How to start a business in Belgium in 2026: the steps in the right order

Starting out in Belgium takes less paperwork than people expect, but the order of the steps matters: you cannot activate VAT without a company number, and a company only gets that number after the notary. Here is the full route, with the 2026 amounts and the moments where an accountant genuinely saves time.

• Before you start: the conditions to meet
• Step 1: sole proprietorship or company?
• Step 2: the financial plan
• Step 3: the bank account and the certificate
• Step 4: the deed of incorporation and the Official Gazette
• Step 5: registering with the CBE through a business counter
• Step 6: VAT identification
• Step 7: the social insurance fund
• Step 8: what is left to sort out
• What it costs in 2026
• How long it takes
• What an accountant takes care of

Before you start: the conditions to meet

To work as self-employed in Belgium you must be 18, enjoy your civil rights and be Belgian, a national of the European Economic Area or Swiss. Other nationalities need a professional card from the Region, unless an exemption applies based on the residence permit.

The infamous basic management knowledge certificate no longer exists anywhere. Flanders abolished it in 2018, Brussels on 15 January 2024 and Wallonia on 1 October 2025. You therefore no longer have a diploma or an exam to present in order to register.

What remains are the professional competences specific to certain regulated trades, such as part of the construction, food and transport trades or the liberal professions. The business counter checks this point at registration.

Step 1: sole proprietorship or company?

This is the decision that shapes all the others. The sole proprietorship, or natural person, is set up in a single visit to the counter. The company, nine times out of ten an SRL/BV, requires a financial plan and a notarial deed, but separates your private assets from those of the business.

The company becomes worthwhile when profit durably exceeds what you draw to live on, because that surplus is then taxed under corporate income tax rather than at the progressive rates of personal income tax. The tipping point depends on your family situation, your other income and your investment plans: it is the first question to put to an accountant, with figures in hand.

The other forms exist for specific cases: the SA/NV for projects raising capital, the SC/CV for cooperatives, the SNC/VOF and SComm/CommV when you accept unlimited liability in exchange for an incorporation without a notary.

Step 2: the financial plan

For an SRL, an SA or an SC, the financial plan is mandatory. You hand it to the notary on the day of signing, and the notary keeps it. The Code of Companies and Associations requires it to cover at least two financial years and to contain seven elements:

• a precise description of the planned activity;
• an overview of all sources of financing, including guarantees;
• an opening balance sheet and projected balance sheets at twelve and twenty-four months;
• projected income statements at twelve and twenty-four months;
• a budget of income and expenses over at least two years;
• a description of the assumptions on turnover and profitability;
• the name of the external expert who helped draft it, if there is one.

This document binds the founders. If the company goes bankrupt within three years and the starting equity was manifestly insufficient for the planned activity, they can be held personally liable for the debts. The external expert is not required by law, but the Accounting Standards Commission recommends one for beginners, and it is the first moment where a chartered accountant steps in concretely.

As a sole proprietor, no plan is required. A budget for the first twenty-four months nonetheless remains the best way to know whether the project holds up, and you will need it for the bank.

Step 3: the bank account and the certificate

For a company, you open an account in the name of the company in formation and pay the cash contributions into it. The bank issues a certificate stating the amount, the company name and the names of the founders. The funds stay blocked until the notary confirms that the deed has been filed. A contribution in kind, equipment or a vehicle for instance, additionally requires a report from a company auditor and a report from the founders.

As a sole proprietor, the law does not impose a separate account, but everyone recommends one: the account number is recorded with the CBE, it appears on your invoices, and mixing private and business expenses complicates every tax return.

Step 4: the deed of incorporation and the Official Gazette

The SRL, the SA and the SC are born by authentic deed. The notary receives the articles of association, the financial plan and the bank certificate, has the deed signed and files it with the registry of the enterprise court. That filing triggers two things: the allocation of the company number and the publication of an extract in the Belgian Official Gazette. Incorporation can be done remotely, by video conference with the notary, at no extra cost.

Since 1 March 2026, publishing a company's deed of incorporation costs €286.17 including VAT by electronic filing, or €354.41 on paper. Notary fees run between €1,000 and €1,800 excluding VAT depending on the office and the complexity of the articles, plus around a hundred euros in writing and registration duties.

Setting up a sole proprietorship? This step does not concern you: go straight to the counter.

Step 5: registering with the CBE through a business counter

The Crossroads Bank for Enterprises is the central register of Belgian businesses. You do not register there directly, but through an accredited business counter: Acerta, Liantis, Partena, Securex, UCM, Xerius and a few others. The fee is set by law, so identical everywhere: €111.50 per establishment unit in 2026, VAT-free, indexed every year.

The counter records your activities as NACE codes, your establishment units, your bank account and your start date. As a sole proprietor, this is where your company number is born, often the same day. For a company, the number already exists thanks to the filing of the deed, and the counter completes the registration with the activities and the operating address.

That ten-digit number follows you everywhere: prefixed with “BE”, it becomes your VAT number.

Step 6: VAT identification

Once registered with the CBE, and before your first transaction, you declare the start of your activity for VAT with form 604A. Since 2025 it goes exclusively through the e604 application on MyMinfin; the counter or your accountant can handle it, expect around €70 excluding VAT at the counter. Processing takes a week, and forgetting it costs a €500 fine.

This is where you choose your regime. The normal regime requires quarterly returns, monthly above €2.5 million in turnover. The exemption scheme, open below €25,000 in annual turnover, frees you from charging VAT but also denies you its deduction on your purchases. The right choice depends on your customers and your initial investments.

A point many starters discover too late: since 1 January 2026, structured electronic invoicing via Peppol is mandatory between Belgian businesses, including under the exemption scheme. Choose software connected to the network from the outset. Our guide on the electronic invoicing obligation details what is expected.

Step 7: the social insurance fund

Every self-employed person, whether a sole proprietor or a company director, joins a social insurance fund no later than the day they start. Business counters are generally also insurance funds, which lets you settle everything in one go.

In 2026, contributions amount to 20.50% of net income up to €75,024.54, then 14.16% up to €110,562.42, and nothing beyond. In the first years you pay provisional contributions, regularised once the tax administration knows your actual income.

As a main occupation, the quarterly minimum is around €890 excluding the fund's management fees. First-time starters benefit from a reduced minimum of around €480 as long as their income does not exceed €8,972.07, plus an automatic €123.20 discount on the first quarter. As a secondary occupation, no contribution is due below €1,922.16 in annual income.

A company additionally pays an annual company contribution, around €393 under the 2026 scale for a small balance sheet, due by 31 December. Start-up companies are exempt for three years, under two conditions: being a partnership-type company, which excludes the SA, and having directors and a majority of active partners who have not been self-employed for more than twelve quarters over the previous ten years.

Step 8: what is left to sort out

• Health insurance: report your change of status to keep your rights to healthcare and incapacity benefits.
• The UBO register: every company declares its beneficial owners within one month of incorporation, via MyMinfin, then confirms the data every year. The fine ranges from €250 to €50,000.
• Insurance: professional liability insurance is mandatory for certain professions, work accident insurance from the first employee, and general liability insurance remains advisable for everyone.
• Sector authorisations: registration with the FASFC for food, a Unisono licence to play music, contractor accreditation for public procurement.
• Staff: a payroll agency, registration with the NSSO and a Dimona declaration before the first employee starts.
• Import and export outside the European Union: an EORI number from customs.
• Bookkeeping: suitable software from day one, and for a company the annual filing of the annual accounts with the National Bank.

What it costs in 2026

Contributions do not appear in this table: they are not a cost, the money stays in the company. Then plan for the recurring costs: social contributions, the company contribution, the filing of the annual accounts and the accountant's fees, generally between €1,000 and €3,000 a year for a small structure. Our guide on the cost of an accountant details those amounts.

How long it takes

As a sole proprietor, the company number is often allocated the same day at the counter, and VAT is active within a week. You can invoice within days.

For a company, allow two to four weeks: one to two weeks for the financial plan, a few days to open the account and obtain the certificate, the appointment with the notary, then the filing, the registration at the counter and the VAT activation. The financial plan is almost always the step that sets the timetable.

What an accountant takes care of

No incorporation step requires an accountant: the counter registers you with the CBE, the notary incorporates the company, MyMinfin activates VAT. In practice, most starters take one on even before registering, for three reasons. They settle the sole proprietorship or company question with a costed simulation. They draft the financial plan and put their name to it. They coordinate the rest: form 604A, VAT regime, contribution schedule, application for exemption from the company contribution, Peppol-connected software, UBO declaration.

Many firms offer incorporation as a fixed fee, separate from the annual fees. Ask for the scope to be written into the engagement letter, and check the professional's registration in the ITAA register.

The AccountMap directory lets you filter firms by the service they declare: see the firms that assist with starting a business. You can narrow down by city, by software used or by type of clientele, and contact several firms before choosing.

Sources

• FPS Economy, formalities at a business counter, 2026 fee and role of the counter
• Belgium.be, the main steps of starting a business
• Notaire.be, how to incorporate a company, financial plan, bank certificate and authentic deed
• Accounting Standards Commission, technical note on the financial plan
• FPS Justice, publication fees in the Belgian Official Gazette, rates as of 1 March 2026
• NISSE, exemption from the company contribution
• Liantis, 2026 social contributions table
• FPS Finance, who electronic invoicing is mandatory for
• UCM, abolition of basic management knowledge in Wallonia

Information verified on 18 September 2026.

Further reading

• How much does an accountant cost in Belgium in 2026?
• Is electronic invoicing mandatory in 2026?
• Chartered accountant, accountant-tax advisor or fiduciary: what is the difference?
• Find a firm that assists with starting a business

This article is for information purposes. It does not replace the advice of a registered professional on your particular situation.