Understand · Payroll glossary
What are lump-sum professional expenses?
Updated on
Lump-sum expenses are the part of your income that the tax authorities automatically treat as professional expenses, without proof: 30%, up to €6,070 a year in 2026. In 2026: 30%, up to €6,070 (employees’ lump-sum professional expenses, 2026 income). In Dutch: forfaitaire beroepskosten.
Definition of lump-sum professional expenses
They are deducted automatically from your pay, both in the tax return and in the withholding tax (bedrijfsvoorheffing / précompte professionnel) calculation. If your actual expenses (travel, office, equipment) are higher and you can prove them, you can deduct them instead.
Company directors have their own, lower lump sum.
The key figure in 2026
Source: Revenus professionnels : frais forfaitaires 2026, FPS Finance. Value in force on 1 October 2026.
Worked example
At €3,000 gross, your twelve taxable salaries come to €32,621.28 (excluding holiday pay and bonus); 30% would give €9,786.38, but the lump sum is capped at €6,070. Half-time (€1,500 gross), 30% of twelve taxable salaries (€16,310.64) comes to €4,893.19, below the ceiling.
In Dutch: forfaitaire beroepskosten
On a Dutch-language tax return, tax assessment notice (aanslagbiljet) or letter from the tax authorities, lump-sum professional expenses are called ‘forfaitaire beroepskosten’; on French-language ones, ‘frais professionnels forfaitaires’.
Dutch term taken from: Wolters Kluwer (Jef Wellens) (secondary source).
Not to be confused with…
- Actual professional expenses: your documented professional expenses, which you can deduct instead of the lump sum if they are higher.
Calculate it for your situation
Do your proven professional expenses (commuting, office, equipment) beat the 30% lump sum, capped at €6,070?
Related terms
- Actual professional expensesTax and tax return · in Dutch: werkelijke beroepskosten
- Taxable payFrom gross to net · in Dutch: belastbaar loon
- Personal income tax (PIT)Tax and tax return · in Dutch: personenbelasting
Sources
Parameters in force on 1 October 2026. Each parameter links to its source, the official one where it exists; a secondary source is flagged as such.
- Revenus professionnels : frais forfaitaires 2026, FPS Finance.
- Overzicht van de belangrijkste fiscale grensbedragen in de personenbelasting (aanslagjaar 2026), Wolters Kluwer (Jef Wellens) (secondary source).