Additional activities in 2021
April 2021 – What is left of the regime of exempt supplementary activities, as we knew it in 2018? The Constitutional Court annulled this regime in the course of 2020. The "old regime" is therefore applicable again from the beginning of 2021.
The regime for exempt supplementary activities
In 2017, the legislator introduced an exemption from taxes and social security contributions for citizen-to-citizen services and association work. In 2018, the regime was extended to activities in the context of the collaborative economy.
However, the Constitutional Court found that the exempted additional activities created unfair competition for entrepreneurs who carry out such activities (think of gardening, minor works, etc.). The Court therefore decided that this scheme should be discontinued as of 1 January 2021. And this is what happened.
The old scheme is back in force
The exemption from tax and social security contributions for small jobs between private individuals has been abolished.
You will obviously not be taxed if you give your neighbor a hand and he or she gives you a little something in return. But the situation is different if you conclude a contract with your neighbor whereby you undertake, for example, to maintain his garden for a certain period. The taxman may reclassify this income as miscellaneous income, which will be taxed at a rate of 33%.
If your activity grows and you start to use more resources, the tax authorities may even consider this activity as a professional activity, so that your income will be taxed as professional income.
Volunteers working in associations
Volunteers can, as was previously the case, work for an association, but cannot "in principle" receive any payment in return.
They may, however, receive reimbursement for their work. These can also be fixed at a flat rate, but cannot exceed certain maximum amounts: these maximum amounts are currently 35.41 euros per day and 1,416.16 euros per year. Higher maximums apply for certain activities. If the compensation you receive exceeds these maximums, you receive remuneration and will be taxed at progressive rates on this remuneration.
Volunteers working in sports associations
In parallel, a law of 24 December 2020 provides for a special tax regime for associative work. However, this derogation is limited to sports associations!
Income from this type of association work is taxable as miscellaneous income. Only half of the income is taxable (a flat-rate expense deduction of 50% applies) and the tax rate is 20%.
But as mentioned above, the scope of this law is rather limited. Only the following activities are considered:
1. animator, leader, monitor... who provides a sports initiation and/or sports activities;
2. sports trainer, sports teacher, sports referee, member of the jury, steward, person in charge of the ground or equipment, signalman at sports competitions;
3. caretaker of sports facilities;
4. small-scale support in the field of administrative management, administration or logistical responsibility
5. small-scale assistance in the preparation of newsletters and other publications in the sports sector
6. facilitator of training, conferences and presentations in the sports sector.
There are also many other restrictions that need to be taken into account. The voluntary worker must be at least eighteen years of age, must receive a minimum allowance and must not have been fully unemployed on benefits for a specified period before the voluntary work.
There is also a ceiling on the income that can be earned from voluntary work, namely one twelfth of 3 830 euros per month (to be indexed). This gives an amount for 2021 of just under 6,390 euros, or 532.50 euros per month. For activities 1 and 2 in the list below, the maximum is 1 065 euros per month.
If the maximum of 6,390 euros is exceeded (if applicable, in combination with income from the collaborative economy - see below), the income is fully considered as professional income.
This special regime will only be in force for one year and will therefore cease to have effect on 1 January 2022.
Income from the collaborative economy
Almost at the same time as the new law on the income of associative work, the legislator provided a new legal regime for income from the collaborative economy. The regime is largely identical to that of 2016.
The main novelties are the following:
a) a flat-rate deduction of 50% is provided for ;
b) the tax rate for such income is 20%;
c) the preferential regime applies only to authorized collaborative economy platforms (income from non-authorized platforms is taxable as miscellaneous income at a rate of 33%);
d) approved collaborative economy platforms must also deduct withholding tax from 1 February 2021;
e) all collaborative economy platforms (authorized and non-authorized) must inform their relevant employees of their tax and social security obligations.
A single annual ceiling of 6,390 euros gross per calendar year applies to income from the collaborative economy and income from associative work combined. This is therefore the maximum amount of compensation and, thanks to the 50% expense allowance, only half of this amount is taxable. There is no monthly ceiling for income from approved platforms.
Not just tax for the worker
The current supplementary activity regime does not only have tax consequences for the person who does odd jobs, helps out or receives supplementary income. Those who do not meet the conditions or ceilings are subject to higher tax rates and the payment of social security contributions. As for the association, it suddenly becomes a full-fledged employer subject to all kinds of social obligations and, of course, also to the payment of social security contributions.
