Belgium’s federal cabinet has transmitted a draft programme law to Parliament that translates the November 2025 budget deal into concrete tax measures with direct implications for corporate mobility budgets. According to a TaxNewsFlash released by KPMG on 26 February, the bill will introduce a uniform €10 tax on every passenger boarding an aircraft in Belgium from 1 January 2027, rising again in 2028 and 2029. The charge will apply irrespective of class of travel or destination and comes on top of the environmental levies introduced in 2024.
The draft also doubles the insurance-premium tax to 9.6 % and lifts the securities-account levy, but for mobility managers the boarding tax is the headline item: on a team of 100 frequent flyers taking six return trips a year via Brussels or Charleroi, annual cost exposure would exceed €12,000. Airlines are expected to pass the fee straight through in ticket prices, potentially eroding Belgium’s competitiveness versus neighbouring hubs such as Amsterdam-Schiphol and Paris-CDG, which already levy their own passenger-based taxes.
![Draft Programme Law Adds €10 ‘Boarding Tax’ and Other Travel-Related Levies from 2027]()
For travellers having to rethink routings and documentation in light of these changes, VisaHQ can simplify the paperwork side of the equation. Through its Belgium portal (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/), the service aggregates the latest visa requirements, processes electronic authorisations and manages group applications—allowing mobility managers to align visa compliance smoothly with new budget realities.
Other provisions that could affect expatriates include a correction factor that gradually reduces employers’ wage-withholding-tax exemptions—from R&D payroll rebates to night-shift credits—beginning in 2027. While not strictly an immigration measure, the change raises labour-cost forecasts for multinationals operating share-service centres or manufacturing sites that rely on foreign talent.
Next steps: The bill is slated for parliamentary approval in March; companies should quantify the new boarding tax in 2026 travel budgets and revisit assignment cost projections for 2027–29. Travel managers may wish to compare routings via Luxembourg or Lille, where equivalent taxes remain lower.
The draft also doubles the insurance-premium tax to 9.6 % and lifts the securities-account levy, but for mobility managers the boarding tax is the headline item: on a team of 100 frequent flyers taking six return trips a year via Brussels or Charleroi, annual cost exposure would exceed €12,000. Airlines are expected to pass the fee straight through in ticket prices, potentially eroding Belgium’s competitiveness versus neighbouring hubs such as Amsterdam-Schiphol and Paris-CDG, which already levy their own passenger-based taxes.
For travellers having to rethink routings and documentation in light of these changes, VisaHQ can simplify the paperwork side of the equation. Through its Belgium portal (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/), the service aggregates the latest visa requirements, processes electronic authorisations and manages group applications—allowing mobility managers to align visa compliance smoothly with new budget realities.
Other provisions that could affect expatriates include a correction factor that gradually reduces employers’ wage-withholding-tax exemptions—from R&D payroll rebates to night-shift credits—beginning in 2027. While not strictly an immigration measure, the change raises labour-cost forecasts for multinationals operating share-service centres or manufacturing sites that rely on foreign talent.
Next steps: The bill is slated for parliamentary approval in March; companies should quantify the new boarding tax in 2026 travel budgets and revisit assignment cost projections for 2027–29. Travel managers may wish to compare routings via Luxembourg or Lille, where equivalent taxes remain lower.
