Moving (temporarily) abroad while keeping Belgian domiciliation?

changoman New member

Member since 02 June 2023

changomanNew member02 June 2023 19:03:07

Hi all,

I live and work in Gent and have Belgian nationality. Since I move to Gent ~7 years ago I have always been registered at the domicile where I lived and the rule was always "you need to register your new domicile as soon as you move".

I now have a job that allows me to work remotely although the contract is in Belgium so I'm forced to have some sort of residence here, as far as I understand I need to keep my fiscal residence here.

My question is what are the options to stay within the law (i.e keeping my fiscal residence in Belgium ) while moving temporarily abroad. In practice I've read that you can move physically out of the country and you will still be considered fiscal resident of Belgium as long as you spend aprox. half of the year here. How does this go in practice, do I need to keep my domicile somewhere here too? My plan is to stop my current rent, move a few months abroad and then come back and set my domicile somewhere else. Is there any problem with this? leaving the current domicile but not setting a new one for a few months? I know I can set some postal domicile for post and such but my concern is with my fiscal status and any possible effect on my work contract.

Hope someone has any idea or starting point on where to find out more about this. Just to be clear I want to stay of course within the law, keep paying taxes and all, just want to know the bureaucratic process.

Enjoy!

arjunprasad2143 Belgium Advisor

Member since 19 July 2019

arjunprasad2143Belgium Advisor02 June 2023 20:28:19

The best place to get an accurate response is your commune. Did you check with them?

changoman New member

Member since 02 June 2023

changomanNew member02 June 2023 21:10:46

@arjunprasad2143 thanks for the input. I indeed checked at my gemeente but they are too focused on the standard domiciliation procedure, they can put you in the register or take you out if you leave the city, but that's about it. My situation I think has to do with the combination of real address and fiscal address, I think the best one to ask would be an accountant or maybe fiscal lawyer, but before spending some money there I want to know some examples or other experiences to know if its indeed possible or not.

anonymous mister Member

Member since 30 March 2023

anonymous misterMember06 June 2023 09:27:05

Please do update us on your findings. I am also looking for such a option.

peterjohn1104 Active member

Member since 21 January 2022

peterjohn1104Active member19 June 2023 08:59:04

I think its best to ask the FPS economie, no? I am not sure if Commune agents understand clearly about tax matters. I suggest to ask directly to the tax authority. This kind of information requires correctiveness and I never believe whatever commune agents said

changoman New member

Member since 02 June 2023

changomanNew member19 June 2023 17:24:14

@peterjohn1104 Thanks for the input. Indeed making the question to some agent within economy was something I thought, but there is no formal channel to do that, right? I would think that the only way to have an answer of that type would be through an accountant that could correctly know and interpret the law.