The student-entrepreneur status – What does it mean?
Since 2017 the government has brought to life a new regulation that makes entrepreneurship among students even more appealing : you pay little to no social contributions. You can start right away as student-entrepreneur via our Securex Business Counters.
Bear in mind that not everyone is allowed to enjoy this preferential status. Besides the general rule that as self-employed person you are prohibited to work under a boss, there are certain conditions concerning your age and studies:
- You are between 18 and 25 years old
- You are enrolled for at least 17 lessons/week or 27 credits/study year
- You attend classes and exams (only those who received special recognition as a student-entrepreneur from the universities/college do not have to prove this).
- Your educational institution and diploma are recognized in Belgium
Are you terminating your studies, going to work as an employee, or witness other changes that alter your situation? If so, inform your social insurance fund immediately, as they are responsible for calculating your social security contributions
What are the benefits for a student-entrepreneur?
A self-employed person does not have a boss who pays social security contributions for him/her, but has to set aside part of the income himself/herself. As a student with self-employed status, you do receive preferential treatment. You pay no or less social security contributions, depending on how high your net taxable annual income is.
The exact social security contributions you are obliged to pay depend on your net taxable professional income. This is the gross income (including company car and other benefits in kind) subtracted by all costs (such as your professional expenses).
Concretely, this means the following for you as a student-entrepreneur:
| Your net taxable annual income | Social security contributions to be paid |
|---|---|
| € 8,430.73 or less | You do not pay any social contributions. |
| Between € 8,430.73 and € 16,861.46 | You pay a contribution of 20,5% on the part of your income that exceeds € 8,430.73. |
| € 16,861.46 or more | You pay the same social contributions a self-employed person (a minimum of € 899.58 per quarter). |
An additional advantage is that your parents retain the child benefit. On condition that your income remains limited. As a full-time student you will continue to be entitled to child benefit in the following cases:
- You do not pay any contributions (see above): you continue to be entitled to child benefit.
- You pay a reduced contribution: you will continue to be entitled to child benefit, but you will have to declare on your honour to the child benefit fund that you work less than 240 hours per quarter. During the summer holidays, you may work unlimited hours, as long as you continue your studies afterwards.
Do you have further questions relating to child benefit? The Infino experts (the child benefit fund of Securex) are happy to help.
Starting as student-entrepreneur: how, what and where?
As a self-employed student, you must register with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (in Dutch known as: Kruispuntbank van Ondernemingen) just like other self-employed people and join a social insurance fund. Our Securex business counters can arrange both steps for you. You can also register online via our website. After joining, you are officially ready to start working as a student-entrepreneur. We will provide you with a certificate of affiliation as proof.
Before applying for the student-entrepreneur status from your social insurance fund, you must declare that you will attend classes and examinations through a special application form. If you arranged your affiliation with Securex via our website or one of our business counters, you do not need to fill in such application form.