What is a service voucher?
A service voucher is a payment voucher:
- To which the authorities make a financial contribution
- Which allows individuals (users) to pay an approved company (employer) for the services provided by home helps (M/F).
The workers and approved company are bound by a contract of employment.
What services are provided?
The service voucher allows the user to call in a home help for household chores such as cleaning, ironing, window-cleaning, shopping, preparing meals, laundry, small sewing or mending jobs.
How much does it cost?
The price of a service voucher is €9 for each of the first 400 and €10 for each following service vouchers up to a maximum of 100. The general rule limits the purchase of service vouchers to 500 per year per person and up to 1.000 per family. Only persons in a certain category are able to purchase up to 2.000 per year.
People who declare income liable to Belgian taxes and using these service vouchers benefit from a tax deduction:
If the principal address of the user is in the Walloon region of Belgium
PURCHASE OF SERVICE VOUCHERS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE:
- For purchases made:
- As from 1st January 2014, the actual amount that benefits from a tax deduction is limited to €1.400 per person, per year. Your deductible income is calculated on a 30% tax rate. One service voucher costing €9 therefore only costs you €6,30 after tax deduction.
- As from 1st January 2015, you benefit from an income deduction of €0,9 per voucher for the first 150 service voucher bought per person. One service voucher costing €9 therefore only costs you €8,10 after tax deduction.
- Married partners or those who live together legally are both entitled to tax deduction for the service vouchers bought in their own name. The maximum amounts are valid per year and per partner. However, each of the two partners should have their own Sodexho user number.
- Sodexho will send you, on 1st April each year, a tax return document to be attached to your income tax declaration.
If the principal address of the user is in the Flemish region or the city of Brussels
PURCHASE OF SERVICE VOUCHERS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE:
- For purchases made:
- As from 1st January 2014, the actual amount that benefits from a tax deduction is limited to €1.400 per person, per year.
- As from 1st January 2015, the actual amount that benefits from a tax deduction is limited to €1.410 per person, per year.
- Your deductible income is calculated on a 30% tax rate. One service voucher costing €9 therefore only costs you €6,30 after tax deduction.
- Married partners or those who live together legally are both entitled to tax deduction for the service vouchers bought in their own name. The maximum amounts are valid per year and per partner. However, each of the two partners should have their own Sodexho user number.
- Sodexho will send you, on 1st April each year, a tax return document to be attached to your income tax declaration.
What are the reasons for choosing the service voucher system?
- You employ your home help completely within the law. So, no unpleasant surprises. Accidents happen but, with us, they’re covered by legal insurance.
- Your home help is paid a minimum of 10.50 €/hour and you pay 8.5 €/hour, which, after tax deduction, in fact costs you just 5.95 €/hour, the balance being paid by the authorities.
- If you already have a home help and you don’t want to lose your ‘real treasure’, we can employ her directly. She will have a contract of employment. That contract will give her the right to time off on public holidays, paid leave, health and accident insurance, luncheon vouchers, help with transport costs, etc. Those benefits will be taken into account in calculating her pension.