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Most companies set up or bought in Belgium are an SRL (société à responsabilité limitée), known in Dutch as a BV (besloten vennootschap): one legal form under two names, the Belgian limited liability company that replaced the old SPRL/BVBA when the Code of Companies and Associations came into force on 1 May 2019. Foreign owners use it as a trading company inside the EU and the euro area, as the Belgian subsidiary of a group, or as a holding company. Belgium has more than 90 comprehensive tax treaties in force alongside the EU Parent-Subsidiary and Interest and Royalties Directives, and the principal purpose test of the OECD Multilateral Instrument links treaty relief to real activity and management in Belgium.
Three bodies frame the life of a Belgian company. A notary passes the deed that creates it and every later change to its articles. The Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (BCE in French, KBO in Dutch) gives it the enterprise number that also becomes its VAT number. The National Bank of Belgium receives its annual accounts.
| Form | Capital | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|
| SRL/BV | No minimum capital; the founders must still give it initial equity that suits the planned activity | Trading companies, subsidiaries and holdings; the form we sell ready-made |
| SA/NV (société anonyme / naamloze vennootschap) | Minimum capital of €61,500, fully paid up at that level | Larger companies raising capital |
| SC/CV (cooperative company) | No minimum capital; at least three shareholders | Genuine cooperative purposes only |
| Branch (succursale / bijkantoor) | None; the branch is part of the foreign company and has no legal personality | A foreign company active in Belgium without a Belgian entity |
All three company forms begin with an authentic deed before a Belgian notary and a signed financial plan for at least the first two years. If the company goes bankrupt within three years and its starting equity was plainly too low, the founders can be made liable for its debts, which is why the plan matters even where no capital minimum applies. The documents and each registration step are on our page on company formation in Belgium.
| Tax | Rate or rule |
|---|---|
| Corporate income tax | 25% standard rate |
| Reduced rate for small companies | 20% on profit up to a threshold of €100,000, for small companies that meet further conditions, among them a minimum remuneration for at least one director |
| VAT | 21% standard rate, reduced rates of 12% and 6%; an optional franchise for small businesses below a statutory turnover threshold |
| Withholding tax on dividends | 30%; exempt for an EU parent company holding at least 10% for an uninterrupted year; lower rates under tax treaties |
| Tax treaties | More than 90 in force, with the principal purpose test across much of the network |
The Code of Companies and Associations does not ask where shareholders or directors live or which passport they hold. An SRL may have a single shareholder who is also its only director, and shareholders and directors may be companies as well as individuals. The restriction that does exist comes from immigration law: someone from outside the EEA and Switzerland who actually works in Belgium as a self-employed person, including as a company director, first needs a professional card from the Region. Directors whose main residence stays abroad and who spend no more than 90 days a year in Belgium are exempt.
Within one month of formation the directors register the beneficial owners with the UBO register of the FPS Finance: every individual holding more than 25% of the shares or votes, directly or through other companies, or controlling the company by other means, and the senior managers where nobody qualifies. Since the Court of Justice ruling of 22 November 2022 that register is no longer open to general search; authorities, obliged entities such as banks, and people who prove a legitimate interest may consult it.
Every Belgian company holds an account in its own name, used for its business, and prints the account number beside its enterprise number on invoices and letters. Accounts are in euro, with a 16-character IBAN beginning BE inside the SEPA area, and the Guarantee Fund covers deposits up to €100,000 per person and per institution, companies of any size included. A bank can be involved even before the deed, since cash contributed at formation waits in a blocked account until the notary confirms the deed. The online routes of some large banks need a Belgian identity card or itsme, so directors without them should ask how the bank will identify them. Our page on bank accounts for Belgian companies compares what the banks publish, including the basic banking service for a company that banks have refused.
A new SRL suits most founders, because its articles, name and financial plan are theirs from the first day. A ready-made company, an SRL formed earlier and kept without trading, fits narrower cases:
It brings no trading history, and the bank’s review, the professional card rule and the UBO filing apply to a buyer just as to any founder. The share transfer and the checks worth running first are on our page on ready-made shelf companies in Belgium, and our guide to off-the-shelf companies compares the two routes across countries.
What we do in Belgium: we can supply a ready-made SRL/BV or form a new one, prepare the transfer or formation documents and the filings with the court registry, the KBO and the UBO register, and help assemble the bank application. If we know a bank that suits the company, we can introduce it, and the bank alone decides on the account.
Yes. A ready-made Belgian company is an ordinary SRL/BV that a notary formed, that the KBO registered and that its owner then kept without business. Buying it means taking over all of its shares: the company keeps its enterprise number, formation date and published deed, the transfer is entered in its register of shares, and the new owner appoints the directors. Which companies are on offer changes, so ask us before planning around one.
Both are Belgian companies with limited liability created by notarial deed. The SRL/BV has no minimum capital, only the duty to give it enough starting equity, and its shares change hands only as its articles allow. The SA/NV needs at least €61,500 of capital, fully paid up at that level, and its shares are transferable unless the articles restrict them, which suits larger companies raising capital.
It can. The standard rate is 25%, but a company that counts as small under article 1:24 of the Code of Companies and Associations pays 20% on profit up to a threshold of €100,000 if it meets further conditions. One of them is paying at least one director a minimum remuneration, a condition that rises from tax year 2027. Profit above the reduced band is taxed at 25%.
Yes. An SRL is run by one or more directors, who may be individuals or legal persons and may act as a board or alone. The general meeting appoints them, and each appointment or resignation is filed with the registry of the enterprise court and published, so a parent company can itself sit as director of its Belgian subsidiary.
Use KBO Public Search, the open search of the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises. It finds any registered entity, active or stopped, by enterprise number, name, address, activity code or authorisation. Published deeds and later changes are in the Annexes to the Moniteur belge, current articles in the notaries’ statutes database, and filed annual accounts at the National Bank of Belgium.
Deciding between a new SRL and a ready-made Belgian company? Tell us what the company will do and who will run it, and we will set out what each route would involve. We also answer on Telegram and WhatsApp at +48 663 247 166.