Is Tutoring Tax Deductible in Belgium?

It's a question that parents sometimes ask themselves: are tutoring costs tax-deductible? While parents can get tax relief for childcare expenses, there is an important distinction between childcare and tutoring that we need to understand.

Childcare is deductible
Childcare includes various activities recognized by the government. Think of after-school care for children under 12, where they are supervised while doing their homework. Expenses for such care qualify for tax relief. Specifically, childcare includes:

• Before and after-school care
• Care during lunch breaks
• Care during holidays and school-free days
• Boarding school care
• Care for children who are not yet in school

For more details on tax relief for childcare, you can visit this link. How do you know as a parent if your childcare qualifies for tax deduction? Starting in 2022, the childcare provider is required to provide you with a certificate proving that you have incurred costs for tax-deductible childcare.

Tutoring is not deductible
Unfortunately, tutoring does not fall under the category of childcare and is thus not tax deductable. The FPS Finance clarifies this with an example:
"My child under 12 received math tutoring at school. Can the costs be deducted from taxes?"
‍No, these costs are considered additional costs for providing courses as part of education and therefore do not fall under childcare.

Other expenses that do not qualify for tax relief include:

• Additional costs for courses
  Expenses for school trips and membership fees of associations

In short, is tutoring tax-deductible? Unfortunately, the answer is "No." It is important to understand this distinction to avoid surprises when filing taxes.

Photo by Drobotdean (Freepik).