Benefits in Kind (ATN) for Company Directors in Belgium

Key takeaways

• A benefit in kind (ATN) is any economic advantage a company grants its director outside of cash remuneration: a car, housing, a phone, a computer, or an advantageous loan.
• These advantages are taxable under the director's personal income tax as director's income (art. 36 CIR 92) and must be reported on the fiche 281.20 (box 9c).
• The company car ATN is calculated using the formula: catalogue value × 6/7 × CO2 % × age coefficient, with a minimum of 1,690 EUR/year for 2026 income.
• The ATN flat rates for heating (2,560 EUR) and electricity (1,280 EUR) only apply to a director when the company also makes the dwelling itself available.
• The company must report each ATN on the fiche 281.20 by 1 March following the financial year, via Belcotax-on-Web.

When a BV (private limited company) puts a car at its manager's disposal, provides an apartment or lends a smartphone, it is not simply providing an internal service: it is granting a benefit in kind (ATN), taxable income that is added to cash remuneration. These advantages, governed by art. 36 of the Income Tax Code 1992 (CIR 92), are valued using flat-rate methods published annually by the Belgian tax authority (SPF Finances). Understanding how they are calculated is the key to avoiding surprises at income tax time and to structuring the director's remuneration efficiently.

What Is a Benefit in Kind for a Director?

A benefit in kind refers to any economic advantage a company grants to its director without direct cash consideration. Art. 36 of the CIR 92 provides the general basis: the value of the advantage is taxable professional income for the recipient.

For a company director, benefits in kind fall under the category of director's income (art. 32 CIR 92) and are added to gross remuneration to form the personal income tax base. The company is simultaneously liable for professional withholding tax on the entire base, including the ATN.

The main benefits in kind granted to company directors in Belgium are: private use of a company car, free housing, free heating and electricity, IT equipment and telephony, and loans at a zero or reduced interest rate.

Company Car ATN: The 2026 Calculation Formula

The company car is by far the most common benefit in kind. Its valuation is based on an official formula derived from art. 36 §2 of the CIR 92, updated each year by the SPF Finances.

Formula for 2026 income:

Annual ATN = catalogue value including VAT × 6/7 × CO2 percentage × age coefficient

In practice, a new diesel vehicle with a catalogue value of 30,000 EUR including VAT and CO2 emissions of 100 g/km gives a CO2 percentage of 5.5% + (100 - 58) × 0.1% = 9.7%, resulting in an annual ATN of approximately 30,000 × 6/7 × 9.7% × 100% (vehicle less than one year old) = around 2,490 EUR per year.

100% electric vehicles benefit from a conventional emission of 0 g/km, which brings their CO2 percentage to the 4% floor, significantly reducing the ATN. This is one of the levers of Belgium's policy of greening company car fleets.

Housing, Heating and Electricity ATN

When a company makes a property available to its director, the value of that advantage is calculated on the basis of the property's indexed cadastral income (RC):

• Unfurnished dwelling: RC indexed × 100/60 × 2
• Furnished dwelling: ATN unfurnished × 5/3

The applicable indexation coefficient is published each year by the SPF Finances. Partial private use (e.g. professional use of part of the property) reduces the ATN in proportion to the private floor area.

	Advantage	Company director (2026)	Other beneficiary (2026)
Free heating provided by the company	2,560 EUR/year	1,150 EUR/year
Free electricity provided by the company	1,280 EUR/year	580 EUR/year
Condition for applying the flat rates	The company must also make the dwelling itself available	The company must also make the dwelling itself available

A crucial point: since 2022, the heating and electricity flat rates only apply when the company provides the dwelling itself. If the company merely pays energy bills for housing belonging to or rented by the director, the advantage must be valued at actual cost, with no flat rate available.

Equipment ATN: PC, Mobile Phone and Internet

IT and communications equipment made available to the director is valued using monthly flat-rate amounts set out in art. 18 §3 of the AR/CIR 92:

Monthly ATN flat rates for equipment (2026 income)

• Computer (desktop or laptop)

  6 EUR/month, i.e. 72 EUR/year.

• Home internet connection

  5 EUR/month, i.e. 60 EUR/year.

• Telephone subscription (fixed or mobile)

  4 EUR/month, i.e. 48 EUR/year.

• Mobile phone or smartphone

  3 EUR/month, i.e. 36 EUR/year.

These amounts are modest: the total ATN for a PC, an internet connection and a smartphone reaches at most 168 EUR per year. Each type of equipment is nevertheless a separate ATN and must appear individually on the fiche 281.20. A tablet is treated as a computer and valued at 6 EUR/month.

Integration of ATN into the Director's Remuneration

Benefits in kind are added to gross cash remuneration to form the director's personal income tax base. They also affect the deductibility of expenses in the company, particularly for the company car, where deductibility depends on the vehicle's CO2 emissions.

An often overlooked issue: flat-rate ATN count towards the minimum remuneration threshold for the director, which is the condition for access to the reduced corporate tax rate of 20% on the first bracket of taxable profits (art. 215 CIR 92). Cash remuneration and ATN are combined to reach that threshold.

The optimal structure between cash remuneration, ATN and dividends depends on the director's personal situation (family circumstances, marginal personal income tax rate, INASTI social contributions). Consulting a tax adviser or accountant is essential to strike the right balance between these components.

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Declaration and Fiche 281.20

The company is responsible for declaring the ATN granted to its director. The director does not calculate and enter each advantage personally in the annual income tax return: the individual fiche 281.20 that the company submits is the reference document.

1. 1

   ATN attribution during the year

   Throughout the financial year

   Each month the company includes the flat-rate value of ATN in the professional withholding tax base to be retained and paid to the SPF Finances.

2. 2

   Preparation of the fiche 281.20

   January - February Y+1

   The company prepares a fiche 281.20 for each remunerated director. ATN appear in box 9c, with a breakdown by type of advantage.

3. 3

   Submission via Belcotax-on-Web

   Before 1 March Y+1

   The fiche 281.20 and the consolidated summary 325.20 are submitted online via Belcotax-on-Web. Strict deadline: 1 March Y+1.

4. 4

   Director's income tax return

   May - June Y+1

   The director receives a copy of the fiche 281.20. The data are pre-filled in MyMinfin. The director verifies and corrects as necessary before submitting the annual income tax return.

Any discrepancy between ATN actually received and those reported on the fiche 281.20 exposes the company to a separate assessment of 100% on the undeclared amounts, in addition to the personal income tax owed by the director. Accuracy of the fiche is therefore an obligation, not a formality.

Further reading

• Professional withholding tax for BV directors: how ATN are integrated into withholding tax calculations and fiche 281.20
• Deductible expenses for a BV: which expenses the company can deduct, including car expenses
• Corporate tax in Belgium: the interaction between ATN, director's remuneration and the reduced ISOC rate
• SPF Finances, benefits in kind: official flat rates and declaration forms