r/BEFreelance

Hi everyone,

I recently started freelancing through my own BV and I'm trying to understand how other freelancers (especially in IT) structure things in practice.

One thing I'm struggling with is company expenses. I often hear people say they "buy almost everything through the company", but my accountant is much more conservative and tells me that most purchases need to be clearly justifiable as business expenses. As a result, it feels like there isn't much I can actually put through the company.

I'm curious how others approach this. What kinds of expenses do you legitimately put on your company? For example, besides the obvious things like laptops, phones, office equipment, software, training, internet, etc., are there categories of expenses that are commonly accepted but not so obvious?

I'm also interested in the broader picture of tax optimisation (within the law, of course). Things like:

- How do you pay yourself (salary, dividends, other methods)? Base salary, extra things, loan? Feels a salary at some piont becomes painfully taxed

- Which tax advantages or deductions have you found most valuable?

- Are there common strategies that new freelancers often overlook?

- Looking back, what do you wish someone had told you when you started your BV?

I'm not looking for tax evasion advice, just trying to understand how experienced freelancers optimise their finances legally and how much of this depends on having a more or less conservative accountant, would also love if you could reference accountants who speak english in brussels that are experienced in these issues.

I'd love to hear how you handle it in practice. Thanks!

Would you change your job as employee with 130k gross with all benefits, with car, insurances, etc, to a freelancing offer of 16 months with three months notice with 120 euros per hour?

if it helps, I have a PhD degree in statistics and I work in pharma sector with 9 years of experience in data science and statistics

I (23F) immigrated to Belgium this year, and have been underwhelmed by the salaries posted for entry level positions. I’m A2 French (and learning), have a business management masters from a good school, and have two options for the next year that I’ll need to decide between soon. Am unsure whether to do A, B, a mix, or find an option C.

A: I can either do 100% remote work for a US company at $55/hour full time + sales commissions + revenue share (this is a scaling startup around since 2020, and I’d be the first full time worker). They have a proven business model, good cash flow, and I have a great relationship with the cofounders. I like the work, I like the team, and they’re open to me working on my own schedule and between 20-30 hours per week. I’d have a lot of autonomy and be managing most aspects of their company.

B: The other option is a Belgian consultancy. Ive been working with them since I moved here as a trainee. I’m also interested in this work, and it has the added benefit of being a bilingual office. The pay would be low - probably 2100 net or so? No mobility budget, nothing fancy. They are also open to revenue share on contracts that I significantly contribute to, but we’ve not talked numbers yet. Just guessing based on comparable roles’ linkedin ads (and vibes of the company).

I feel like if I did freelance I could get the best of both worlds - work for the US company 3 days a week and the Belgian one 1-2 days a week. Am I being overly optimistic about how easy it would be to set up a company? I started a US LLC and managed by myself from 2021-2024, so not intimidated by the idea - just unfamiliar with Belgian laws/norms.

I have some savings and a partner to split expenses, so luckily I get to prioritize learning and career growth over financial growth. Based on its current growth and revenue, I feel like A is in a position to scale and believe that it could be hitting $500k+ revenue in the next 2-3 years. Margin last year was ~40%.

Thoughts? Experiences? Recommendations?

So I moved to Belgium from Spain with my partner in December. Registered myself at the commune etc. in December and began the process of becoming a freelancer in Belgium. I began officially on the 1st of January 2026. I had been freelancing in Spain for two years prior to that.

I am running into some confusion with the tax filing. As I had been advised I should only see a simplified return on Tax on Web, but all I see is the "Déclaration IPP partie 1 et partie 2 - Ex. 2026:" How could that be? I have nothing to declare for 2025, unless I should be declaring what I earned in Spain for that year?

Would appreciate any advice or pointers!

Hello everyone, first time posting here.

I was recently contacted by an agency about a freelance on-Site Project-Engineer position on a large EPCI project for a well-known publicly listed company. Since I currently work in the same industry and have experience with both the end client and the main contractor on similar projects, they reached out to me directly.

They are specifically looking for a junior profile to overlook the works on site, and act as the link between the client, contractor and inspectors on the jobsite, with an initial contract of 18 months and the possibility to extend it to around 2.5 years.

A bit about me: I'm 26, have an engineering degree, and a little over two years of experience as a Project Engineer / Junior Project Manager, all as an employee. I've always considered going freelance at some point, so this opportunity came a bit sooner than I expected.

At the moment, I earn roughly €4,300 gross per month, plus the usual Belgian benefits (company car, meal vouchers, insurance, etc.).

The recruiter hinted at a rate of around €55/hour, with travel and certain project-related expenses likely reimbursed separately. Nothing is final yet, and the exact terms still have to be explained / negociated. This is a full-time on-site role so I should be able to invoice at least 40 hours per week for the full duration of the project. That would mean I could be looking at 90-100k per year in gross revenue before costs.

I've already done some research on the financial side, and my first impression is that the numbers seem to make sense compared to my current package. But I have no prior experience freelancing. The long contract also reduces some of the uncertainty, and my impression is that this sector still has plenty of demand for experienced site/project engineers once this assignment ends. (Think of projects in Infrastructure, energy and large factorys)

That said, since this would be my first freelance contract, I'm interested in hearing from people with more experience.

• Does this sound like a reasonable opportunity for someone with my profile?
• Is €55/hour in line with the current market for a junior project Engineer via an agency, or should I be negotiating higher?
• Are there any common pitfalls I should know about and avoid making?
• Do you have advice in terms of what to do with my company car, accountantcy, the agency, professional costs, scoring new jobs in the future?

I'm not looking for someone to make the decision for me—I'm mainly trying to validate my assumptions and make sure I'm not overlooking anything before taking the leap. I will offcourse be contacting an accountant as soon as i have confirmation that this contract will go through.

Thanks in advance for any insights!

I currently have a concrete proposal from KBC on the table with the following figures:

• Insured amount: €5,000 / month (€60,000 / year)
• Waiting period (Elimination period): 30 days
• Term: Until statutory retirement (age 67 / year 2061)
• Threshold: Payout starting from 25% incapacity for work
• Monthly premium: €137.38

Hey all,

Quick context: I'm EU citizen, based in Brussels for about 3 years, English-speaking (currently learning French). I'm setting up as a sole trader (eenmanszaak) to invoice one B2B client based in Ireland, so intra-EU reverse-charge VAT will be central from day one. I need it done by 23 July.

What I need help with:

- Full A-to-Z: activating the eenmanszaak at the CBE, VAT registration (intra-EU reverse charge), bookkeeping, tax filings, and eventually a transition to a BV down the line

- Someone comfortable working in English

- Ideally a flat monthly fee rather than pure hourly billing, but open either way

- I am fine with paying a bit extra to have everything figured out properly as I have never done this and want to get into it gradually

Timeline: aiming to have the business active by July 23, so hoping to move fairly quickly on registration (I've heard a BV can take ~5 weeks, which is why I'm starting as a sole trader for now)

On the residence permit side I am registered in commune for 3 years.

I would be curious who are people recommending and what is the expected range to get all of these in a month.

Thanks in advance !

Been tinkering with an idea for a while and finally made something of it: business email for Belgian freelancers and small businesses, servers in Germany (not Google, not Microsoft), and if something goes wrong you just call me, not some chatbot somewhere.

Background: IT consulting is my day job, this is a side project in my free hours. No grand ambitions, just something I’d find useful myself. I still see so many people sending invoices from @gmail or @hotmail, and if you actually want something professional you’re basically stuck with Google or Microsoft, with everything that comes with that (American, data elsewhere, support you don’t know).

Question for the freelancers here: are you currently using something business-grade for email, or is it still often a free address? And if you’d ever switch to something smaller/local, what would hold you back or push you over the edge?

Open to all feedback, critical included.

So far I've only done freelance assignments for BE companies, but lately I've gotten a couple offers from foreign companies for either remote roles, sometimes with occasional travel, or expanding their business into the EU.

I've passed on contracts before because of liability clauses that were too vague or uncapped. Mostly with middle men who didn't have the authority to make changes.

Not really an issue, there's work enough. If they don't agree to my terms I don't sign, and if they waste my time with multiple back and forths they're on my blacklist forever.

When considering contracts with foreign entities there's another risk being the governing law and jurisdiction. Especially outside the EU, for example US, Canada, UK and Australia.

My policy is preferably BE law, at a minimum EU, otherwise no go. But I feel I might be missing out on some interesting and lucrative contracts this way.

I know plenty of freelancers who sign just about anything you put in front of them assuming 99% of the time there's no issues. I'm sure that's true but I don't want to risk being that 1%.

I wonder how everyone here looks at it, and if anyone had experiences with claims or legal battles in general, and maybe outside of BE and EU.

Hello,

Might be slightly off topic, but between freelancers, we might face similar issues. I've ordered something only, from a Belgium website. The product was not working so I got reimbursed. I asked several times for a credit note but I never received one. I now just got an email that they do not make credit notes... Hence my accounting is not correct.

Any thing I can do?

I'm not speaking of a small independent but a largely known brand...

I am from India and target majority of International clients I am currently charging them 100-120 dollars but is it good ? Is is too expensive for them or too less ? Should I charge more?

I run a first year BV, working hard to reach break even. I switched from eenmanszaak to BV, asked my (now ex-)accountant to close the eenmanszaak as part of the transition. He didn’t. I started getting fines for late submissions on a business I thought no longer existed.

No warning. No reminder. Just a fine.

there’s a real shortage of accountants in Belgium, and the authorities don’t seem to be in tune with the burden on small businesses.

Meanwhile in the NL you have one system, one point of contact. Here you’re juggling SPF, BCE, social fund, health fund, all separately, and whoever else decides to send you a letter on a good Tuesday. Miss one and you pay.

Honestly I don’t feel like confronting my ex accountant about his error. Prefer building an outstanding business than invest myself in petty conflicts. Are we building good businesses or are we fighting against a system that doesn’t want us to succeed?

Anyone building something here feels the same?
How do you keep your focus on building an excellent product given a discouraging tax system?

Hi everyone,

Purpose of this post is to share my honest feedback after 2 years of freelancing.

Before starting the freelance adventure, I was very anxious and reading all the posts in this group really gave me motivation to go for it.

I hope this post will help people on their decision as it helped me.

Few figures

Professional situation BEFORE freelancing :

- Study: Master in Finance

- Experience: 5y+ years of Experience in Consulting (Big4) - Finance

- Last position: Senior Level (no manager position available => first reason of leaving)

- Salary: around 2k5 net + Car + meal voucher + bonus + Insurance + Etc.. (salary was not enough for me => Second reason of leaving)

- Working hours: 40h to 50h a week + 2/3 days WFH

- Personnal situation: Wifey +2 kiddo's, cheap house in Wallonia.

- Stress: Yes

Story time (i like bulletpoints):

- Started my SRL without having client / mission signed (I would not recommend it. But it does give you... extra motivation to find one .. quick).

- 15k saving to survive the first period without clients.

- If you already have work with one future potential prospect, check if any non-competition clause from your employer applies (deal breaker).

How to:

1. Cleaned CV, knew my story / expertise by heart. Prepared for any type of question and be able to sell myself.
2. Contacted 70+ recruitment firms (generalist, independent recruiter, small firm, specialized firm), hold everything in an excel tracker with contact person etc..
   • Note1: Intermediary takes a margin, that's part of the game. But when you start, it's easier to find a client. They usually take 10 to 30% (I don't mind using intermediaries as long as I'm happy with my rate).
     • I prefer to work with intermediary as it's easier to find contracts and reduce empty periods (personal choice)
   • Note2 : Use AI (claude Pro, it's 18eur per month and you can deduct from your company) to find all of recruitements firm and have a rough guess about the rate you can ask. You'll also use it for your job so... worth it.
3. Define your daily rate Range: Daily rate will depend on expertise requested, responsibilities, travels required, interim/project position, etc.. (I ask extra 100€ per day I'm required to travel).
4. Once reaching the end of a contract (2-3 months before), get a first flavor if you will be extended or not (ask the client). Important to know if you start relaunching the calls / availability communication to recruiters...

There are more things to say but I don't want to write a book here.

Freelancing current situation :

Please note that it's very specific to a freelancer to another as costs, car choice, taxes, personal situation, etc.. will be different.

- Salary: this calculation is including all empty time (no contracts), all costs paid (electric car, charging station at home, computer, subscriptions, insurances, accountant, etc. etc), all taxes paid + including monthly salary that I pay to myself to survive (cash needs to stay 3 years in company for tax optimization).

I've had around 4-5 months without contracts during that period (I really enjoyed it 😄 )

So I consider this as the Net Net I put in my pocket (in monthly view):

- Between 6.500€ to 7.000€ monthly

In 2 years times: the car will be paid off, I will decrease monthly salary (then less social cotisation) as I'll live off dividend extract, etc. etc. With those assumptions Net Net in my pocket will be (without considering I could ask for higher rate as higher expertise etc..), conservative approach:

- Between 7.000€ to 7.500€ monthly

Please consider that as an employee you get 13.91 times your salary (13th months, holiday check) + Yearly Bonus + You can be sick and be paid + Paid vacation.

Conclusion:

Yes, it was the best decision I took profesionally speaking 🎉

• I only have 'clients' & 'colleagues' and no 'boss' anymore.
• I own my car, my phone and my computer. I can scratch them against a wall and nobody cares (except the wall owner?)
• Market opportunities are huge (even more if you are ready to travel).
• I can fix my own conditions to spend more time with my kids.
• I work on things I like and take a lot of pleasure goign to my clients.
• I make decent money.

My objective is not Money but Financial Independence. I absolutely don't believe in having a legal pension at 68years old (if still alive). I want to escape the Rat race and be free (not stop working but working like 4 months a year or 2 days a week) with a sweet full stop around 50 - 55 years old.

Ps: if you want more info on Financial Independence check the books: 'The Algebra of Wealth: A Simple Formula for Success' & 'Rich DAD / Poor Dad'. You read those 2, you get everything worth knowing.

And use AI (Claude Pro) to generate budget plan, investment plan, run Monte Carlo simulation on ETF investment, etc.. It will give you allow you to build a conservative & feasible plan to reach your objective. I promise It's not a Claude - sponsored post 😄

I hope you liked the reading. And that it will be useful for some of you 👍

Drop the mic.

Hello

I have been following the open tenders on this website for a while now: https://www.publicprocurement.be/bda

My impressions:

• They seem to often exclude single individuals by: -as far as I can see- often require 1M+ of revenue during the last couple of years, x number of employees, compliancy to ISO norms, etc...
• There seem to be many different types of tenders. It is not quite clear to me what all the different types of tenders entail
• Being able to submit an offer in the right format for these tenders seem to be a whole skill in and of itself not only wrt format but also pricing as you seem to have no view at all on what other people bid.

Have some of you already participated in these open tenders? What is your experience? Was it worth it?

Hi , I have started my freelancer journey. I want to be sorted when come to payments from the start. Please guide me

After a break of a few years, I’ve started up again as a freelancer. That also means sorting out a car again. It’s been ordered through a lease/renting arrangement in the meantime, but I need to bridge at least 2 months again. With a family and the holidays coming up, a car does come in handy :)

Anyone have tips or experiences with affordable short-term options?

I have a paid off car in my company. At the time it was an expensive 2nd hand car, bought years ago when I still was young and needed to virtue signal to attract a mate.

After paying the car off, the following costs are still dragging on:

• Maintenance costs: premium car prices unfortunately => can be lowered by going to a non-official dealer garage
• Full omnium Insurance (I think it is still calculated on catalogue price too): 2500/year
• VAA: (200+/month)

I was calculating if it was cheaper to sell current car and buy a trash car. Unfortunately, because of the depreciation of the current car + increasing prices overall of semi-fresh 2nd hand cars + disappeared deductibility of non-electric cars, it's almost a 0 sum to swap cars.

Buying a trash car privately, you can charge the km's back but frankly most of my car useage is for private use because I mostly work from home.

What do you advice?

Hi guys,

I'm on a tight timeline and need help this week. Moving from a permanent Belgian contract to my first B2B engagement (Irish/Dublin startup, fully remote from Belgium). I want to set up properly, likely start as freelancer (eenmanszaak) and move to a BV, as they want to start ASAP, so I need someone who can move quickly.

Resignation questions (permanent contract, ~2 years tenure = 5 weeks notice):

- To start notice on Monday, do I send the registered letter Friday so it arrives Monday, or hand it over in person with both of us signing? Which is safer?

- Can I shorten the 5 weeks using my remaining vacation days, or only if the employer agrees? And can we shorten it further if both sides agree?

- Are unused vacation days paid out at the end?

Rate framing. They quoted a headline yearly figure, but the contract is a day rate. That yearly number only works if you assume 260 billable days (every weekday, zero time off). At a realistic ~220 days it's noticeably lower. Is quoting on 260 days normal, or a red flag? Am I right to price on 220?

What I'm looking for, ideally before the end of this week:

1. An English-speaking accountant (Brussels-based or remote/online is fine) who specializes in one-person IT/contractor BVs and can take me on as a client, advising on the freelancer to BV setup, VVPR-bis/dividends, deductible costs, and schijnzelfstandigheid.

2. A contract review: someone (accountant or lawyer) who can quickly review my B2B service agreement for tax/structure red flags before I sign. English, Irish governing law, fairly standard length.

Questions:

- Who would you personally recommend (accountant or firm) that's responsive and good with IT freelancers / management companies?

- For a quick English-language contract review on this kind of B2B agreement, is an accountant enough or do I need a lawyer? Any names?

- Roughly what should I expect to pay for the contract review, and for ongoing one-person BV accounting per year?

- Realistic timeline: can a BV setup + first invoice happen fast, or should I start as freelancer first to not lose time?

Really appreciate any fast pointers, thank you!