Setting up your Belgium payroll will be an important part of your new company location. Ensuring that your payroll meets local labor laws will keep you working without the fear of delays or fines, which means employees will get paid on time. However, setting up your Belgium payroll can turn into a challenge while you’re also juggling hiring, determining benefits, and running your parent company.

G-P can take the stress out of expansion. As the Employer of Record, you can leverage our existing subsidiary to streamline payroll, hire talented employees, and source the best benefits.

Taxation rules in Belgium

Belgium has several different tax funds that apply to both employers and employees. For example, employees must contribute 13.07% of their gross income to social security, while employers contribute a base rate of 25% (effective costs reach 27–30%). The country’s progressive income tax scale is also high. Employees pay 50% income tax on annual income above EUR 51,070.

Belgium payroll options for companies

Instead of simply running your own payroll, keep in mind that you have 3 different Belgium payroll options to choose from:

  • Internal: Some companies with a large HR team and a commitment to Belgium may choose to set up an internal payroll. However, you must first incorporate in the country and have an established subsidiary.
  • Payroll processing company: Working with a local Belgium payroll processing company is another option for companies looking to outsource. Although with this option, you’ll still be held responsible for compliance.
  • G-P: The easiest way to run payroll in Belgium and stay compliant is partnering with an Employer of Record (EOR) like G-P. With us, you can rest assured that all employees will be paid on time, freeing you to focus on other important aspects of your business.

How to set up a payroll in Belgium

You cannot set up your payroll without establishing a subsidiary first. However, the incorporation process can take months and requires the knowledge of a lawyer, consultant, or other professionals. By the time you can set up your Belgium payroll, you may have lost talented candidates.

G-P eliminates this requirement. Since we use our existing subsidiary, you won’t have to go through the lengthy process and can begin hiring in minutes, not months.

Entitlement/termination terms

Entitlement and termination terms are often tricky, so it helps to have these terms in place before setting up your Belgium payroll. In 2014, Belgium changed its measure of notice periods to weeks based on an employee’s years of service. You'll need to offer outplacement services in some dismissals, including when notice or termination indemnity is at least 30 weeks.

Streamline global payroll management with G-P

Hire and pay your team anywhere in the world with our agentic Global Employment Platform. Vetted labor law intelligence is embedded directly into your workflows to ensure 99% payroll accuracy wherever you hire.

Our platform is designed to integrate with the systems you already use. Sync employee payroll data automatically to create one reliable source of truth for your HR team.

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