Announcing Wintro's referral bonus tax ruling for Belgian companies

We're excited to announce that Wintro has secured a tax ruling that can help Belgian companies optimize their referral bonus programs. This ruling enables companies using Wintro's platform to pay out referral bonuses as "miscellaneous income" (diverse inkomsten) instead of professional income, resulting in a tax rate of 33%.

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Why this matters

Traditional referral bonuses are normally classified as professional income subject to normal Belgian progressive tax rates and Belgian social security contributions. This has often made companies hesitant to implement generous referral programs, limiting their ability to tap into one of the most valuable recruitment channels.

Previously, a company could request their own tax ruling considering referral bonuses as miscellaneous income - a complex and time-consuming process. Now, all Wintro customers can automatically benefit from our ruling, eliminating this administrative burden.

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Benefits for companies

The ruling provides significant advantages for companies:

• Referral bonuses are 100% tax-deductible as business expenses.
• No mandatory requirement to create tax forms (fiches) for these bonuses.
• Simplified administration and payroll processing.
• Automatic compliance when using Wintro's platform.

How the ruling works

The key to this ruling lies in how Wintro's platform enables both employees and external individuals to participate in the referral program equally:

• External individuals (like former employees or professional connections) and employees are invited to refer.
• Both employees and external participants follow the same process and conditions.
• Because the program cannot be limited to employees and since it is merely limited to making a referral, the bonuses are no longer considered employment-related income.
• As a result, referral bonuses qualify as miscellaneous income, subject to a 33% tax rate.

What's covered

The ruling provides clear guidelines:

• Applies to both employee and external individuals* under the same conditions.
• Maximum bonus of €10,000 per successful referral.
• Up to two referral bonuses per person per calendar year.
• Our tax ruling is valid for five years from January 2024, and can be applied retroactively to unpaid referral bonuses for previous hires when a referral bonus is attributed for a referral via Wintro's platform.

Next steps

This ruling creates a unique opportunity for Belgian companies to implement more effective referral programs while reducing the tax burden on bonus recipients. By using Wintro's platform, you can easily set up a compliant program that takes full advantage of this ruling without any additional administrative work.

Want to learn how your company can implement a tax-efficient referral program? Schedule a demo with our team to discover how Wintro can help you expand your referral network while maximizing benefits for all participants.

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* Some individuals are excluded from the referral program.