What are ecocheques?
Ecocheques (éco-chèques in French, ecocheques in Dutch) are electronic vouchers that a Belgian employer gives employees to buy ecological products and services. When the conditions are met, they are free of social security contributions and personal income tax, up to €250 per employee per calendar year.
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Ecocheques must be provided for in a sector or company collective labour agreement (CLA). Where no CLA can be concluded, for example because the company has no union delegation, a written individual agreement can be used instead, but it cannot grant more than a CLA in the same company. The agreement sets the value of each cheque, at most €10, and how often they are granted in the year.
Since 1 January 2022, ecocheques can only be issued electronically, by an approved issuer, onto the employee’s ecocheque account. Each cheque is valid for 24 months, cannot be exchanged for cash and must be recorded on the employee’s individual account. Ecocheques granted to replace salary or another benefit count as pay, with contributions and tax due.
What employees can buy
Ecocheques can only be spent on the products and services listed in an annex to collective agreement no. 98 of the National Labour Council. The current list, set by agreement no. 98/12 of 24 February 2026, has applied since 1 June 2026. It covers items such as energy-efficient electrical appliances, bicycles and electric scooters, second-hand goods, public transport other than commuting passes, and products with recognised environmental labels. The Council reviews the list, in principle, every two years.
When ecocheques are compulsory
Many joint committees make ecocheques compulsory through a sector CLA. In Joint Committee 200, the largest committee for white-collar employees, employers pay up to €250 in ecocheques in June, based on the time worked from June of the previous year to May, with lower amounts for part-time staff. A company can replace them with another benefit of the same value only where an agreement provides for it.
The federal coalition agreement for 2025 to 2029 plans to phase ecocheques out, but no law has done so. In September 2026 the National Labour Council unanimously advised keeping them, and the current rules still apply.
Ecocheques when TopSource runs your payroll
When TopSource runs your payroll in Belgium, we work out each employee’s entitlement under your joint committee’s rules, including part-time and partial-year amounts, and report the ecocheques correctly in payroll and on the individual account, so they stay free of contributions and tax.
Frequently asked questions
How much can a Belgian employer give in ecocheques?
Up to €250 per employee per calendar year, in electronic cheques worth no more than €10 each, under a collective or written individual agreement.
Are ecocheques taxed in Belgium?
Not when all the conditions are met: they are free of social security contributions and personal income tax. Ecocheques that replace salary or another benefit are treated as pay.
Are ecocheques being abolished in Belgium?
Not so far. The federal government plans to phase them out, but no law has been passed, and in September 2026 the National Labour Council advised keeping them.
Related terms in Belgium
- Joint Committee (Belgium)
- Dimona Declaration (Belgium)
- Unified Status (Belgium)
- Outplacement Obligation (Belgium)
- Non-Compete Clause (Belgium)
- Time Credit (Belgium)
- Work Regulations (Belgium)
- Single Permit (Belgium)
- Payroll Withholding Tax (Belgium)
- Automatic Salary Indexation (Belgium)
- Meal Vouchers (Belgium)