💡 Commercial enterprise or liberal profession: what's the difference?
As a self-employed person in Belgium, your activity is either a commercial enterprise or a liberal profession. In Accountable, this is the "Liberal profession or commercial enterprise" setting. It's worth knowing which one applies, because it affects how and when your income is taxed.
Commercial enterprise: you mainly sell or make goods, or provide a hands-on/commercial service.
Examples: shop, e-commerce, craftsperson, builder, hairdresser.
Liberal profession: you mainly sell your knowledge or expertise (intellectual or advisory work).
Examples: consultant, designer, coach, doctor, lawyer, architect.
⚙️ Why it matters
On your tax return, the two are reported in different grids:
Commercial enterprise → Grid XVII: Benefits from industrial, commercial or agricultural enterprises.
Liberal profession → Grid XVIII: Profits from liberal professions, offices or other lucrative occupations.
The main practical difference is when your income becomes taxable:
Commercial enterprise (Grid XVII): taxed as soon as you issue the invoice, even if the client hasn't paid yet.
Liberal profession (Grid XVIII): taxed only once you've actually been paid.
Accountable knows which grid applies to you and fills it in automatically. In both cases you can deduct your actual costs or a flat-rate amount (the flat-rate rules differ slightly between the two types), plus your social contributions.
💡 Good to know: your category doesn't change your tax rate. The same progressive income-tax scale applies in both cases (commercial activity or liberal profession), so you won't pay more income tax for being one rather than the other. The differences are about how you declare your income.
⚠️ What if I do both?
Some freelancers genuinely have both kinds of income, for example a designer who invoices creative work (liberal) and also resells equipment (commercial). Legally, each type has to be reported in its own box: Grid XVII for commercial, Grid XVIII for liberal.
Good to know: in Accountable you select a single activity type, and your income tax declaration is prepared for that type only. If you also earn income of the other type, its box isn't generated automatically, so you'll need to handle it separately.
If both apply to you, the simplest approach is:
Set the activity that brings in most of your revenue as your activity type.
Use Accountable as usual for it, income tax declaration included.
Complete the other activity's box manually in Tax-on-web (Grid XVII or Grid XVIII), based on your Accountable figures.
This is about your type of income, not a private/business "mixed-use" expense and not a "mixed" VAT status. Because it affects the accuracy of your return, get in touch via the chat if you're unsure how to split it.
❗ This is not the same as your VAT status
Being a commercial enterprise or a liberal profession is about income tax. Whether you charge VAT or use the VAT exemption (franchise) is a separate question: it depends mainly on your turnover (the €25,000 threshold) and on whether your activity is VAT-exempt.
Not sure about your VAT status? Here's how to check your VAT type in Accountable.
💡 Still not sure?
You set this under "Liberal profession or commercial enterprise" when you create your Accountable account, and you can change it in your settings. For your official classification, your business counter can confirm it.
Questions? Contact us via the chat in the app 😊