Taxing Wages - Belgium

Tax burdens on labour income

The tax burden on labour income is expressed by the tax wedge, which is a measure of the net tax burden on labour income borne by
the employee and the employer.
TAX WEDGE ON LABOUR INCOME
( + ())
( + )
Single worker

Belgium has the highest tax wedge among the 34 OECD member countries. The average single worker in Belgium faced a tax
wedge of 55.6% in 2014 compared with the OECD average of 36.0%.

In Belgium, income tax and employer social security contributions combine to account for 81% of the total tax wedge,
compared with 77% of the total OECD average tax wedge.
Average tax wedge: average single worker, no children

Employer SSC

%
65

Employee SSC

Cash transfer

Income tax

Average tax wedge (%)

55
45

OECD Average, 36.0

35
25

15
5
-5

One-earner married couple with two children

The tax wedge for a worker with children may be lower than for a worker on the same income without children, since many OECD
countries provide benefits to families with children through cash transfers and preferential tax provisions.

Belgium has one of the highest tax wedges in the OECD for an average married worker with two children at 40.6%, which
compares with the OECD average of 26.9%.

Child related benefits and tax provisions tend to reduce the tax wedge for workers with children compared with the average
single worker. In Belgium in 2014, this reduction (15 percentage points) was greater than the OECD average
(9.1 percentage points).
Average tax wedge: One-earner married couple at average earnings, 2 children

%
55

Employer SSC

Employee SSC

Cash transfer

Income tax

Average tax wedge (%)

45
35
25
15

5
-5
-15

OECD Average, 26.9

Tax burden trends between 2000 and 2014

In Belgium, the tax wedge for the average single worker decreased by 1.5 percentage points from 57.1% to 55.6% between
2000 and 2014. During the same period, the average tax wedge across the OECD decreased by 0.7 percentage points from
36.7% to 36.0%.

Since 2009, the tax wedge for the average single worker decreased by 0.1 percentage point in Belgium. During this same
period, the tax wedge for the average single worker across the OECD increased by 0.9 percentage points.
Average tax wedge over time for a single worker

Belgium

%
60

OECD - Average

55
55.6

50
45
40
35

36.0

30

Employee tax burdens on labour income

The employee net tax burden is a measure of the net tax burden on labour income borne directly by the employee.
EMPLOYEE NET TAX BURDEN
( )

In Belgium, the average single worker faced the highest net tax burden among the 34 OECD member countries at 42.3% in
2014 compared with the OECD average of 25.5%. In other words, in Belgium the take-home pay of an average single worker,
after tax and benefits, was 57.7% of their gross wage.

Taking into account child related benefits and tax provisions, the employee net tax burden for an average married worker with
two children in Belgium was reduced to 22.9% in 2014, compared with 14.8% for the OECD average. This means that an
average married worker with two children in Belgium had a take-home pay, after tax and family benefits, of 77.1% of their
gross wage compared to 85.2% for the OECD average.
Average employee net tax burden

%
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0

Single worker

One-earner married couple, 2 children

OECD single average, 25.5

OECD married average, 14.8

Contacts
David Bradbury
Centre for Tax Policy and Administration
Head, Tax Policy and Statistics Division
David.Bradbury@oecd.org

Maurice Nettley
Centre for Tax Policy and Administration
Head, Tax Data & Statistical Publications
Maurice.Nettley@oecd.org

Dominique Paturot
Centre for Tax Policy and Administration
Statistician
Dominique.Paturot@oecd.org