The Belgian tax administration recently published the filing deadlines for the resident income tax returns for income year 2023, tax year 2024. The online portal through which the tax return can be submitted (Tax-on-web) has been recently opened as well. As is often the case, the announcement of the deadline and the opening of Tax-on-web come quite late, leaving taxpayers with limited time to submit their income tax returns.
This article briefly discusses the different submission deadlines, given that the general principles have been changed in the past two years. Generally, there are three submission deadlines that need to be taken into account with regards to income tax returns for Belgian tax residents. The applicable submission deadline will depend on the taxpayer’s specific situation.
The filing deadline for non-resident taxpayers’ tax returns has not yet been announced. Traditionally, this deadline has been set in November.
Some taxpayers, whose tax situation is believed to be stable by the tax administration, may receive a “simplified tax return proposal.” This means that the tax authorities already prepared a tax return on the basis of information they already had available. The taxpayer will only need to respond to this proposal if the information in the draft return is not correct. No further action is needed if the proposal is correct.
The extended deadline of 16 October 2024 will be applicable:
Amelia De Grave
BDO in Belgium
This article briefly discusses the different submission deadlines, given that the general principles have been changed in the past two years. Generally, there are three submission deadlines that need to be taken into account with regards to income tax returns for Belgian tax residents. The applicable submission deadline will depend on the taxpayer’s specific situation.
The filing deadline for non-resident taxpayers’ tax returns has not yet been announced. Traditionally, this deadline has been set in November.
New standard submission deadline
The standard submission deadline for resident taxpayers’ income tax returns has been set at the following dates:- 30 June 2024: deadline for filing residents’ tax returns/changes to a simplified tax return proposal* on paper
- 15 July 2024: deadline for filing residents’ tax returns/changes to a simplified tax return proposal* through Tax-on-web
Some taxpayers, whose tax situation is believed to be stable by the tax administration, may receive a “simplified tax return proposal.” This means that the tax authorities already prepared a tax return on the basis of information they already had available. The taxpayer will only need to respond to this proposal if the information in the draft return is not correct. No further action is needed if the proposal is correct.
Extended deadline for specific groups
The standard deadline of 15 July 2024 leaves taxpayers with a short period of time to file their returns, which may not be feasible in all situations. To address this issue, the tax administration has set an extended submission deadline of 16 October 2024 for “complex tax returns.” A tax return is considered complex if certain types of income are reported, or if certain information is reported for the first time.The extended deadline of 16 October 2024 will be applicable:
- If a taxpayer reports the following types of income:
- Income derived from self-employment activities (Part II of the tax return)
- Income received as a company director (Part II of the tax return)
- Income obtained by assisting spouses of a self-employed worker
- Foreign employment income
- If the following information is declared for the first time:
- Property abroad
- An alimony payment received from / paid to a person abroad
- A (mortgage) loan taken out abroad
- A legal instrument (for example, trusts)
- The special tax regime for inbound taxpayers/researchers
Amelia De Grave
BDO in Belgium