Belgium taxes: the profile of the professional Belgian crypto investor

To find out what your crypto tax will be in Belgium, you must first determine your investor profile. There are three profiles envisaged in Belgium: the good household manager, the speculator, and the professional. This article pertains only to the tax of the Belgian crypto professional. This investor profile is distinct in many respects from the other profiles. Let’s examine this in detail throughout the course of this article.

▶️ What is a professional from a tax perspective?

In Belgium, there is no tax regime specifically for digital assets. The concept of a professional is derived from the existing tax regimes applicable to traditional finance operations and is included in the Belgian tax code.

It is understood as a person who carries out an economic activity as their primary activity.

A professional would be the individual whose economic activity generates their main source of income. To qualify as a professional activity, the operations must be organized, frequent, and carried out with professional equipment. For example, a professional trader would have sophisticated tools to conduct their transactions.

It is noteworthy that an individual who operates without a company or has a salaried activity could also be classified as a professional by the tax authorities if they meet the above criteria.

In such cases, the individual would have to comply with the obligations of the self-employed: register with a social insurance fund and pay social security contributions.

The situation must, therefore, be approached on a case-by-case basis through a set of indicators that allow for the qualification of the profile:

• What is the frequency of operations?
• What is the level of income of the taxpayer?
• Are more complex operations carried out (margin, futures…)?
• Are professional means used (robots, mining equipment…)?

This list of questions is not exhaustive and must adapt to each case.

The challenge is that profile determination is often made by the taxpayer themselves, without the administration’s intervention at this stage. However, a document containing a list of 17 questions has been produced by the Service for Advance Rulings of the tax administration to assist taxpayers in self-determination.

To find out if you are considered a professional, you must self-analyze or seek the assistance of a legal professional who can guide and advise you. At Waltio, we have developed a questionnaire to help you determine which investor profile fits your situation.

If you are self-employed in a liberal profession and own cryptocurrencies within your business/company, BILLY’s daily accounting can assist you with your procedures in Belgium.

Indeed, their crypto-friendly accounting app will facilitate your administrative processes and delegate your various legal declarations to their experts.

▶️ Professional and mining activity

The tax authorities have acknowledged that engaging in mining activity directly categorizes an investor as a professional.

This is because such activity requires monitoring, specific expenses, and special equipment.

It is possible for individuals who mine on a small scale to escape this classification, but such a case has not yet been presented to the administration. It is accepted, however, that a taxpayer with a mining farm will be classified as a professional.

▶️ What are the tax obligations of the Professional?

The professional will be subject to progressive tax on their income.

In this context, all operations conducted must be declared and will be subject to tax on the profits generated. Professional equipment may be deductible from the taxes due.

A capital gain realized within the scope of a professional activity is considered by the tax authorities as your primary activity, and profits will be taxed at progressive rates ranging from 25% to 50%, depending on the amount.

Do you wish to declare your crypto income? As the first crypto tax accounting software in Belgium and number one in France, Waltio supports digital asset holders in their procedures by offering personalized and tailored assistance. To benefit from our services or for any information requests, you can visit our website or directly send your specific inquiries by email to [email protected].

Disclaimer: Our tool and team are committed to assisting you in fulfilling your tax obligations; however, Waltio does not provide financial or tax advice.