Dependent child in Belgium 2026 — the tax benefit explained
Having a dependent child does not get you a cheque from the tax office: it increases the share of your income that is not taxed. Here is how it works, in plain terms, with the table of the increase per number of children for your 2025 income (2026 return).
⚠️ Indicative tax amounts (2025 income, 2026 return) — check with the FPS Finance. The exact calculation depends on your full family situation.
The tax-free allowance
In Belgium, part of your income is never taxed: it is the tax-free allowance. For 2025 income (2026 return), this base allowance is €10,910 per taxpayer.
The idea is simple: on your first euros earned, the State recognizes you need a minimum to live on, so it leaves them alone. Only the rest goes through the progressive tax brackets.
And this is where the child comes in: each dependent child increases this tax-free allowance. The more children you have, the larger the untaxed share of your income — so the less tax you pay.
The table of the increase per number of children
The increase of the tax-free allowance is not linear: it climbs fast with the number of children. Here are the amounts for 2025 income (2026 return):
| Number of dependent children | Increase of the tax-free allowance |
|---|---|
| 1 child | +€2,030 |
| 2 children | +€5,230 |
| 3 children | +€11,720 |
| 4 children | +€19,060 |
| 5 children and more | See the FPS Finance |
You can see the snowball effect: going from 1 to 2 children adds €3,200, but going from 2 to 3 adds nearly €6,500. The system rewards larger families proportionally more. This increase comes on top of your base allowance of €10,910.
A child with a disability counts double
A child with a recognized disability counts as two in this calculation. Concretely, if you have one disabled child, you use the "2 children" row of the table instead of "1 child". If you have two children, one of them disabled, you move to the "3 children" row.
It is a tax recognition of the extra cost of raising a child with a disability. The disability must be officially recognized; the FPS Finance specifies the supporting documents to provide.
The supplement for a child under 3
An additional tax-free allowance exists for each child under 3 on 1 January of the assessment year — but only if you have not deducted childcare costs for that child.
You must choose, child by child: either the tax reduction for childcare costs (45%, up to 75% for a low-income single parent), or the "under 3" supplement to the tax-free allowance. You cannot combine both for the same child. In practice, deducting childcare costs is often more advantageous when you genuinely pay for a crèche or approved care, but it depends on your income and the amount of the costs. Compare both before ticking the box in your return.
The resources ceiling to remain a dependent
For a child to be a "dependent" for tax purposes, their own net resources must not exceed a certain amount. For 2025 income, this ceiling is €5,265 of net resources.
Note: this amount is not indexed, unlike many other tax thresholds. It typically concerns the student who works (a student job): above this net-resources ceiling, the child risks no longer being considered a dependent, and you lose the corresponding increase. Certain income brackets (student job, maintenance payments) benefit from exemptions; the FPS Finance details the exact calculation of net resources.
Tax co-parenting: sharing the increase
When parents are separated and the child lives with each of them on an equal basis, the increase of the tax-free allowance can be shared between the two parents: this is tax co-parenting.
Each parent then recovers half of the increase the child gives entitlement to. This split must rest on an agreement (a settlement or a court decision) providing for equal residence. Note: you cannot at the same time share the increase and deduct maintenance payments for the same child — again, it is a trade-off. If your relationship situation evolves, also have a look at our page on marriage and cohabitation in Belgium.
How it actually lowers your tax
Here is the mechanism in plain terms. The dependent-child benefit is not calculated on your highest tax bracket, but on the first brackets of the scale (the lowest ones). This is what is called the imputation on the tax-free allowance.
Good news: you do not have to calculate anything yourself. The FPS Finance applies the increase automatically as soon as you declare your dependent children in your return. Your job is mostly to forget nothing and make the right trade-offs (childcare costs vs. the under-3 supplement, sharing under co-parenting).