Advance Payments to Avoid Tax Increase
The government encourages companies and self-employed individuals to make advance payments on the taxes they owe on their profits, income, or remuneration during the taxable period.
These “advance payments” are similar to the advance tax levy, as they are a prepayment on the final tax.
You are not obliged to make these payments. However, if you choose not to, you risk facing a tax increase on your total taxable income.
To encourage companies to pay their taxes earlier, the tax authorities impose a tax increase if no or insufficient advance payments are made.
Exception: New Self-employed Individuals
If you start your self-employed activity for the first time in 2024, 2025, or 2026, you will not have to pay increases for the assessment year 2027 if you do not make advance payments.
Abolition of the Increase for Self-employed Natural Persons
A draft law to reform personal income tax states that self-employed individuals from the income year 2026 will no longer be required to make advance payments (and thus will not risk a tax increase), but can receive a bonus instead. The obligation remains for company managers, who will have an additional (fifth) period for advance payments.
When Must the Advance Payments Be Made?
Deadlines and Neutralisation of the Tax Increase
By making timely and sufficient advance payments, you can neutralise the tax increase. For the assessment year 2027 (income 2026), the rate of the tax increase due to insufficient or no advance payments is set at 4.50% of the total taxes owed.
The basis for calculation will therefore be multiplied by this rate. This applies to both companies and self-employed natural persons.
The first deadline for the advance payments of 2026 (first quarter) is April 10, 2026.
Moreover, the neutralisation of the tax increase decreases over time. This means that the earlier you make an advance payment, the higher the percentage of the applied reduction.
The earlier the advance payment, the higher the neutralisation of the tax increase.
For 2026 (tax year 2027), the reduction of the tax increase is set as follows:
|
Deadlines for Advance Payments |
Reduction of the Tax Increase |
|
1st quarter: April 10, 2026 |
6 % |
|
2nd quarter: July 10, 2026 |
5 % |
|
3rd quarter: October 12, 2026 |
4 % |
|
4th quarter: December 21, 2026 |
3 % |
The average of these percentages corresponds to the rate of the increase (4.50 %). Therefore, if you have made sufficient advance payments, the benefits associated with them will fully offset this increase.
The deadlines and rates in the table above apply to companies whose financial year coincides with the calendar year. In other words, the financial year must have started on January 1, 2026.
Do Not Delay Payment Until the Deadline!
Note! These are the deadlines by which your payment must arrive in the account of the Advance Payments Service. Since there can always be a few working days between your payment order and the actual receipt of the payment in this account, it is better not to wait until the last day to make the payment.
Payments that arrive at the advance payments service after the due date will automatically be withheld for the next quarter.
What is the Amount of Your Advance Payments?
In many cases, the accountant bases their estimate of the recommended amounts for advance payments on the expected results for the upcoming financial year.
How to Proceed Practically?
The easiest way is to make your advance payments online via MyMinfin. This way, you automatically pay into the correct account number and with the correct structured communication. All you need to do is enter the amount you wish to deposit and click on “pay online.”
Other payment methods (via transfer or payment by a third party, e.g., a bank) are still allowed.
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