Fiscally beneficial business gifts in 2024 (for Belgium).

Business gift

Both existing and potential business partners deserve the same level of attention and appre­ci­a­tion you give to your employees. But sometimes words aren’t enough to express how important they are to you. That’s what makes a business gift the perfect solution. But remember that there are so many different types of gifts. So think carefully about the message you want to send, then choose the most appro­pri­ate gift. 

If you play it smart, there are also tax benefits to be had. Because under certain conditions, business gifts are tax deductible, plus you can also reclaim the VAT.

General rule

Gifts for business partners are:

• 50% tax deductible as a business expense
• Up to an amount of €250 per recipient/​per year

Income tax

You’re allowed to exceed this amount, but if you do, you also need to complete tax form 281.50 with the name of the recipient and the value of the gift.

• Advantage: if the person giving the business gifts completes a tax form, the deductibil­i­ty increases to 100%.
• Dis­ad­van­tage: if the tax form is completed, the recipient will be taxed on this via their income tax. The gift is therefore seen as a benefit in kind, and not really as a customer-friendly option.
• Good to know: if you give gifts to business partners during a business trip abroad, these business gifts are 100% deductible, regardless of in which country the gifts were purchased.

VAT

VAT deductibil­i­ty depends on the purchase value of the gift:

• For gifts under €50 (ex VAT), the VAT may be reclaimed in full. This amount is per gift, per recipient and per calendar year.
• For gifts with a purchase value between €50 and €250 (ex VAT), the VAT is not deductible. But the gift is 50% tax deductible.
• For gifts above €250, the VAT is not deductible and the gift is not tax deductible without a tax form.

Please note: VAT is not deductible if you give more than 1 gift to the same business partner per year. VAT on tobacco or spirits with an alcohol percentage of at least 22% is never deductible. But the VAT on beer, wine, port, cava and champagne is deductible.

Gifts

Physical gifts

Build better rela­tion­ships with beautiful gifts for any occasion. Would your business partner/​employee prefer fragrant flowers, delicious chocolate or a sharing basket? You know best what to choose. 

Score some extra points by per­son­al­is­ing your gift or its packaging. This way the lucky recipient will never forget who the gift was from. You can also add a message to thank, con­grat­u­late or give your employee or business partner a bit of a boost – turning it into a unique gift.

Gift cards

Trying to find a personal gift for everyone often seems like an impossible task. But it can be done. More and more companies are turning to gift cards that the employees or business partners can use to choose their own gift from a range of par­tic­i­pat­ing retailers. Gift cards also come with another benefit: they aren’t subject to VAT. For this reason, and the fact that employees get to choose for themselves, gift cards are becoming more and more popular each year.

A lot of retailers offer gift cards. The downside is that gift cards often have a limited validity and, as the giver, you are again choosing the gift on behalf of the recipient. To avoid that, consider using providers like Sodexo, Edenred, Monizze and Kadonation.

These companies offer gift cards redeemable at a range of affiliated partners so that every employee or business partner has plenty of choice when it comes to spending their gift card. This way, the recipient can choose the gift they really want.

Kadonation Gifts

At Kadonation, we even take it a few steps further. Firstly, we offer a range of physical gifts: brownies, drinks, flowers, cake, gift baskets… There’s something for everyone.

Secondly, we also have the Kadonation Gift Card that can be combined and split, and is redeemable at over 90 popular shops (such as Decathlon, Bol​.com, AS Adventure, Coolblue, Zalando, ZEB, Torfs…) and charities.

The gift voucher can also be completely customised with the recipient’s name, a personal message and your company logo or other branding. Our physical gifts can also be per­son­alised with a logo and/​or a personal message.

On top of that, we offer the ultimate choice concept: Kadonation Smile. The simplest way to give the freedom of choice. Together, we’ll put together a range of gifts to match your budget. The recipient can then choose their dream gift on a gift website that is completely per­son­alised with your logo, company colours and personal messages.

And of course, our gifts also meet all the conditions for you to get the most out of the legal conditions described in this blog.