Your Belgian payslip explained, line by line

French, Dutch or German: why your payslip is not in English

Belgian law sets the language of your contract and payslips by where your employer operates: Dutch in Flanders, French in Wallonia, German in the German-speaking area, and in Brussels French or Dutch depending on your own language. Your employer may add a translation, such as English, but the legal version prevails.

The payslip, line by line

White-collar employee, single, no children, €4,500 gross a month, 20 meal vouchers of €10.00 and the maximum telework allowance.

1. Gross salary€4,500.00

   Bruto loon · Salaire brut

   The pay agreed in your contract for a full month, before any deduction. Overtime, bonuses and paid public holidays are added here.

2. Social security contribution− €588.15

   RSZ-bijdrage · Cotisation ONSS

   Your share of social security: 13.07% of gross pay (on 108% for blue-collar workers). Your employer pays its own share on top, a basic 25%, which is not shown.

3. Work bonus+ €0.00

   Werkbonus · Bonus social à l’emploi

   A reduction of social security for lower pay: up to €299.53 a month, nothing above €3,403.62 gross (full time). At €4,500, it is zero.

4. Taxable pay= €3,911.85

   Belastbaar · Imposable

   Gross pay minus your contributions. Added up over the year, it is the main amount (code 250) of your annual tax form 281.10 (loonfiche 281.10 / fiche 281.10). A benefit in kind, such as a company car, is added here without being paid.

5. Withholding tax− €1,035.98

   Voorheffing (bedrijfsvoorheffing) · Précompte professionnel

   An advance on your income tax, paid to FPS Finance: the official formula applied to your taxable pay, your family situation and a flat 7% municipal surcharge. Your tax return settles the exact amount the following year.

6. Fiscal work bonus+ €0.00

   Fiscale werkbonus · Bonus fiscal à l’emploi

   A reduction of withholding tax linked to the work bonus. Zero here; some payslips deduct it directly from the withholding tax.

7. Special social security contribution− €44.01

   Bijzondere bijdrage sociale zekerheid · Cotisation spéciale de sécurité sociale

   A monthly deduction that depends on your household’s income (single, couple with one or two incomes), at most €60.94 for a single person. It is recalculated in your tax assessment notice (aanslagbiljet / avertissement-extrait de rôle).

8. Provisional net= €2,831.86

   Voorlopig netto · Net provisoire

   What remains after social security, withholding tax and the special social security contribution. The lines below are not taxed.

9. Your share of meal vouchers− €21.80

   Persoonlijke bijdrage maaltijdcheques · Quote-part chèques-repas

   At least €1.09 per voucher, 20 vouchers here. The vouchers themselves, up to €10.00 each, are credited to a card: €200.00 this month, free of tax and social security.

10. Telework allowance+ €164.21

    Thuiswerkvergoeding · Indemnité de télétravail

    Office costs reimbursed by your employer, free of tax and social security up to €164.21 a month.

11. Net pay= €2,974.27

    Netto · Net

    What reaches your bank account: 66.1% of the gross pay here, plus €200.00 of meal vouchers on your card.

What surprises newcomers

• No separate local tax line. The withholding tax includes a flat municipal surcharge, and your municipality’s real rate is applied in your tax assessment notice.
• Your employer’s contributions are invisible. On top of your gross pay, your employer pays a basic 25% in social security. See what your salary costs your employer.
• Two special months. White-collar employees receive double holiday pay (dubbel vakantiegeld / double pécule de vacances) of 92% of a month’s pay, usually in May or June, at a one-off withholding rate (about 47.4% at €4,500). In many sectors, a year-end bonus (eindejaarspremie / prime de fin d’année) follows in December. Blue-collar workers receive their holiday pay from a holiday fund (vakantiekas / caisse de vacances) or from the ONVA/RJV, not on their payslip.
• Lines that are not paid. A benefit in kind (voordeel van alle aard / avantage de toute nature) for a company car, phone or laptop is added to your taxable pay without being paid; meal vouchers are paid to a card, not into your account.
• The expat allowance appears as a separate, untaxed line of costs proper to the employer (kosten eigen aan de werkgever / frais propres à l’employeur); the exact wording depends on the social secretariat. It is not part of your taxable pay. How the expat regime works.
• Your annual tax form. Each year, your employer files your tax form 281.10 by 28 February and gives you a copy; its amounts are pre-filled in your tax return. Form 281.10 explained.

To check your own payslip, recalculate it line by line: it reads a PDF or a photo in your browser, without sending it anywhere. The complete guide, with every other line (overtime, public holidays, sick pay, garnishment), is the payslip explained.

Frequently asked questions

What next?

• Your net salary on arrivalYour first payslip and your first year.
• The expat tax regimeThe tax-free allowance on your payslip.
• Check my payslipRecalculate each line, in your browser.
• The payslip explained, complete guideEvery line, with examples.