree of 27 September 2026). The calculations on this page still follow the previous rules: for pay received from 1 November, withholding tax and net pay may differ. Update in progress.
Yes, in most cases, but almost always subject to conditions and after a declaration. In 2026: when unemployed, each working day must be declared before you start and costs one benefit; if you are unfit for work, the medical adviser authorises your return, with no benefit reduction up to one-fifth of full time; if you are retired before the year you turn 66 and without 45 years of career, you can earn up to €10,432 gross a year as an employee (with no dependent child); associative work and the sharing economy are capped at €7,890 a year, combined.
Choose your situation and the planned activity: Indexo tells you whether combining them is allowed, on what conditions, the steps (who to contact, when, which form), the effect on your benefits and the total net pay. 95 rules, each with its source and the date it was checked. For guidance only, not legal advice: the body that pays you confirms your situation.
Can I combine? Your answer
Choose your main situation and the planned activity. The amounts are optional and those shown are an example: with your own, Indexo estimates the effect on your benefits and your total net pay, using the site’s calculation engine. Nothing is sent: everything is calculated in your browser.
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1 benefitlost per day of activity while unemployed, whatever the duration and earnings
One-fifth reductionof authorised work with no reduction in sickness benefit (employee or unemployed)
€10,432gross a year: limit for a pensioner working as an employee under 66, with no dependent child (2026)
€7,890a year: joint ceiling for associative work and the sharing economy (2026 income)
All combinations in one table
One row per main situation, one column per planned activity. Each verdict links to the full rule: conditions, ceilings, steps, effect and source. ‘Subject to conditions’ means allowed after a declaration or an authorisation, within limits. ‘To be checked’ means Indexo has not found a published rule; the competent body will answer you.
Can I combine? Verdict by situation and activity, rules checked on 7 and 8 October 2026. 23 of the 95 combinations are still to be checked with the relevant body.
The rules, situation by situation
The most common situations have their own page, with a preset tool and worked examples. The others are detailed here.
Each working day must be declared on the control card before you start, and that day is not paid a benefit. Since 1 March 2026, benefits have also been limited in time. The Tremplin-indépendants scheme lets you keep your benefits for 12 months to launch a self-employed activity; they only fall if your net income exceeds €18.44 a day. During temporary unemployment, the side activity must have existed for at least 3 months before the claim.
Any return to work requires the authorisation of the medical adviser of your health insurance fund (mutualité / ziekenfonds), requested no later than the working day before. Employee or unemployed: no benefit reduction up to one-fifth of full time, then a reduction according to the extra hours (30% at half-time). Self-employed: no reduction for 6 months, then 10%.
Unlimited combination from 1 January of the year you turn 66 or with 45 years of career. Before that, your income for the year is limited to €10,432 gross as an employee and €8,346 net as a self-employed person (€15,648 and €12,519 with a dependent child), in 2026. Flexi-jobs also have their own limit of €8,121.
A student job allows 650 hours a year with only the solidarity contribution. Self-employed student: no contributions below €8,687.04 of income in 2026. Flexi-jobs are not open without a four-fifths job. Keep an eye on family allowances and your status as a dependant.
Time credit or thematic leave
During time credit or thematic leave, you can only keep an activity you were already carrying on for at least 12 months before it began; a new activity means losing the National Employment Office (NEO) allowance. The rules below come from a social secretariat (payroll provider), as the NEO page could not be read.
An employee can, in principle, combine several activities: no law prohibits two jobs, and flexi-jobs, associative work and the sharing economy are designed for this, within their ceilings. To see what each option brings in, go to Earn more.
Who to contact: your employer, FPS Finance. For the amount: earn more.
A job as an employee
Allowed
Social legislation does not prohibit having two jobs: the working hours must be compatible.
Your employer cannot forbid you a job outside your working hours, but you must avoid unfair competition.
It is best to inform each employer in writing.
Steps
Each of your employers: before you start. Written notice recommended.
Effect
Each employer deducts withholding tax (bedrijfsvoorheffing / précompte professionnel) on its own salary only: the two salaries added together can push you into a higher tax bracket.
Artistic activities only (not technical or support roles).
Client and artist registered on Working in the Arts; the client declares the performance before it starts.
No employment contract or contract for services with the same client for similar activities.
Ceilings and limits
Maximum per day and per client, 2026: €81.90 a day
Days per calendar year, all clients combined: 30 days a year
Steps
The client, on Working in the Arts: before the performance starts. Online declaration (Working in the Arts application). workinginthearts.be
Effect
No contributions or tax within the limits; above them, it may be requalified as salary.
Source: IAA : indemnités des arts en amateur (updated on 14 August 2026), Infor Jeunes Bruxelles (Bruxelles-J) (secondary source). Checked on 7 October 2026.
Volunteering
Allowed
Expenses paid by reimbursing actual costs, or by a flat-rate allowance within the ceilings.
Ceilings and limits
Tax-free flat-rate allowance, 2026 income: €44.02 a day
Tax-free flat-rate allowance per year, 2026 income: €1,760.83 a year
Indexo has not found a published rule for this case. Contact: your employer (work rules) and the body giving you the mandate.
Self-employed as a main occupation
A self-employed person in a main occupation can take a job as an employee: if that job is at least half-time, the self-employed activity becomes a secondary occupation and its contributions fall. Flexi-jobs, however, are not open to them.
Who to contact: your social insurance fund (National Institute for the Social Security of the Self-employed, NISSE). For the amount: self-employed.
A job as an employee
Allowed, subject to conditions
If your job as an employee is at least half-time, your self-employed activity becomes a secondary occupation: your contributions change.
Ceilings and limits
Job as an employee of at least half-time (60% for a tenured teacher): 50% of full time
No contribution below this income (2026): €1,922.16 of net taxable income a year
Steps
Your social insurance fund: as soon as the job starts. Report the change of status. inasti.be
Effect
Lower secondary-occupation self-employed contributions, if the job is at least half-time.
You must have worked at least four-fifths for another employer in the third quarter before (T-3), or be retired. A self-employed activity does not count for this condition.
Indexo has not found a published rule for this case. Contact: the association and your social insurance fund.
Sharing economy
To be checked with the relevant body
Indexo has not found a published rule for this case. Contact: FPS Finance: the scheme covers services between private individuals, outside a professional activity.
An artistic activity
Allowed, subject to conditions
Artistic activities only (not technical or support roles).
Client and artist registered on Working in the Arts; the client declares the performance before it starts.
No employment contract or contract for services with the same client for similar activities.
Ceilings and limits
Maximum per day and per client, 2026: €81.90 a day
Days per calendar year, all clients combined: 30 days a year
Steps
The client, on Working in the Arts: before the performance starts. Online declaration (Working in the Arts application). workinginthearts.be
Effect
No contributions or tax within the limits.
Source: IAA : indemnités des arts en amateur (updated on 14 August 2026), Infor Jeunes Bruxelles (Bruxelles-J) (secondary source). Checked on 7 October 2026.
Volunteering
Allowed
Expenses paid by reimbursing actual costs, or by a flat-rate allowance within the ceilings.
Ceilings and limits
Tax-free flat-rate allowance, 2026 income: €44.02 a day
Tax-free flat-rate allowance per year, 2026 income: €1,760.83 a year
Indexo has not found a published rule for this case. Contact: your social insurance fund.
Social integration income (CPAS/OCMW)
Social integration income tops up your resources: a salary is deducted, but part of it is exempt if you start working while already receiving social integration income (socio-professional integration exemption of €321.99 a month as of 1 September 2026, for at most 3 years). Example: single, €800 of net salary; with this exemption, you keep €889.33 of social integration income, i.e. €1,689.33 in total.
Who to contact: your CPAS/OCMW (PPS Social Integration). For the amount: PCSW beneficiary.
A job as an employee
Allowed, subject to conditions
Your net salary is deducted from the social integration income.
If you start working while already receiving social integration income, part of the salary is exempt (socio-professional integration exemption), for a limited period.
Student with an individualised social integration project (PIIS/GPMI): same exempt amount.
Ceilings and limits
Socio-professional integration exemption (ISP/SPI) on earned income, as of 1 September 2026: €321.99 a month
Duration of the socio-professional integration exemption (current rule; reform in preparation: 2 years): 3 years (at most)
Social integration income, single, as of 1 September 2026: €1,367.34 a month
Social integration income, cohabitant, as of 1 September 2026: €911.56 a month
Social integration income, with dependent family, as of 1 September 2026: €1,847.89 a month
Steps
Your CPAS/OCMW (the social worker handling your file): before you start, then at each change. No national form: bring your contract and your payslips. mi-is.be
Effect
Social integration income reduced by the net salary, minus the exemption. A reform of the exemption (2 years, in stages) is being prepared.
Indexo has not found a published rule for this case. Contact: your CPAS/OCMW.
A flexi-job
To be checked with the relevant body
Indexo has not found a published rule for this case. Contact: your CPAS/OCMW.
Associative work
To be checked with the relevant body
Indexo has not found a published rule for this case. Contact: your CPAS/OCMW.
Sharing economy
To be checked with the relevant body
Indexo has not found a published rule for this case. Contact: your CPAS/OCMW.
An artistic activity
Allowed, subject to conditions
Income from an artistic activity is exempt up to an annual amount, for at most 6 years.
Report the activity to your CPAS/OCMW.
Ceilings and limits
Exempt income from an artistic activity, for at most 6 years: €3,863.93 a year (per year, at most 6 years)
Steps
Your CPAS/OCMW (the social worker handling your file): before you start, then at each change. No national form: bring your contract and your payslips. mi-is.be
Effect
Above the exemption, artistic income is deducted from the social integration income.
Inform the person handling your file before you start.
Generally accepted if the volunteering does not prevent you from looking for work.
Ceilings and limits
Tax-free flat-rate allowance, 2026 income: €44.02 a day
Tax-free flat-rate allowance per year, 2026 income: €1,760.83 a year
Steps
Your CPAS/OCMW (the social worker handling your file): before you start. No national form: bring your contract and your payslips. mi-is.be
Effect
In principle no effect on the social integration income, if the CPAS/OCMW accepts the volunteering.
Source: Être volontaire en Belgique (updated on 17 August 2026), Infor Jeunes Bruxelles (Bruxelles-J) (secondary source). Cross-checked with: ceilings: circular 2026/C/20. Checked on 7 October 2026.
A mandate
To be checked with the relevant body
Indexo has not found a published rule for this case. Contact: your CPAS/OCMW.
The steps: who, when, how
Almost every combination starts with a declaration, often before you start. An activity declared too late can cost you benefits, even if it was allowed.
Swipe the table →
Situation
Who
When
Form
Full unemployment
Your payment body (trade union or CAPAC/HVW), for the NEO
Before each day of activity; for a self-employed activity or volunteering, before you start
Control card; C1 and C1C (Tremplin-indépendants); C45E (preparing an activity); C45A or C45B (volunteering); C44 (existing associative work); C46 (cultural mandate)
Temporary unemployment
Your payment body, for the NEO
Before working on a day of unemployment; a side activity, when you apply
Control card C3.2A or eC3.2 (box 2); C1 and C1A (side activity)
Incapacity for work
Your health insurance fund (medical adviser)
No later than the working day before you return
The health insurance fund’s single form (declaration and authorisation request)
Pension before statutory age
Federal Pension Service (and NISSE)
Within 30 days of starting the activity, then at each change
‘Déclaration relative à l’activité professionnelle’ (declaration of professional activity)
Pension at statutory age
Federal Pension Service
Generally nothing to declare
—
Time credit
NEO
When you apply for interruption allowances
Declaration of income in the application
Social integration income
Your CPAS/OCMW
Before you start, then at each change
Contract and payslips
Studies
Student@work; a social insurance fund (self-employed student)
Before each contract; before you start
Certificate of remaining hours; registration
Amateur arts allowance
The client, on Working in the Arts
Before the performance starts
Online declaration
Steps for combining, by situation, according to the NEO, the National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (NIHDI), the Federal Pension Service, Student@work and Working in the Arts (rules checked in October 2026).
2026 amounts. The 2027 amounts (limits for pensioners, ceilings for the sharing economy and flexi-jobs, thresholds for the self-employed) have not been published yet: they usually are at the end of the year. The pages will switch to 2027 as soon as they are published. For 23 combinations, no published rule was found: they are marked ‘To be checked’, with no verdict. For guidance only, not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
Can you work while receiving unemployment benefits?
Yes, but each working day must be declared on the control card before you start, and that day gives no right to benefit: one benefit lost per day, whatever the duration and earnings. Part-time, the income guarantee allowance can top up the salary. To launch a self-employed activity, the Tremplin-indépendants scheme lets you keep your benefits for 12 months. Details: working while unemployed.
Can a pensioner work in 2026?
Yes. Without limit from 1 January of the year you turn 66, or with 45 years of career when your pension starts. Before that, your income for the year is limited, in 2026, to €10,432 gross as an employee (€15,648 with a dependent child) and €8,346 net as a self-employed person (€12,519). Above that, the pension is reduced by the percentage by which you exceed the limit. Activity by activity: combining an activity with a pension; the net pay from your salary: working pensioner.
Can you work while ill?
Yes, with the authorisation of your health insurance fund’s medical adviser, requested no later than the working day before you return. You can start without waiting for the written reply. As an employee or unemployed person, your benefit is not reduced up to one-fifth of full time; at half-time, it is reduced by 30%. Details: working while unfit for work.
Are associative work and the sharing economy allowed with benefits?
When unemployed, the sharing economy counts as occasional work: each day must be declared and is not paid a benefit. An associative work contract already being performed before your benefit claim and declared (form C44) lets you keep your benefits; for a contract that starts afterwards, the NEO provides for no benefits during the contract period: have this confirmed by your payment body. If you are retired and under 66, this income counts towards your limit. The joint tax ceiling is €7,890 a year (2026 income).
Do you need authorisation to volunteer?
When unemployed, yes: form C45A (for a private individual) or C45B (for an organisation), before you start; the NEO has 12 working days to reply and you can start during that time. If you are unfit for work, no authorisation is needed, but inform your health insurance fund. With the CPAS/OCMW, tell the person handling your file. As a pensioner, there is generally nothing to do, except with GRAPA/IGO. Flat-rate allowances are tax-free up to €44.02 a day and €1,760.83 a year (2026 income).