Are these measures already official?
Not yet. This article examines a draft law presented by the federal government. The text is still undergoing several stages, including approval by Parliament and publication in the Moniteur belge. Until the legislative process is completed, the proposed measures may change and do not yet hold legal value. We will keep you informed of the situation's evolution via Lex4You.
Dependent children and tax benefit
The tax allowance for a child results in a reduction of advance tax levy for the parent who claims it.
However, for children to be considered dependent, they must meet certain conditions. One such condition is that they cannot have personally benefited during the taxable period from net resources exceeding a specified ceiling (see below).
The maximum amount of accepted net resources is indexed on 1 January of each year, based on the evolution of the consumer price index.
Learn more: « What are the conditions to be fiscally dependent? »
Increase in the quota of hours for student work
As of 1 January 2025, the annual ceiling for student work hours will be increased to 650 hours. However, students who work many hours may exceed the maximum allowed amount and may no longer be considered dependent children. Therefore, the government proposes:
- To increase the maximum amount of net resources allowed
- To raise the exemption ceiling for income from student work
More information: « Students will be able to work up to 650 hours per year »
Increase in the maximum amount of net resources
For the 2025 income year, the maximum base amount of net resources has been set at 4,100 euros. Furthermore, this amount currently varies depending on the family situation of the student.
For dependent children of a taxpayer assessed separately, the amount is 5,930 euros and can rise to 7,520 euros if these children are disabled.
The government intends to establish greater equality of treatment among parents, regardless of their lifestyle. In this context, the draft law plans to raise this ceiling to 12,000 euros (base amount of 5,265 euros indexed for the 2026 tax year) starting from 1st January 2025, for all children, regardless of their family situation. This represents a significant increase, as this new ceiling is almost three times higher than the initial amount of 4,100 euros.
Following this increase and to avoid distortions in social aid and benefits, the government stipulates that persons receiving integration income (or an equivalent integration income) can no longer be considered dependents.
Specifically, this means that students will be able to have higher net resources without the risk of losing their fiscal dependency on their parents. Consequently, parents will be able to retain their tax benefit.
Increase in the exemption ceiling for income from student work
The calculation of net resources involves taking the gross amount reduced by either actual professional expenses (with supporting documents) or a flat-rate equivalent to 20% of the gross resources. In the case of employee income or profits, the minimum deductible expenses are 570 euros (amount for the 2025 income year).
Moreover, for the salary earned by a student, a first tranche of 1,500 euros (non-indexed base amount) is not included in the ceiling of net resources.
With the draft law, the amount of income from student work that is not considered in the resources would be doubled. It would thus rise to 3,000 euros (non-indexed base amount) starting from 1st January 2025.
This is indeed a exemption of net resources. It only applies to determine whether the student remains dependent on their parents and not to determine whether they owe tax.
In other words, an amount of 6,840 euros (amount indexed for the 2026 tax year) can now be deducted from the total net resources of the student to check if they have reached the ceiling.
Numerical example
A student receives a remuneration of 12,500 euros from their occupation (after deduction of social security contributions). They have no other income.
|
Remuneration (1) |
12,500 € |
|
Deduction for student occupation contract (3,000 € non-indexed) (2) |
-6,840 € |
|
Result (3) = (1) – (2) |
5,660 € |
|
Deduction for flat-rate expenses (20% of (3) with a minimum of 570 € (4) |
-1,132 € |
|
Net resources = (3) – (4) |
4,528 € |
If the new ceiling for 2025 is raised to 12,000 euros, the student will be able to remain fiscally dependent on their parents. In contrast, this would not be the case under the current regime, as the ceiling is 4,100.00 euros.
Professional income that constitutes professional expenses
Under the current regime, individuals receiving remuneration that constitutes professional expenses for the taxpayer cannot be considered dependents of that taxpayer.
For reasons of equality of treatment, the government wishes to strengthen this rule by extending it to professional income in general.
Consequently, children who receive professional income that can be deducted as professional expenses by their parent (within the framework of a sole proprietorship) will not be considered dependent children.
However, they may be fiscally dependent on the business manager whose company employs them. The professional income is then a professional charge of the employer company and not of the taxpayer themselves.
Doctoral scholarships included in the notion of resources
Currently, scholarships awarded to doctoral students are excluded from the notion of resources. As a result, these doctoral students can generally remain dependent on their parents.
The amount of net income from the scholarships they receive is, however, equivalent to that received by a person working on their doctorate within the framework of an assistantship. However, assistants cannot, in principle, be dependent on their parents.
This is why the draft law plans to include these doctoral scholarships in the net resources of the dependent child.
Learn more about the income that falls within the notion of resources
Entry into force
These modifications will, in principle, enter into force as of 1st January 2025 (tax year 2026).
What does Securex do for you?
Securex Consulting assists employers comprehensively in calculating the annual ceiling of student work hours and assessing the tax implications of the benefit for dependent children on the part of the student's employer parents.
For more information, please do not hesitate to contact us by sending an email to the following address: salaryoptimization@securex.be
Source
- Various press releases from the federal government regarding the Easter agreement.
- Coalition agreement 2025-2029.pdf
- Draft law-program | News.belgium
