Summary: Belgium has announced 2020 gross salary thresholds. The gross salary thresholds for work and single permits are updated every year. The salary thresholds vary by region (Brussels, Flanders, or Wallonia) and by category of employee (e.g., highly skilled employees, executives). In general, the region with jurisdiction is determined on the basis of the primary workplace of the foreign national in Belgium, or the location of the registered office of the company, if the primary workplace of the foreign national cannot be defined.
New Thresholds: From January 1, 2020 onward, the following gross salary thresholds apply:
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*Exception: 34,156.80 € for locally employed < 30 years or nurses.
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The gross salary includes all payments to the employee in consideration for work: the amounts must be known with certainty to the employer, the employee, and the Belgian authorities before the start of the employment in Belgium. The fact that the amount must be certain excludes discretionary bonuses. In Wallonia, contributions paid for professional supplementary pension schemes are not taken into account either.
- In the event of assignment, allowances, directly linked/specific to the assignment, are considered part of the salary, provided they are not paid in reimbursement of expenditures actually incurred on account of the assignment, such as expenditures on travel, lodging, and board. Travel, lodging, and board allowances are thus not considered salary. Moreover, employers must guarantee the salary in euros regardless of payroll location and/or exchange rate fluctuations.
