Year-end bonus in Belgium: who gets it, social security and tax (2026)
In Belgium the year-end bonus (prime de fin d'année / eindejaarspremie) does not come from a general law but from your joint committee's collective agreement, your contract or a company custom. It carries the 13.07% employee social security contribution like salary, then a special withholding tax that is higher than on a normal month. Often less than half of the gross reaches your account.
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Who is entitled: PC 200 and other sectors
Most joint committees (commission paritaire / paritair comité) set a year-end bonus by sector collective agreement, each with its own amount and conditions. In PC 200, the largest committee for white-collar employees, the bonus equals one month's salary and is paid in December at the latest. You must be under contract when it is paid and have at least 6 months' service. Companies that grant an equivalent benefit, or have their own overall equivalent agreement, can apply their own rules. In some blue-collar sectors the bonus is paid by a sector fund (fonds de sécurité d'existence / fonds voor bestaanszekerheid), outside your payslip.
Pro-rating and absences (PC 200)
If you joined during the year and have at least 6 months' presence, the bonus is proportional to the full calendar months worked. If you leave before it is paid, you keep a pro-rated bonus when you are dismissed (except for serious cause) with 6 months' service, even if you give counter-notice. Since 1 January 2026, resigning or ending the contract by mutual agreement gives a pro-rata from 3 years' service, down from 5. Absences can reduce the bonus, except those treated as worked: holidays, public holidays, maternity or paternity leave, work accidents, 60 days of sickness and, since 2026, 5 days of temporary unemployment.
Social security and withholding: why so little is left
The bonus carries the 13.07% employee social security contribution (ONSS / RSZ). Withholding tax (précompte professionnel / bedrijfsvoorheffing) does not use the monthly scale: the bonus counts as exceptional pay and is taxed at a flat percentage set by your normal annual pay (roughly your monthly taxable pay times 12). In 2026 the rate is 0% up to 10,675 EUR a year, 23.22% just above that, 40.38% between 26,340.01 and 31,830 EUR, 46.44% between 34,640.01 and 45,860 EUR, 51.48% up to 59,900 EUR and 53.50% above. Dependent children can reduce or cancel it. The final bill comes with your tax return, where the bonus is taxed together with your other income.
A worked example, roughly
A PC 200 employee earns 3,500 EUR gross a month and has no dependent children. The December bonus is 3,500 EUR. Social security takes 457.45 EUR, leaving 3,042.55 EUR taxable. Normal annual pay is around 36,500 EUR, so withholding is 46.44%, or 1,412.96 EUR. About 1,630 EUR reaches the account, less than half the gross. Withholding on a normal month is far lower, because the monthly scale applies the tax-free allowance and the lowest bands first.
What to check on the December payslip
Your joint committee and its bonus rule; the amount (one month's salary in PC 200); the pro-rata if you joined or left during the year, and how absences treated as worked were counted; 13.07% social security on the bonus; the withholding percentage against your annual pay and the dependent children you declared. If you leave the company, the pro-rated bonus should appear on your final pay statement. Payslop checks this for free.
Check your own payslip. Upload it and every line is explained, the rates verified and the questions for HR written for you. Free, nothing stored. Decode my payslip
Questions people ask
Is the year-end bonus mandatory in Belgium?
Not under a general law. It is mandatory if your joint committee's collective agreement, your contract or a company custom provides for it. Check your joint committee: its number is usually printed on your payslip.
Why is the withholding on the bonus higher than on my salary?
The monthly scale applies the tax-free allowance and the low bands first. The bonus sits on top of your other income, so it is taxed at a rate close to your marginal rate. The final calculation comes with your tax return.
I resign during the year. Do I get part of the bonus?
In PC 200, yes since 2026 if you have at least 3 years' service, pro-rated by full months worked. In other sectors it depends on the collective agreement.
Related guides
- Your Belgian payslip explained, line by line (2026)
- Prime de fin d'année en Belgique : conditions, ONSS et précompte (2026)
- Eindejaarspremie in België: voorwaarden, RSZ en bedrijfsvoorheffing (2026)
- 13th-month pay and year-end bonus in France: contributions and tax (2026)
Indicative rules as of October 2026. Not tax or legal advice.