The new salary thresholds for 2020 for work and single permits have been published.

The salary thresholds vary by region and by category of employee (such as highly skilled employees, artists, executives, …). The applicable region shall be 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.

From 1 January 2020, the following new gross EUR salary amounts shall apply:

The gross salary as such includes all payments to the employee in consideration for work: the amounts must be known with certainty to employer, employee and the Belgian authorities prior to the start of the employment in Belgium. The fact that the amount must be certain excludes discretionary bonuses. In Wallonie, 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 expenditure actually incurred on account of the assignment, such as expenditure on travel, lodging, and board: travel, lodging, and board allowances are thus not considered salary. Moreover, employers are required to guarantee the salary in EUR regardless of payroll location and/or exchange rate fluctuations.

For further information and/or assistance, please contact bernard.caris@younity.be or marjolein.denys@younity.be.