Question 1

What exactly does [fscl] calculate?

Accepted Answer

How much of your professional income you keep net — as a freelancer with a company, as sole proprietor or as a side business. With a company you can take profit out as salary, dividend and — if your work is copyright-protected, such as code, designs or texts — as auteursrechten (copyright royalties). As sole proprietor or side business your income is professional income, taxed progressively, optionally with a copyright component. Each route carries different levies. We compute every layer transparently and search for the split with the highest net, within the legal limits. We give no advice: you get the calculation plus the substantiation, to put in front of your accountant.

Question 2

Why is a mix better than everything as salary?

Accepted Answer

Every euro of salary above the top bracket loses up to 50% in personal income tax plus gemeentebelasting (municipal surcharge), and below that also sociale bijdragen (social security contributions). A euro of auteursrechten loses 15% roerende voorheffing (withholding tax) plus the municipal surcharge on that levy (effectively ±16,05%). A euro of dividend first loses vennootschapsbelasting (corporate income tax) and then roerende voorheffing. The split — not the total — determines what you keep.

Question 3

What is the difference between a company, sole proprietor and side business?

Accepted Answer

Three legal forms, three tax models. (1) Company (BV, CommV, VOF): your income sits inside the company and you pay yourself via salary, copyright royalties and/or dividend. The company pays corporate tax (20%/25%); on your salary you pay social contributions and progressive personal income tax. Dividend is taxed twice (corporate + withholding). The optimal split across those channels produces the highest net. (2) Sole proprietor: no company, no corporate tax, no dividend. All your professional income is personal and taxed progressively (25% / 40% / 45% / 50%). You pay social contributions as self-employed in main occupation. If your work is copyright-protected, part can be split off as copyright at 15% — significantly lower than the marginal rate on professional income. (3) Side business: same model as sole proprietor, but your professional income stacks on top of your employer salary. That usually puts you in the higher tax brackets immediately. Social contributions are lower (lower minimum). Copyright can be advantageous here too. [fscl] computes each model transparently so you see the impact — regardless of your legal form.

Question 4

How do we calculate net salary?

Accepted Answer

In four layers, exactly as they are stacked in law. (1) Sociale bijdragen for the self-employed: 20,5% up to €75,024.54, 14,16% up to €110,562.42, 0% above that — with a legal minimum and maximum, plus the administration fee of your social insurance fund. (2) Those contributions and the standard expense allowance are deductible: they lower your taxable base. (3) Progressive personal income tax per bracket (25% / 40% / 45% / 50%), with a tax-free allowance of €11,180. (4) Gemeentebelasting, on average ~7% of the federal tax. That is why "salary costs 50%" is too simple: your real marginal rate depends on where you sit in the brackets and on whether you are above the contribution ceiling.

Question 5

Why is €50,000 of salary such an important tipping point?

Accepted Answer

A small company pays 20% instead of 25% vennootschapsbelasting on the first €100,000 of profit — but only if it grants at least €50,000 in bezoldiging (director's remuneration, incl. benefits in kind) to at least one director. That is worth up to ~€5,000 per year. Benefits in kind that are valued at a flat rate — such as the taxable benefit of a company car — only count to a limited extent since inkomstenjaar (income year) 2026: at most 20% of the remuneration, otherwise the reduced rate is lost after all. So of the €50,000, at most €10,000 may consist of such flat-rated benefits. More salary, however, costs you extra tax and contributions privately. [fscl] computes both sides. You see the best point just under and at the threshold — the trade-off, not a black box. Is the taxable profit of your company (after deducting your salary) lower than€50,000? Then a salary at least equal to that profit is sufficient.

Question 6

Why do you pay only 15% on auteursrechten?

Accepted Answer

Income from the transfer or licensing of copyright-protected works — since 1 January 2026 once again including computer programs — is taxed up to a ceiling as movable income, not as professional income. The rate is 15% roerende voorheffing, without sociale bijdragen. From 2026 the former standard expense allowance is reserved for holders of a kunstwerkattest (arts-sector certificate); without that certificate you therefore pay 15% on the gross amount, unless you prove actual expenses. Note: the roerende voorheffing on auteursrechten is not final — since aanslagjaar (assessment year) 2013 you are required to declare this income in your personal income tax return, which adds additional gemeentebelasting (~7% of the levy). Effectively you therefore pay ±16,05% instead of 15%. That is how the calculator computes it too.

Question 7

What is the 30/70 rule?

Accepted Answer

If, alongside the transfer of rights, you also deliver services — and as a freelancer you do — then at most 30% of the total compensation may be designated as auteursrechten. [fscl] watches that limit automatically: the proposal never exceeds it.

Question 8

Which ceilings apply?

Accepted Answer

Two. (1) An absolute ceiling of €77,220 per year (inkomstenjaar 2026, indexed): everything above it becomes professional income. (2) The average over the four preceding years may not exceed that same ceiling. Otherwise you lose the regime entirely for that year. One outlier therefore echoes for four years. That is why [fscl] Pro tracks your multi-year average and warns before you hit the cliff.

Question 9

Is this audit-proof?

Accepted Answer

The rate is only half the story; the substantiation is the other half. You need a written agreement governing the transfer or licence, a reasonable valuation and an inventory of the protected works. [fscl] generates those documents and keeps your dossier up to date. Without a dossier the benefit is contestable.

Question 10

Why does a dividend cost more than 18%?

Accepted Answer

A dividend is hit twice. First your company pays vennootschapsbelasting (20% or 25%); only what remains can be paid out. Then roerende voorheffing follows on the payout. The total burden is thus, for example, 1 − (1 − 20%) × (1 − 18%) = 34,4% — and that is exactly how the calculator shows it, per route.

Question 11

VVPRbis, liquidatiereserve or a standard dividend — what's the difference?

Accepted Answer

Three routes, three rates, three sets of conditions. VVPRbis: 15% roerende voorheffing for payouts before 1 July 2026, 18% after; it requires, among other things, a contribution in cash and waiting until the profit distribution of the third financial year after the contribution. Liquidatiereserve (liquidation reserve): 10% anticipatory levy now, a low withholding after the waiting period — effectively ~18% — but your money is locked up for those years. Standard dividend: 30% roerende voorheffing, always available. For each route [fscl] shows not only the rate but also whether the route is already open to your company. Older liquidatiereserves (financial years closed up to 30 December 2025) follow a transitional regime (after 5 years 5% or after 3 years 6,5% roerende voorheffing, FIFO for mixed reserves) — [fscl] does not compute those; discuss existing reserves with your accountant.

Question 12

When is a classic dividend (30%) worthwhile?

Accepted Answer

The classic dividend costs 30% withholding tax — nearly double VVPRbis. The advantage: there's no waiting period. Your BV can distribute it as soon as the financial year is closed. This makes it relevant in two cases: (1) your BV is less than three financial years old and VVPRbis is not yet available; (2) you need liquidity now and can't wait for the liquidation reserve. In all other cases VVPRbis or the liquidation reserve is more favourable. None of the dividend routes generate a benefit in kind (BIK) or social security contributions.

Question 13

How do warrants work as an extraction channel?

Accepted Answer

Your company purchases warrants (typically via a bank) and offers them to you. You accept within 60 days. At that moment a lump-sum benefit in kind (BIK) of 18% of the underlying value is taxed as professional income at your marginal PIT rate (in practice 50% + municipal surcharge). The effective rate on the extraction is therefore lower than VVPRbis. The bank typically charges ~2,5% commission. Warrants are exempt from social security provided the legal conditions are met (written offer, acceptance within 60 days, not replacing salary). Important: halving the lump sum to 9% is not possible for directors via a management company (Circular 2017/C/21). Always discuss the structuring with your accountant.

Question 14

What are the risks of warrants? (BIK, capital gains tax)

Accepted Answer

Three points of attention. (1) BIK cap: the lump-sum BIK counts towards the 20% limit on the minimum remuneration of €50,000. If your lump-sum benefits (warrants + company car + ...) exceed €10,000, you lose the reduced corporate rate of 20%. The calculator warns when this limit is exceeded. (2) Capital gains tax: since 2026 the gain at exercise may be subject to 10% capital gains tax (Law of 6 April 2026). The interaction with the lump-sum taxation from the stock option act is not yet fully settled — [fscl] does not model this tax but shows a warning. (3) Market risk: the value of warrants depends on the underlying assets. With a cashless bank structure this risk is limited, but never zero.

Question 15

How does [fscl] find the optimal mix?

Accepted Answer

Not with a secret formula. We walk through every realistic salary level, set the auteursrechten to the legally allowed maximum at each level, pay out the rest via the best available dividend route, and compute the total net for every combination through the layers above. Because the reduced rate jumps at €50,000, there is no smooth mathematical optimum — which is why we show the top 3 plus the comparison around the tipping point, instead of one "correct" answer. The differences are sometimes small; factors such as pension build-up belong with your accountant.

Question 16

How do the figures stay correct?

Accepted Answer

Every parameter — rates, brackets, ceilings, hinge dates — lives in one central place with its source cited, and is updated with every change in the law. The Belgian rules changed several times in 2026; this page always shows the values the calculator is computing with right now.

How we calculate

No tax advice.