If you meet all the conditions, 80% of the amount of the pension paid is deductible for you (make sure you declare 100% of the amount).
Conditions for deducting an annuity
Maintenance obligation and relative in need
The obligation to provide maintenance may arise from a court decision, or from the Civil Code or the law. It is therefore possible to pay a maintenance allowance without a court order.
👉 For example: article 204 of the Civil Code states that"The father and mother are obliged to provide, in proportion to their means, for the accommodation, maintenance, health, supervision, education, training and development of their children. If the training is not completed, the obligation continues after the child reaches the age of majority
Which relatives may be concerned?
(ex-)husbands, (ex-)wives (and sometimes legal cohabitants)
children, grandchildren
adopted children and their adoptive parents
parents, grandparents
sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, parents-in-law
children under unofficial guardianship and unofficial guardians
❗ Never for brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, etc.
Need may be assessed by a judge, depending on a number of factors (age, state of health, family responsibilities, etc.). It is not necessary to justify the state of need for your minor children (or adults still studying).
💡 Provide us with the beneficiary's contact details (surname, first name, address and country). We will need this information to complete your declaration.
The beneficiary does not live with you
At the time of payment of maintenance, the person to whom you are paying it cannot be part of your household (must be domiciled elsewhere).
Your child who is staying in a "kot" or is temporarily abroad for his or her studies, but who remains domiciled with you, continues to be part of your household during this period.
Regular payments
Payments must be made regularly, but not necessarily every month.
They may be one-off payments on a repeated basis depending on certain circumstances.
👉 For example: it is not necessary to pay exactly the same amount every 1st of the month. If a more or less similar amount is paid regularly (on a variable date) the regularity condition is met.
For extraordinary expenses, capitalised pensions and retroactive maintenance payments, this condition does not apply.
Supporting documents and proof of payment
To demonstrate that you meet all the above conditions, you must have supporting documents.
You must also attach proof of annuity payments (which include the dates, amounts paid and beneficiary) to the declaration.
💡 Joint parenthood: if you share the tax benefit for a dependent child, you cannot deduct any maintenance payments made to that child.
💡 Parent in a nursing home: if he or she does not have sufficient income to pay for his or her accommodation, the sums you pay on his or her behalf are treated as maintenance payments.
⚠️ The beneficiary must also declare the full amount received, 80% of which is included in their taxable income. They will therefore be taxed if their income exceeds the amount of the exempt portions (€10,570 for 2024).
What if the pension is paid abroad?
Maintenance payments made abroad are deductible in the same way as those made in Belgium (80% of the amount paid).
However, if you pay an annuity to a relative living abroad, you must always file a 281.30 form and make a withholding tax return (even if you do not declare the annuity).
Depending on the double taxation treaty between Belgium and the country in question, you may be exempt from paying the withholding tax.
👉 More information on form 281.30 and the withholding tax return on the FPS Finance website: Maintenance paid to a person abroad
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