Chapter 10 Social Security Contributions - Special

10.1 Employees

10.1.1 Special Social Security Contributions

In addition to the “ordinary” social security contributions, a special social security contribution is due by all employees subject to the social insurance scheme for wage earners. This contribution varies, on the one hand, according to worker’s earnings and, on the other, to the situation of his household (single or two-earner household). Therefore, the final amount is calculated on the (fiscal) household level and it is settled together with the final personal income tax.
In principle, the amount of the contribution is fixed according to the annual taxable income of the household, but eventually the administration makes the final statement of this contribution when registering the income of the taxpayer. Consequently, the amounts paid to the ONSS must be considered as provisional, to be later compared to the annual amount actually due.
The special social security contribution must be calculated on the basis of the quarterly remuneration subject to the calculation of social security contributions. In practice, this contribution is withheld each month and shown on the payslip of the worker. Since the quarterly remuneration, in most cases, is only known at the end of the quarter, the amount of the monthly deductions may vary from month to month.
The final settlement is calculated according to the schedule in Table 10.1.

Table 10.1: Contribution according to the Gross Personal Income
Gross Personal Income (\(I\)) in €/quarter Contribution (€/quarter)
Single household
\(3,285.29 \lt I \leq 5,836.14\) \(27.90\)
\(5,836.14 \lt I \leq 6,570.54\) \(27.90 € + 0.076 \times (I - 5,836.14)\)
\(6,570.55 \leq I \leq 18,116.46\) \(55.8 + 0.011 \times (I - 6,570.55)\)
\(I \gt 18,116.46\) \(182.82\)
Two-earner household
\(3,285.29 \lt I \leq 5,836.14\) \(27.90\)
\(5,836.14 \lt I \leq 6,570.54\) \(27.90\)
\(6,570.55 \leq I \leq 18,116.46\) \(\min[55.8 + 0.011 \times (I - 6,570.55), 154.92]\)
\(I \gt 18,116.46\) \(154.92\)

“Two-earner households” are those made up by a wage earner and a spouse who also earns a professional income. That is, a spouse who, in accordance with the regulations on professional withholding tax, has a professional income higher than the ceiling fixed for the application of the reduction of the professional withholding tax for other family charges. Legal cohabitants are fully assimilated to married persons and considered as spouses.

10.1.2 Mobility budget

From 1 March 2019, employers who used to provide their staff with a company car can replace it with a budget (so-called mobility budget), giving the possibility to each worker to manage by himself his mobility expenses (e.g. for a more environmentally friendly car, public transports, an electric bike).
The amount of the mobility budget is equal to the total cost51 of the company car to the employer. Employers can decide what spending options they want to offer and to which category of workers. The worker can then freely decide how allocating his mobility budget over two (three) categories/pillars provided by the law.

  • Pillar 1. A more environmentally friendly car: either an electric car or a car that meets certain standards for CO2 emissions and air pollutants. If part of the budget remains after the first pillar has been applied, the worker can use it in pillar 2 and/or 3.
  • Pillar 2. The use of sustainable means of transportation including public transports, bicycles, motorcycles, carpooling. In this context, certain housing costs (e.g. rent/interests on mortgage for a house close to the workplace) are assimilated to sustainable means of transport.
  • Pillar 3. The balance remaining after the possible expenditures of pillar 1 and/or 2. Once a year, the employer pays this balance in money to the worker, after having previously subtracted the special contribution of 38.07% (to be paid at the ONSS) from it.

Therefore, contributions on the mobility budget are due only on the reminders of the actual expenses for worker’s mobility.

10.1.3 Double holiday allowance in the private sector

The part of the legal holiday pay (commonly called “double holiday pay”) which does not correspond to the normal remuneration for vacation days (commonly called “single holiday pay”) is subject to a contribution identical to that of personal social security (13.07%).
All workers52 subject to the legislation relating to annual vacations in the private sector are liable for this contribution. Some provincial and local civil servants are also part of the private sector vacation plan. Manual workers are declared at 100%.

10.1.4 Equalization contribution in the public sector

An equalization contribution of 13.07% of the holiday pay is also due by public sector employees. The administrations subject to this regulation are the following.

  • The federal administrative public service, the federal public bodies, the state boards, the integrated police services and the army;
  • Autonomous federal public enterprises;
  • Courts and tribunals;
  • The Council of State, the Court of Accounts and the Constitutional Court;
  • Provincial and local governments.

The contribution is due both for statutory agents and for contractual agents. Some provincial and local government civil servants fall within the private sector vacation regime (see Section 10.1.3. Also in this case, manual workers are declared at 100%.

10.1.5 Beneficiary premia (solidarity contribution)

All workers who have received a bonus, as defined in the law of May 22, 2001 relating to the participation of workers in the capital of companies and to the establishment of a profit bonus for workers, have to pay a solidarity contribution on it. This applies to both identical profit premia and categorized profit premia.
The contribution rate is 13.07% of the amount of the beneficiary premium.

10.2 Employers

10.2.2 Company cars

This contribution is due by any employer who provides some of his workers with a car that they can use for purposes that are not strictly work-related. The amount of the contribution is calculated as a fixed monthly amount per vehicle, which is due for ordinary vehicles of classes M1 or N153, regardless of the financial contribution of the worker. This monthly contribution, which cannot be less than €20.83, depends on the CO2 emission rate (Y) and on the type of fuel, and it is computed as follows.

  • For petrol vehicles: \([(Y \times 9) - 768]/12\) = amount in €;
  • For diesel vehicles: \([(Y \times 9) - 600]/12\) = amount in €;
  • For LPG vehicles: \([(Y \times 9) - 990]/12\) = amount in €;
  • For electric vehicles: €20.83.

Y represents the CO2 emission rate in grams per kilometre as mentioned in the certificate of conformity or in the vehicle conformity report or in the database of the direction of the vehicle registration (DIV). In the case of vehicles for which no data relating to CO2 emissions is available, the calculation is made on the following basis.

  • CO2 emission of 182 g/km (petrol)
  • CO2 emission of 165 g/km (diesel)

For 2020, this amount must be multiplied by 149.19 and divided by 114.08.

10.2.3 Economic unemployment

Employers who declare a number of days of temporary unemployment exceeding a certain threshold have to pay an annual contribution for temporary unemployment due to lack of work for economic reasons.

10.2.3.1 Construction sector

The amount of the contribution is fixed once a year on the basis of the data from the quarterly declarations relating to the previous year. The contribution amount is €46.31 per worker/apprentice per day of economic unemployment which exceeds the 110th day during the period concerned.

10.2.3.2 Others

The calculation and collection of this contribution is made every quarter. The reference period is the reporting quarter (T) and the 3 quarters preceding it (T-1, T-2 in T-3). To calculate the quarterly contribution, all days of economic unemployment during the reporting quarter (T) are taken into account.
The daily amount is a fixed amount depending on the total number of days of economic unemployment during the reporting quarter and the 3 quarters preceding it. Specifically, if the sum of the days of economic unemployment declared by the worker during these four quarters is less than 110, no contribution is due. If it is higher than 110, then the daily amount is calculated as follows.

  • €20 if \(110 \lt\) days of economic unemployment during reference period \(\leq 130\);
  • €40 if \(130 \lt\) days of economic unemployment during reference period \(\leq 150\);
  • €60 if \(150 \lt\) days of economic unemployment during reference period \(\leq 170\);
  • €80 if \(170 \lt\) days of economic unemployment during reference period \(\leq 200\);
  • €100 if days of economic unemployment during reference period \(\gt 200\).

10.2.4 Union premium for provincial and local governments

Provincial and local governments are liable to the ONSS for a fixed annual employer contribution per employee who, as of 31 March of the reference year, is part of the staff. The amount of the contribution is 46.55€/year per member of the staff.

10.3 Employees and Employers

The fourth pillar, although it does not have a proper definition, consists of all the financial and/or real estate assets accumulated alongside the other pillars (e.g. savings accounts with interests, shares with dividends, bonds with interests, owned houses that are rented).

10.3.1 Non-recurring benefits linked to results

Non-recurring benefits linked to results are subject to a special employer contribution of 33% and a solidarity contribution of 13.07% due by the worker.

10.4 Modelling Assumptions

The thresholds for the special contributions for employees are based on quarterly gross earnings. Thus, for their computation, the yearly gross income is divided by four. The final contribution amount, however, is then multiplied by four to obtain the yearly special contributions.
Given that the exact value of the mobility budget is not available, the variable value of the company car (yemca_pyg_sm) is used instead as a simplification. According to the current legislation, the contribution on company car is not due by the employer if the beneficiary employee is a manager. This exemption, however, is not accounted for. Therefore, this contribution is calculated for all employees provided with a company car, regardless of their position in the company.

10.5 Module input

10.5.1 Variables

Name Description Database
Y CO2 emission rate Other
beneficiary_premium profit bonus for the worker Other
boa_pyg_fm Yearly gross old-age benefit HFCS
bonus_results non-recurring benefits for employees linked to results Other
days_econ_unempl days of economic unemployment during the reporting quarter and the 3 quarters preceding it Other
dhhsi_h_fn Number of household members  HFCS
double_holiday_pay part of the legal holiday pay, called ‘double holiday pay’, which does not correspond to the normal remuneration for vacation days Other
holiday_pay_pub_sec holiday pay for public sector employees Other
locna_p_fc Occupation - NACE classification HFCS
lse_p_hsc Status in employment household member HBS
mobility_exp amount of the mobility budget spent by the employee Other
pension_sup amount of second pillar pension Other
pension_target pension target Other
prov_loc_gov provincial and local administration (yes/no) Other
staff_members members (number) of the staff Other
vehicle type of fuel Other
yemca_pyg_sm yearly gross fiscal value of company car SILC
yemch_pyg_fm yearly gross cash employment income HFCS

10.5.2 Parameters

Name Description Value (2020)
ssc_spec_bcr special / beneficiary premium contribution rate 0.1307
ssc_spec_cc_coef1 special / company cars CO2 multiplier 9
ssc_spec_cc_coef2 special / company cars adjustment coefficient 1.30776647966339
ssc_spec_cc_el special / company cars elcetric 20.83
ssc_spec_cc_thr1 special / company cars threshold 1 (petrol) 768
ssc_spec_cc_thr2 special / company cars threshold 2 (diesel) 600
ssc_spec_cc_thr3 special / company cars threshold 3 (LPG) 990
ssc_spec_dhcr special / double holiday pay contribution rate 0.1307
ssc_spec_eq_cr special / equalization contribution rate 0.1307
ssc_spec_eu_coef1 special / economic unemployment €/day 1 46.31
ssc_spec_eu_coef2 special / economic unemployment €/day 2 20
ssc_spec_eu_coef3 special / economic unemployment €/day 3 40
ssc_spec_eu_coef4 special / economic unemployment €/day 4 60
ssc_spec_eu_coef5 special / economic unemployment €/day 5 80
ssc_spec_eu_coef6 special / economic unemployment €/day 6 100
ssc_spec_eu_thr1 special / economic unemployment days threshold 1 110
ssc_spec_eu_thr2 special / economic unemployment days threshold 2 130
ssc_spec_eu_thr3 special / economic unemployment days threshold 3 150
ssc_spec_eu_thr4 special / economic unemployment days threshold 4 170
ssc_spec_eu_thr5 special / economic unemployment days threshold 5 200
ssc_spec_mb_cr special / mobility budget contribution rate 0.3807
ssc_spec_pens_cr1 special / pension contribution rate 1 0.0886
ssc_spec_pens_cr2 special / pension contribution rate 2 0.03
ssc_spec_rb_cr1 special / results bonus contribution rate 1 (employer) 0.33
ssc_spec_rb_cr2 special / results bonus contribution rate 2 (employee) 0.1307
ssc_spec_ss_am1 special / social security contribution amount 1 27.9
ssc_spec_ss_am2 special / social security contribution amount 2 55.8
ssc_spec_ss_am3 special / social security contribution amount 3 154.92
ssc_spec_ss_am4 special / social security contribution amount 4 182.82
ssc_spec_ss_cr1 special / social security coefficient 1 0.076
ssc_spec_ss_cr2 special / social security coefficient 2 0.011
ssc_spec_ss_thr1 special / social security earnings threshold 1 3285.29
ssc_spec_ss_thr2 special / social security earnings threshold 2 5836.14
ssc_spec_ss_thr3 special / social security earnings threshold 3 6570.54
ssc_spec_ss_thr4 special / social security earnings threshold 4 18116.46
ssc_spec_up special / union premium staff member multiplier 46.55

10.6 Module output

Name Description
t_ssc_spec_employee amount of the special social security contributions for employees according to their household size
t_ssc_spec_mob_budget amount of the contribution on the remainders of the mobility budget for employees
t_ssc_spec_double_hol_pay amount of the contribution on the double holiday pay
t_ssc_spec_eq_contr_pub_sec amount of the contribution on the holiday pay due by public sector employees
t_ssc_spec_sol_contr_bp amount of the contribution on the solidarity contribution on both profit premiums and categorized profit premiums
t_ssc_spec_ex_legal_pens amount of the contribution on all the amounts paid by the employer to finance the extra-legal advantages (pensions)
t_ssc_spec_comp_car amount of the contribution for the employers who provide their workers with a car that they can use for purposes that are not strictly work-related
t_ssc_spec_temp_unempl amount of the contribution on the temporary unemployment due to lack of work for economic reasons
t_ssc_spec_union_prem amount of the contribution per employee to which provincial and local governments are liable (union premium)
t_ssc_spec_ben_results amount of the contributions on non-recurring benefits linked to results.

10.7 References

[] Socialsecurity.be. 2020. URL: https://www.socialsecurity.be/employer/instructions/dmfa/fr/latest/instructions/special_contributions/introduction.html.

[] J. Derboven, Z. Rongé, S. Van Houtven, et al. “EUROMOD COUNTRY REPORT, BELGIUM (BE) 2016 – 2019”. In: n.d. (2019).

  1. This amount includes the purchase price (at 20% amortization per year) or the cost of the lease, plus, when applicable, all the other costs related to the company car (e.g. fuel, insurance, all taxes and parafiscal charges, parking).↩︎

  2. The following are excluded: paid athletes; doctors in specialist medical training; casual workers in the agricultural and horticultural sector; certain members of the personnel of certain educational establishments; certain members of the staff of school and vocational guidance offices or psycho-medico-social centres; most people employed in the public sector.↩︎

  3. M1 vehicles are vehicles used for the transport of passengers, with at most nine seats. N1 vehicles are vehicles used for the carriage of goods and having a maximum mass not exceeding 3.5 tons.↩︎