Understand · Payroll glossary
What is taxable pay?
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Taxable pay is your gross pay minus employee social security contributions: it is the base on which withholding tax (bedrijfsvoorheffing / précompte professionnel) is calculated. In Dutch: belastbaar loon.
Definition of taxable pay
On the payslip, the ‘taxable’ line comes just after the social security contributions: gross pay minus employee contributions, after the work bonus. Benefits in kind (company car, phone, computer) are added to it, even though they are not paid in cash.
Added up over the year, these amounts form code 250 on your tax form 281.10 (fiche 281.10), which is carried over to your tax return.
Worked example
At €3,000 gross, a white-collar worker pays €392.10 in contributions (13.07%), of which €110.54 is given back through the work bonus. Their taxable pay is therefore 3,000 − €392.10 + €110.54 = €2,718.44 a month, or €32,621.28 over twelve months, before holiday pay and bonus.
If they get a company car with a benefit worth €300 a month, their taxable pay rises to €3,018.44, without a single extra euro in their account.
In Dutch: belastbaar loon
On a Dutch-language payslip (loonbrief), taxable pay is called ‘belastbaar loon’ or ‘belastbaar’; on a French-language one (fiche de paie), ‘rémunération imposable’ or ‘imposable’. In English: taxable pay.
Dutch term taken from: CSC/ACV (secondary source).
Not to be confused with…
- Net taxable income on the tax return: in the annual tax, the year’s pay is further reduced by professional expenses, lump-sum or actual: the scale is applied to that amount.
- Gross salary: the amount set in your contract, before any deduction: it is the starting point of your payslip.
Calculate it for your situation
Every line of a Belgian payslip explained, with its Dutch label and a worked example.
Related terms
- Lump-sum professional expensesTax and tax return · in Dutch: forfaitaire beroepskosten
- Tax form 281.10Tax and tax return · in Dutch: loonfiche 281.10
- Benefit in kindBonuses, holiday pay and benefits · in Dutch: voordeel van alle aard
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.
- Instructions administratives : les cotisations de sécurité sociale, NSSO. Cross-checked with: UCM, Securex and the FEB (via the Walloon Public Service) for the basic employer rate in the private sector: 19.88% basic contribution and 5.12% wage moderation contribution, making 25%.
- Instructions administratives : le bonus à l’emploi, NSSO.
- Loonbrief onder de loep 2026 (Dutch-language payslip guide), CSC/ACV (secondary source).