Belgian Copyright Tax Regime: Two Key Reform Proposals

The Belgian copyright tax regime is currently the subject of two significant legislative reform proposals, both of which carry important practical consequences for a wide range of taxpayers. The Programme Bill of 23 February 2026 (no. 1378/001) abolishes the lump-sum cost deduction, whilst the Bill on the Reform of Personal Income Tax of 17 December 2025 (no. 1243/001) restores the application of the copyright regime for software developers. Together, these two proposals represent a meaningful reshaping of the landscape for all those who rely on this favourable tax framework.

Proposal 1: Abolition of Lump-Sum Deductions for Non-Certified Artists (Programme Bill of 23 February 2026)

Background

To benefit from the favourable tax regime applicable to copyright income, several conditions must be met, including that the author must assign or license their rights to a third party for the purposes of public communication, public performance, or reproduction. Authors holding an artwork certificate (granted to eligible artists in the context of an advantageous social security and unemployment benefits framework introduced by the Act of 16 December 2022) are exempt from having to prove this condition.

Until now, and without any distinction based on the status or profile of the beneficiary, all copyright holders were entitled to a specific declining lump-sum deduction for expenses — 50% on the first indexed tranche of EUR 20,100 (for assessment year 2026) and 25% on the following indexed tranche from EUR 20,101 to EUR 40,190 (for assessment year 2026).

The Proposed Change

The Programme Bill of 23 February 2026 abolishes both lump-sum deductions for all taxpayers who do not hold an ordinary or "plus" artwork certificate.

Categories of Certificate — Who Qualifies?

Three categories of certificates coexist: the ordinary certificate, the "plus" certificate, and the "starter" certificate (Article 17 of the Royal Decree of 13 March 2023). Only the first two entitle the holder to the lump-sum deduction. The starter certificate, issued to emerging artists who do not yet meet the conditions for the other certificates, is explicitly excluded. For taxpayers without an ordinary or "plus" artwork certificate, namely non-artists and holders of a starter certificate, copyright income is taxable on a gross basis unless actual expenses can be substantiated.

It should be emphasized that even for holders of an ordinary or "plus" certificate, only income derived from activities expressly covered by the certificate qualifies for the lump-sum deductions. Copyright income arising from non-recognised activities is also excluded.

Effective Date and Practical Impact

The measure takes effect on 1 January 2026 and applies to income paid or attributed as from that date. By way of derogation, for the purposes of withholding tax, the new rules apply only as from the 10^th day following publication of the law in the Belgian State Gazette, in order to allow debtors sufficient time to adapt their systems. This derogation does not affect the final tax liability, as copyright income must in any event be reported in the personal income tax return. Beneficiaries excluded from the lump-sum regime should therefore expect a higher final tax assessment than the withholding tax initially levied.

Legislative Justifications

The legislature has advanced several justifications for restricting the lump-sum deduction to certified artists:

• Economic precariousness of artists: The legislature refers to the specific economic situation of artists, whose income is highly uncertain and volatile, alternating between occasional peak income covering several years and periods of low or non-existent income. Unlike journalists or IT professionals, artists incur relatively high professional expenses for a generally modest income, meaning that the lump-sum deduction better reflects the economic reality of their activity. Following the Council of State’s observations, this justification was further substantiated by a study of the Observatory of Cultural Policies of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, which statistically documents the sector's specific precariousness.
• Administrative simplification: Requiring the systematic retention of all supporting documents for actual expenses is ill-suited to an activity characterised by irregular and discontinuous income.
• Risk of double deduction: The legislature points to the risk of double deduction for other professional categories, for whom copyright income often constitutes a supplementary income added to a main professional income for which lump-sum or actual expenses have already been deducted. This risk is far less significant for certified artists, who generally do not earn other professional income for which expenses are already taken into account.
• Protection of the artwork allowance: Maintaining the lump-sum regime aims to avoid a negative impact on the artwork allowance, as abolishing the deduction would increase net copyright income and cause the threshold of EUR 11,060.40, beyond which the allowance is reduced, to be exceeded more quickly.
• Limitation to professional artistic activity: The legislature excludes the “starter” certification as it considers this certificate as an entry-level regime, subject to flexible conditions, valid for only three years and non-renewable. Once artistic practice takes on a professional character, the applicant may qualify for an ordinary or "plus" certificate. Hence, a starter certificate does not sufficiently demonstrate a clear professional activity.

Proposal 2: Reintroduction of Software Developers into the Copyright Tax Regime (Bill of 17 December 2025)

Background: The 2022 Exclusion

The Programme Law of 2022 restricted the scope of the copyright tax regime to copyrights and neighbouring rights as referred to in Book XI, Title 5 (“copyrights”) of the Code of Economic Law (CEL). By the explicit removal of the reference to Book XI, Title 6 (“software”) CEL, computer programs, which had previously been treated as equivalent literary works, were no longer considered qualifying works. The then-legislature justified this by "aligning the material scope with what was originally intended by the legislature at the time the copyright tax regime was introduced" in 2008, with the real intention being to curb the "excessive use" by software developers.

This exclusion created a number of difficulties in practice:

• An illogical and unequal fiscal regime between software developers on the one hand and other digital professions such as web designers, content creators and game designers on the other.
• Uncertainty as to the qualification of taxpayers, given the grey area between both digital groups and, moreover, since software is also legally covered by Book XI, Title 5 CEL, making the distinction not always clear.

The exclusion of (some) software developers thus had a restrictive and somewhat inconsistent effect within the digital sector, drawing criticism both from within the sector and at political level.

The Proposed Change

The Bill of 17 December 2025 provides for an additional reference to also include Book XI, Title 6 (“software”) CEL. As a result, computer programs once again fall within the material scope of the copyright tax regime.

All other conditions of the regime, as amended in 2022, remain unchanged. Accordingly, copyrights must be transferred or licensed to a third party, for public communication, public performance, execution, or reproduction, and taxpayers must continue to take into account the absolute ceiling, the relative ceiling and the four-year average ceiling.

What About Lump-Sum Deductions for Software Developers?

As software developers are, in practice, unlikely to obtain an artwork certificate for their software developing activities, the reintroduction into the copyright regime will therefore be accompanied, for most, by the loss of access to the lump-sum deduction. The two reform proposals are therefore deeply interconnected.

Constitutional and Legislative Justifications

The explanatory memorandum of the current bill confirms that no departure is made from the original legislative objective, including the elimination of discussions concerning equality and non-discrimination. Other digital professions, such as web designers, content creators and game designers — or journalists currently also benefit from the regime, even where their income is not necessarily irregular or volatile. Excluding software developers was therefore difficult to justify.

A Remaining Point of Uncertainty: Internal Software and the "Communication to the Public" Requirement

There remains some confusion arising from a statement by the then Minister of Finance in 2022, who asserted that "reproduction" also requires a "communication to the public". This has led some to argue that certain software would also fail to qualify under the new regime, specifically if such software would not be “communicated to the public”. Indeed, European case law indicated that internal distribution within a company (such as the roll-out of proprietary business software) does not constitute "communication to the public".

However, our analysis is that this reasoning is legally incorrect. The alleged link is the result of an unfortunately drafted explanatory memorandum: the preliminary bill initially referred only to "communication to the public" and the (draft) explanatory memorandum "clarified" that reproduction should also be understood to fall within that concept. This passage was not updated when reproduction was included in the final bill as an autonomous mode of exploitation ("or for reproduction"), completely separate from "communication to the public", as also provided for under copyright law. In particular, in the case of the transfer of rights to internally developed business software, the loading, display, execution, transmission or storage of that software will constitute a "reproduction" which in itself requires the consent of the beneficiary. Reproduction is therefore, neither for the fiscal regime nor for copyright law, a component of the notion of "communication to the public", but an independent means of exploitation.

Effective Date

The reintroduction of software within the scope of the copyright tax regime enters into force retroactively on 1 January 2026 for all income paid or attributed as from that date.

Conclusion and Call to Action

These two proposals together mark a pivotal moment for the Belgian copyright tax regime. On the one hand, software developers are brought back within the regime's scope as from 1 January 2026, restoring a degree of parity within the digital professions. On the other hand, the abolition of lump-sum deductions for all those without an ordinary or "plus" artwork certificate substantially narrows the financial benefit of the regime for non-certified taxpayers, including most IT professionals, journalists and other categories who have historically relied upon it.

The combined effect of these proposals means that the copyright regime, whilst broadened in terms of who may qualify, is simultaneously becoming considerably less advantageous for those without an artwork certificate.

Which steps to take without delay for those currently benefiting from the regime or making payments under this regime?

1. Review your artwork certificate status. Verify whether you hold an ordinary or "plus" artwork certificate. If you do not, consider obtaining or renewing it in order to (continue to) be entitled to the lump-sum deductions as from 1 January 2026 and to not having to rely on proof of actual costs.
2. Assess your cost documentation. If you are no longer entitled to the lump-sum deduction, ensure that you maintain thorough and systematic records of all professional costs relating to your copyright activities, as these will be necessary to substantiate any deduction going forward.

3. Review your withholding tax position. Given that the new withholding tax rules apply only from the 10^th day following publication in the Belgian State Gazette, whilst the substantive change applies retroactively from 1 January 2026, affected taxpayers should anticipate a potential gap between the withholding tax initially levied and the final tax assessment to be established in their personal income tax return.

   Also, for those liable to remit withholding tax (i.e. the payers of the copyright income), please consider adjusting your accounting/IT system to properly account for (higher) withholding taxes as of the entering into force of the Programme Bill.

This newsletter is intended for information purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Please do not hesitate to contact us should you wish to discuss how these developments may affect you.