What is tax form 281.10?
Tax form 281.10 (fiche 281.10) is the annual individual tax certificate that a Belgian employer issues for each employee. It reports the pay and benefits the employee received in the calendar year and the payroll withholding tax deducted from them, and the tax authorities use it to pre-fill the employee’s income tax return.
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The form lists the employee’s taxable pay for the year, including benefits in kind such as the private use of a company car, allowances, the withholding tax deducted and the special social security contribution withheld. Each type of income goes in its own box, so the tax authorities can apply the right treatment to it. Company directors receive a separate form, the 281.20, with the same deadline.
Deadline and filing
Employers file the 281.10 forms electronically through Belcotax-on-web, the platform of the Federal Public Service Finance, together with a summary statement, the 325.10. The deadline is 28 February of the year after the income year. A form is needed for everyone who was paid during the year, including employees who left before December. The employee receives a copy, and the figures appear in their pre-filled return in MyMinfin.
Corrections and late filing
Errors are corrected by filing a rectified form through Belcotax-on-web. Forms sent after the deadline are treated as late for tax purposes. Because employees’ returns are pre-filled from the 281.10, a missing or wrong form usually means a wrong pre-filled return and questions from employees, so the figures should be checked against payroll before filing.
The 281.10 when TopSource runs your payroll
When TopSource runs your payroll in Belgium, we prepare each employee’s 281.10 from the year’s payroll, file it with the summary statement through Belcotax-on-web before the deadline, give employees their copy and file any corrections.
Frequently asked questions
When is the 281.10 due in Belgium?
By 28 February of the year after the income year, filed electronically through Belcotax-on-web.
Does the employee have to file the 281.10?
No. The employer files it and gives the employee a copy, and the tax authorities use it to pre-fill the employee’s income tax return.
What is the difference between the 281.10 and the 281.20?
The 281.10 covers employees’ pay. The 281.20 covers the remuneration of company directors, with the same 28 February deadline.
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)
- Ecocheques (Belgium)
- Payroll Withholding Tax (Belgium)
- Automatic Salary Indexation (Belgium)
- Meal Vouchers (Belgium)
- Benefit in Kind for Company Cars (Belgium)
- CO2 Solidarity Contribution (Belgium)
- Group Insurance and the 80% Rule (Belgium)