VAT-liable in Belgium: who charges VAT, and the 25,000 euro small business exemption
Tips
The short answer
A business is VAT-liable in Belgium when it regularly and independently supplies goods or services covered by the VAT Code, with or without a profit motive and whatever its legal form. Being VAT-liable does not always mean charging VAT. A small business whose annual turnover in Belgium is at most 25,000 euros excl. VAT can use the exemption scheme (vrijstellingsregeling): it charges no VAT, files no periodic returns and deducts no input VAT, but keeps a BE VAT number and must still send and receive Peppol e-invoices. A business doing only activities exempt under article 44 of the VAT Code, such as medical care, education or lending, needs no VAT number at all. The threshold rises to 26,000 euros on 1 January 2027 and in steps to 30,000 euros in 2031.
The rules below come from FPS Finance (fin.belgium.be), its 2026 brochure on the exemption scheme, the e-invoicing site einvoice.belgium.be and the Chamber's adopted text, read on 1 October 2026. General information, not tax advice.
Who is VAT-liable
FPS Finance defines it by activity, not by size or form. A Belgian or foreign business is VAT-liable when it supplies goods or services described in the VAT Code, and does so:
on a regular basis,
independently,
with or without a profit motive,
as a main or a secondary activity,
wherever the activity is carried out.
So a sole trader, a BV and a non-profit can all be VAT-liable. It normally registers before it starts, files VAT returns, pays over the VAT it charges and issues invoices. The VAT number is the enterprise number with BE in front; how the Belgian enterprise number works explains the format.
The four statuses you will meet
Status | Charges VAT on its invoices | Has a BE VAT number | Deducts input VAT | Peppol e-invoices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Normal VAT scheme | Yes | Yes | Yes | Must send and receive |
Small business exemption scheme | No | Yes | No | Must send and receive |
Only article 44 exempt activities | No | Not required, unless it has intra-EU purchases or services | No | No obligation |
Not subject to VAT | No | No | No | No obligation |
The small business exemption scheme
The scheme, which FPS Finance calls the btw-vrijstellingsregeling voor kleine ondernemingen, is open to any VAT-liable business whose annual turnover does not exceed 25,000 euros excl. VAT, whatever its legal form. This "small" has nothing to do with the company-law or European definitions; what counts as an SME in Belgium sets the three side by side.
Who cannot use it
VAT units are excluded, and so are businesses that regularly do work on immovable property (construction), businesses that must use a registered cash register system (restaurants and caterers), and businesses that regularly supply old materials, waste and scrap. Some single transactions are excluded too, such as hotel stays and tobacco sales, while the rest of the business stays in the scheme.
How it works
No VAT, no returns, no deduction. The business charges no VAT, pays none to the Treasury and files no periodic returns, but cannot deduct the VAT its own suppliers charge.
Still VAT-liable. It keeps a VAT identification number starting with BE and must give it to suppliers and customers on contracts, invoices and order forms.
Invoice mention. Its invoices must carry the words "Bijzondere vrijstellingsregeling van belasting" (special exemption scheme).
Annual reporting. By 31 March it files a customer listing that includes its total turnover in Belgium for the previous year, even when that listing is otherwise nil. The first report, on 2025, was due by 31 March 2026.
Opting in. A business can switch to the scheme on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July or 1 October, by filing form e604B before the 15th of the month before.
Starting mid-year. The threshold is reduced pro rata: a business starting on 1 July 2026 compares its expected turnover with 12,603 euros.
When turnover goes over 25,000 euros
If turnover exceeds the threshold by at most 10% (up to 27,500 euros), the business keeps the scheme for the rest of that year and moves to the normal scheme on 1 January of the next. If it exceeds the threshold by more than 10%, it moves to the normal scheme from the transaction that crossed that line, and that transaction is taxed in full. Either way, it can return to the scheme only from 1 January of the second year after the change.
What changed in 2025
The scheme was rewritten with effect from 1 January 2025 (the current article 56ter of the VAT Code was inserted by a law of 21 March 2024). The main change is the EU SME scheme: a business established in Belgium can now use the exemption in other member states, and businesses from other member states can use it in Belgium. Two limits then apply: total turnover in the EU of at most 100,000 euros, plus the national threshold of each country concerned. Registration goes through a module in Intervat, FPS Finance's VAT portal.
What changes from 2027
On 17 September 2026 the Chamber adopted a law (doc. 56 1593) that raises the Belgian threshold by 1,000 euros a year: 26,000 euros for 2027, 27,000 for 2028, 28,000 for 2029, 29,000 for 2030 and 30,000 euros from 2031. The text has been sent for royal assent and takes effect on 1 January 2027.
Activities exempt under article 44
A different kind of exemption applies to activities rather than to small turnover. FPS Finance lists the most common ones:
Medical and care: non-cosmetic medical treatment by doctors, dentists and physiotherapists, midwives, nurses, recognised paramedical professions, hospital care, patient transport, elderly, youth and disability care.
Education and culture: educational activities, certain socio-cultural activities, libraries, and organising exhibitions, concerts and performances.
Financial and property: granting credit and other financial services, insurance, and the sale and letting of immovable property.
Many of these exemptions depend on conditions, such as government recognition or the absence of a profit motive. A business doing only these activities has no right to deduct and need not register, unless it makes intra-EU purchases or services.
What a supplier's VAT status means for B2B invoicing
An invoice without VAT can be correct. If it carries the exemption scheme mention, there is simply no VAT for you to deduct. For a buyer who deducts VAT, the net cost is simply the invoiced price.
Peppol still applies. Since 1 January 2026, invoices between two Belgian VAT-liable businesses must be structured e-invoices, and einvoice.belgium.be states that this includes businesses under the exemption scheme. Businesses doing only article 44 activities do not have to send or receive them, and when one party is not VAT-liable, the obligation does not apply to that deal. Peppol in Belgium explained covers the rest.
Advance invoices follow the same rules. An exempt small business puts the mention on every invoice it issues; for the difference between a pro forma and an advance invoice, see pro forma and advance invoices.
How to check a company's VAT status
KBO Public Search. Search the name or enterprise number. If the company is VAT-liable, the Capacities section shows "Subject to VAT" with a start date. einvoice.belgium.be points to exactly this check.
The invoice itself. The exemption scheme shows as the mention "Bijzondere vrijstellingsregeling van belasting".
VIES for cross-border deals. For a customer in another member state, check the number in the European Commission's VIES tool; how to check an EU VAT number explains what a valid result does and does not prove.
Checking one company by hand is quick; keeping VAT numbers right across a whole CRM is harder, and since Peppol routes invoices by enterprise number, a wrong one sends the invoice to another company. In Bizzy, the VAT number sits on each legal entity record, taken from the KBO register, and can be pushed into HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Teamleader Focus or Odoo, filling empty fields or overwriting existing ones as you choose per field. To check Peppol registration specifically, see how to check if a Belgian company is on Peppol.
Frequently asked questions
What does VAT-liable mean in Belgium? That a business regularly and independently supplies goods or services covered by the VAT Code. It usually charges VAT, but a small business under the exemption scheme or a business doing only article 44 activities does not.
What is the VAT exemption threshold for small businesses in Belgium? 25,000 euros of annual turnover excl. VAT in 2026. A law adopted on 17 September 2026 raises it to 26,000 euros in 2027 and in steps to 30,000 euros from 2031.
Does a business under the exemption scheme have a VAT number? Yes. It stays VAT-liable, keeps a BE VAT number, and must state it on its invoices, together with the mention "Bijzondere vrijstellingsregeling van belasting".
Do small businesses under the exemption scheme need Peppol? Yes. einvoice.belgium.be states that the structured e-invoicing obligation also applies to them, both for sending and for receiving. Only businesses doing exclusively article 44 exempt activities are fully outside it.
Photo: the Basilica of Our Lady in Scherpenheuvel, Michielverbeek, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons