This article is intended for users who invoiced copyright income in Accountable between January 1, 2026 and April 9, 2026, and who do not have an Arts Certificate. In this situation, some invoices that have already been issued may need to be corrected so that the withholding tax is calculated correctly.

Key points

🚨 Before correcting your invoices, check whether the withholding tax linked to the invoice or invoices concerned has already been paid and declared.

If the withholding tax has already been paid and declared, the person who paid and declared it (you or your client) will need to contact the FPS Finance to find out how to regularize the situation.
If the withholding tax has not yet been paid or declared, there is no need to contact the FPS Finance at this stage.
If your client was supposed to pay and declare the withholding tax, make sure to inform them quickly that you will be sending one or more credit notes as well as one or more corrected invoices with the correct withholding tax amount.

⚠️ Correcting an invoice in Accountable does not correct a declaration or payment that has already been made (via form 273S).

ℹ️ If your invoices were created outside Accountable and then imported into the tool, the correction must still be made in Accountable. You will therefore need to create the credit note or credit notes directly in Accountable for the invoices concerned.

1. You are under the VAT Franchisee regime

Follow the steps below to correct your invoices in Accountable.

Step 1: check who paid and declared the withholding tax

Start by checking whether the withholding tax was:

paid and declared by you;
or paid and declared by your client.

The person concerned will need to contact the FPS Finance to find out how to correct the declaration or payment.

Step 2: temporarily activate the arts certificate in the tax settings

Before creating the credit note, go to Settings > Taxes.
Answer Yes to the question: As of 2026, copyright income needs an arts certificate for lump sum deductions. Do you have one?
Then answer the question: What is the validity period of your arts certificate?
⚠️ Please enter a period here.
Then click Save.

ℹ️ This temporary setting allows the credit note to use the same calculation as the original invoice and cancel it correctly.

Step 3: create the credit note or notes

To create a credit note from each invoice that needs to be corrected:

Select the invoice
Click the pencil button to edit the invoice > create a credit note:

⚠️ If several invoices need to be corrected, you must create one credit note per invoice.

Step 4: disable the arts certificate in the tax settings

Once the credit note or notes have been created, go back to Settings > Taxes.
This time, answer No to the question: As of 2026, copyright income needs an arts certificate for lump sum deductions. Do you have one?
Then click Save.

💡 From that moment on, the system will no longer apply flat-rate deductions.

Step 5: create the corrected invoice or invoices

Then create a new invoice for each corrected invoice.

The withholding tax will then be calculated on the gross amount invoiced for copyright income, without flat-rate deductions.

⚠️ If you corrected several invoices and created several credit notes, make sure to create the same number of corrected new invoices.

2. You are subject to VAT and have not yet submitted your VAT return

If you are subject to VAT and have not yet submitted your VAT return for the invoices concerned, you can correct your documents before filing it.

Step 1: check who paid and declared the withholding tax

Start by checking whether the withholding tax was:

paid and declared by you;
or paid and declared by your client.

The person concerned will need to contact the FPS Finance to find out how to correct the declaration or payment.

Step 2: temporarily activate the arts certificate in the tax settings

Before creating the credit note, go to Settings > Taxes.
Answer Yes to the question: As of 2026, copyright income needs an arts certificate for lump sum deductions. Do you have one?
Then answer the question: What is the validity period of your arts certificate?
⚠️ Please enter a period here.
Then click Save.

ℹ️ This temporary setting allows the credit note to use the same calculation as the original invoice and cancel it correctly.

Step 3: create the credit note or notes

To create a credit note from each invoice that needs to be corrected:

Select the invoice
Click the pencil button to edit the invoice > create a credit note:

⚠️ If several invoices need to be corrected, you must create one credit note per invoice.

Step 4: disable the arts certificate in the tax settings

Once the credit note or notes have been created, go back to Settings > Taxes.
This time, answer No to the question: As of 2026, copyright income needs an arts certificate for lump sum deductions. Do you have one?
Then click Save.

💡 From that moment on, the system will no longer apply flat-rate deductions.

Step 5: create the corrected invoice or invoices

Then create a new invoice for each corrected invoice.

The withholding tax will then be calculated on the gross amount invoiced for copyright income, without flat-rate deductions.

⚠️ If you corrected several invoices and created several credit notes, make sure to create the same number of corrected new invoices.

Step 6: submit your VAT return

💡 Make sure that the documents are linked to the VAT quarter you are about to submit.

3. You are subject to VAT and have already submitted your VAT return

If you have already submitted your VAT return, you still need to correct your invoices in Accountable.

If you are still within the deadline to modify the relevant return, you can go to Taxes > VAT return for the relevant quarter and mark it as not submitted and not paid.

🚨 If you are no longer within the deadline to correct this VAT return, you must still create the credit notes and the corrected new invoices in Accountable. In that case, these documents must be linked to the current VAT quarter, meaning the quarter following the one in which the original invoices were created.

You will therefore need to file a standard VAT return, rather than an amended VAT return.

Step 1: check who paid and declared the withholding tax

Start by checking whether the withholding tax was:

paid and declared by you;
or paid and declared by your client.

The person concerned will need to contact the FPS Finance to find out how to correct the declaration or payment.

Step 2: temporarily activate the arts certificate in the tax settings

Before creating the credit note, go to Settings > Taxes.
Answer Yes to the question: As of 2026, copyright income needs an arts certificate for lump sum deductions. Do you have one?
Then answer the question: What is the validity period of your arts certificate?
⚠️ Please enter a period here.
Then click Save.

ℹ️ This temporary setting allows the credit note to use the same calculation as the original invoice and cancel it correctly.

Step 3: create the credit note or notes

To create a credit note from each invoice that needs to be corrected:

Select the invoice
Click the pencil button to edit the invoice > create a credit note:

⚠️ If several invoices need to be corrected, you must create one credit note per invoice.

Step 4: disable the arts certificate in the tax settings

Once the credit note or notes have been created, go back to Settings > Taxes.
This time, answer No to the question: As of 2026, copyright income needs an arts certificate for lump sum deductions. Do you have one?
Then click Save.

💡 From that moment on, the system will no longer apply flat-rate deductions.

Step 5: create the corrected invoice or invoices

Then create a new invoice for each corrected invoice.

The withholding tax will then be calculated on the gross amount invoiced for copyright income, without flat-rate deductions.

⚠️ If you corrected several invoices and created several credit notes, make sure to create the same number of corrected new invoices.

Step 6: submit the appropriate VAT return

🚨 If you are no longer within the deadline to correct the VAT return concerned, you should not submit a corrective return. In that case, the credit notes and corrected invoices must be linked to the current VAT quarter, and you will need to submit a standard VAT return.

If this applies to your situation, here are the steps to submit a correction to your VAT return:

🧭 Step	✅ Via Accountable (sans XML)	📨 Via fichier XML
1️⃣ Connection	Log in to Accountable	Log in to Accountable
2️⃣ Access to Declaration	Go to Taxes	Go to Taxes
3️⃣ Unlocking	Mark as undone	Mark as undone
4️⃣ Correction	Modify Revenues/Expenses	Modify Revenues/Expenses
5️⃣ Download	Not necessary	Receive XML file via email
6️⃣ Submission	Submit to SPF Finances	Upload XML file to Intervat
7️⃣ Finalization	Direct submission via Accountable	Reference + signature on Intervat

You can find the steps to submit a corrected VAT return here.

💡 Make sure that the documents concerned are linked to the VAT quarter you are about to submit.

Frequently asked questions – FAQ

Why do I need to temporarily answer “Yes” in the tax settings?

Because the credit note must use the same withholding tax calculation as the one applied to the original invoice in order to cancel it correctly.

When do I need to answer “No” in the tax settings?

You must answer No after creating the credit note or notes, and before creating the corrected new invoice or invoices.

Why do I need to contact the FPS Finance?

Because the declaration and payment of the withholding tax are not done through Accountable, but through form 273S, any correction made in Accountable does not automatically update them.

The person who paid and declared the withholding tax must therefore contact the FPS Finance to find out how to regularize the situation.

In which case is it not necessary to contact the FPS Finance?

If the withholding tax linked to the invoice or invoices concerned has not yet been paid or declared, there is no need to contact the FPS Finance at this stage.

What should I do if my client was supposed to pay and declare the withholding tax?

In that case, inform your client quickly that you will be sending them one or more credit notes as well as one or more corrected new invoices with the correct withholding tax amount.

Guideline for Accountable users

Accountable Free Plan: What you can do in the mobile app

Guideline – Correcting a copyright invoice issued without an Arts Certificate

Key points

1. You are under the VAT Franchisee regime

Step 1: check who paid and declared the withholding tax

Step 2: temporarily activate the arts certificate in the tax settings

Step 3: create the credit note or notes

Step 4: disable the arts certificate in the tax settings

Step 5: create the corrected invoice or invoices

2. You are subject to VAT and have not yet submitted your VAT return

Step 1: check who paid and declared the withholding tax

Step 2: temporarily activate the arts certificate in the tax settings

Step 3: create the credit note or notes

Step 4: disable the arts certificate in the tax settings

Step 5: create the corrected invoice or invoices

Step 6: submit your VAT return

3. You are subject to VAT and have already submitted your VAT return

Step 1: check who paid and declared the withholding tax

Step 2: temporarily activate the arts certificate in the tax settings

Step 3: create the credit note or notes

Step 4: disable the arts certificate in the tax settings

Step 5: create the corrected invoice or invoices

Step 6: submit the appropriate VAT return

Frequently asked questions – FAQ

Why do I need to temporarily answer “Yes” in the tax settings?

When do I need to answer “No” in the tax settings?

Why do I need to contact the FPS Finance?

In which case is it not necessary to contact the FPS Finance?

What should I do if my client was supposed to pay and declare the withholding tax?