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Understand · Payroll glossary

What is withholding tax on non-recurring pay?

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Withholding tax on non-recurring pay is the withholding tax (bedrijfsvoorheffing / précompte professionnel) deducted from holiday pay, the year-end bonus and other bonuses: a single rate, chosen according to your annual pay. In 2026: 0% to 53.50% (2026 scale for non-recurring payments: 0% up to €10,675 of annual pay, then rising rates). In Dutch: bedrijfsvoorheffing op exceptionele vergoedingen.

Definition of withholding tax on non-recurring pay

The monthly withholding tax calculation does not suit amounts paid once a year. For these ‘non-recurring payments’, Annex III to the Royal Decree implementing the Income Tax Code 1992 sets a fixed rate, applied to the whole bonus, according to your normal annual pay and the number of dependent children. Holiday pay and other bonuses each have their own column.

This rate is often higher than what you pay on average on your salary. Like monthly withholding tax, it is only an advance: the exact settlement takes place in the annual tax.

The key figure in 2026

0% to 53.50%2026 scale for non-recurring payments: 0% up to €10,675 of annual pay, then rising rates

Source: Annexe III : précompte sur le pécule de vacances et les allocations exceptionnelles 2026, FPS Finance. 2027 amount: not yet published. This entry will be updated as soon as it is.

Worked example

A single white-collar worker on €3,000 gross receives double holiday pay and a year-end bonus of one month. Indexo’s engine applies the rate for their salary level:

BonusCalculationNet
Double holiday pay92% of a month’s gross pay (€2,760.00). Contribution of 13.07% on 85/92 of the amount, then withholding tax of 39.37%€1,471.32
Year-end bonus€3,000.00 gross. 13.07% social security, then withholding tax of 43.41%€1,475.81
Withholding tax on non-recurring pay on double holiday pay and the bonus, single white-collar worker on €3,000 gross (Indexo calculation).

In Dutch: bedrijfsvoorheffing op exceptionele vergoedingen

On a Dutch-language payslip (loonbrief), withholding tax on non-recurring pay is called ‘bedrijfsvoorheffing op exceptionele vergoedingen’; on a French-language one (fiche de paie), ‘précompte exceptionnel’.

Dutch term taken from: Securex (secondary source).

Not to be confused with…

  • Withholding tax (bedrijfsvoorheffing / précompte professionnel): an advance on your tax, deducted from your salary every month by your employer and paid to FPS Finance.
  • Year-end bonus: an annual bonus paid in December, whose amount and conditions depend on your joint committee.

Calculate it for your situation

Double holiday pay, 13th month, bonus: net pay, withholding tax on non-recurring pay and the payment date.

Bonuses and holiday pay: how much net?

Related terms

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.