In depth
Salary cap for employer social security contributions confirmed
The so-called “Program Act” of 18 July 2025, published in the Belgian Official Gazette on 29 July 2025, enacted several legislative initiatives previously announced under the Belgian government’s “Easter Agreement” of April 2025. This Program Act contained a number of notable labor law reforms.
Among these labor law reforms, it had been announced that — since 1 July 2025 — employers are no longer required to pay the regular employer social security contributions on the portion of an employee’s salary that exceeds a quarterly threshold. At the time of the Program Act, the exact threshold still had to be confirmed via Royal Decree.
Recently, a Royal Decree of 6 October 2025, as published in the Belgian Official Gazette on 10 October 2025, has definitively confirmed that this quarterly threshold is set at EUR 85,000 (irrespective of the employee’s working time). This amount is indexed by 2% each time the health index (i.e., the consumer price index excluding certain products) increases by 2%.
This cap applies exclusively to the regular employer contributions, which are set at approximately 25% in the private sector. Other contributions, such as employee social security contributions (13.07%) and special employer contributions (e.g., the contribution for the Closure Fund — totaling approximately 3%), remain unaffected and continue to apply to the full salary. In addition, the exemption does not apply to certain elements of remuneration, for example, supplementary pension premiums, company cars, mobility budgets, double vacation pay, and profit-related bonuses. In practice, the exemption will be reflected through a reduction in contributions in the quarterly declarations.
Salary margin set at 0%
The “salary margin” refers to the maximum allowable increase in the total average employer cost that companies in Belgium may apply over a two-year period. This margin is set by law and negotiated between social partners (employers and trade unions) within the framework of inter-professional agreements.
The salary margin for the years 2025 and 2026 has been confirmed to amount to 0% according to a Royal Decree which was published in the Belgian Official Gazette on 22 September 2025.
The salary margin applies to the average salary cost per employee and not the salary cost for each employee separately — a specific calculation method and certain exclusions hereby apply. The salary margin for example does not apply to mandatory indexations and to CBA 90/non-recurring result related bonuses and profit premiums.
Employers who fail to comply with the salary margin in theory may be subject to an administrative fine ranging from EUR 250 to EUR 5,000 per employee, up to a maximum of 100 employees. These fines can be imposed by the Directorate of Administrative Fines of the Federal Public Service Employment, Labor and Social Dialogue (FPS WASO). While such fines cannot be excluded in theory, they have to our knowledge never been imposed in practice.
