This article was written by Mia Matias, Communication Intern at E|C Consulting.
For the past few months, a question has been circulating in the corridors of the Belgian non-profit sector: “Are non-profits going to close in 2027?” You find it on forums, in newsletters, sometimes even on the lips of worried board members. So, rumour or reality? At E|C Consulting, we have gone through the official texts with a fine-tooth comb to separate the essential from the noise and give you the real tools to move forward with confidence.
Where does this concern come from?
It all starts with an accumulation of signals. Tax reforms voted in December 2025, new administrative obligations applicable from 2026, and alongside them, a draft bill that caused quite a stir around freedom of association. The result: many organisations felt they were in the crosshairs. And frankly, part of that concern is legitimate, not because non-profitss are going to disappear, but because their legal and tax environment has just changed profoundly, and quickly.
So let us set the record straight.
What is really changing for Belgian non-profits
- Tax deductibility of donations: a hard blow for fundraising
This is the measure that has caused the most upheaval in the charitable sector. The new federal government led by Bart De Wever has decided to reduce the tax deductibility of donations to associations from 45% to 30%.
Concretely: before this reform, a donor who gave €100 to an accredited non-profit recovered €45 through their tax return. From now on, they only recover €30. The measure applies retroactively from 1 January 2025, for all donations to accredited organisations of at least €40 per calendar year.
What makes it even harder to swallow: the law, passed less than two weeks before the end of 2025, applies to all donations made since 1 January 2025. The effect is therefore retroactive. The sector was not consulted. Many organisations, including Médecins Sans Frontières, Greenpeace and the SPA, depend on individual donations for more than 50% of their income, which means the measure hits them full force.
For fundraising teams, the question immediately arises: will this dampen donor generosity? The honest answer is: perhaps. But tax advantages have never been the sole driver of giving. What truly protects organisations is the strength of their mission, the clarity of their impact, and the trust they have built over time.
2. New tax obligations: more paperwork, more rigour
Beyond donations, the law of 20 December 2025 has considerably expanded the taxable base for non-profits and foundations, with application from the 2027 tax year (2026 income).
Among the concrete changes:
- An IPM declaration (tax on legal entities) now mandatory, even if the non-profit has no taxable income. Failure to declare exposes the organisation to a fine ranging from €50 to €1,250.
- Detailed annexes on investment income, property income and benefits granted to board members, a new requirement for non-profits.
- Vehicle taxation extended to associations. From 1 January 2026, vehicle-related costs are now subject to tax on legal entities at a rate of 25%, a measure that also applies to non-profits, which had until then been exempt.
This last point is particularly sensitive for frontline organisations: home care services, social support, the youth sector. For these actors, a vehicle is not a salary benefit but an essential working tool, and taxing it amounts, in some cases, to directly threatening their services to beneficiaries.
For an average non-profit, the transition from a simple nil declaration to a full IPM declaration represents between 8 and 15 additional hours of accounting work per year, a significant increase in accountancy fees.
3. The wealth tax: a progressive scale since 2024
Another change, less widely covered, concerns the assets of associations. Since 2024, the wealth tax is levied according to new progressive rates, with an exemption on the first €50,000 of assets. Before this reform, the exemption threshold was €25,000. This means that smaller structures with modest assets now benefit from better protection, but above €346,000, the tax burden increases.
What about the draft bill on freedom of association?
One text has caused considerable alarm in the associative world: a draft bill aimed at regulating, or even dissolving, certain organisations deemed radical or contrary to democratic values. It is crucial to be precise here: this draft does not concern the associative sector as a whole. It targets organisations whose activities are deemed contrary to public order or fundamental rights. This is a sensitive political debate, but conflating it with a “generalised closure of non-profits in 2027” is inaccurate and needlessly alarmist.
The view from Switzerland: a more stable framework, but not without constraints
At E|C Consulting, based in Geneva, we support non-profit organisations based in Switzerland and internationally. And when we compare the Belgian context to the Swiss framework, the differences are significant.
In Switzerland, non-profit associations acting in the public interest can obtain a tax exemption upon request from the cantonal tax authorities, a formal procedure, but one that offers real protection once obtained. At the federal level, tax on net profit only applies from CHF 5,000, and at the moderate rate of 4.25%.
On the donor side, Swiss individuals can deduct donations made to tax-exempt organisations of public benefit from their taxable income, up to 20% of net income, provided the donation exceeds CHF 100 per tax year. A considerably more generous tax advantage than in Belgium after the 2025 reform, and one that remains stable.
This contrast highlights something important: donor confidence in the legal framework is an intangible asset for any fundraising organisation. When that framework changes brutally and retroactively, as in Belgium, the entire relationship with financial supporters is shaken.
What about Europe? An underlying trend
Belgium is not an isolated case. Across Europe, associations are facing a dual pressure: increasing transparency and compliance requirements on one side, and declining public resources on the other.
In France, associations have since 2023 been required to justify the use of their funds to the state with growing rigour. In post-Brexit United Kingdom, international NGOs are navigating new rules on foreign funding. In Germany, association law has been relaxed to facilitate governance, but accounting obligations remain heavy.
Everywhere, the message is the same: the associations that survive and thrive are those that anticipate, comply without waiting, and communicate clearly about their governance.
What this means for your fundraising
These legislative developments are not inevitable. They are, however, a strong signal: the era when an association could operate informally is over. Here are the four pillars on which we advise concentrating your energy:
- Treat your compliance with the same care as your communications. An non-profit that is up to date with its tax and administrative obligations inspires confidence in its donors, institutional partners and beneficiaries. Compliance is not a cost, it is an argument.
- Revisit your donor messaging. The reduction in tax deductibility of donations in Belgium can be a pedagogical opportunity. Explain to your supporters that their donation has not lost its value, it is the tax benefit that has decreased, not the impact. Strengthen the non-fiscal arguments: your mission, your concrete results, your transparency.
- Diversify your funding sources. The most resilient organisations do not depend on a single source. If individual donations may fluctuate with tax incentives, corporate partnerships, bequests, crowdfunding campaigns or ancillary activity income offer valuable safety margins.
- Anticipate the new administrative obligations. Whether it is the mandatory IPM declaration, the new vehicle rules or the strengthened reporting requirements, do not discover these obligations when they come into force. Get support in advance.
In summary
Belgian non-profits are not going to close in 2027. But their legal and tax environment has genuinely changed, sometimes brutally, and the consequences are real, particularly for fundraising. The reduction in tax deductibility of donations from 45% to 30%, the new declaratory obligations, and the taxation of vehicle costs are concrete challenges that require concrete responses.
From Switzerland, where the associative framework remains more stable and the tax advantages for donors more generous, we are all the more aware of the importance of a predictable legislative environment for philanthropy. And we know that in times of uncertainty, the organisations that come out on top are those that turn constraint into an opportunity to strengthen their credibility.
Your donors do not follow you for a line on their tax return. They follow you because they believe in what you do. Keep proving it to them.
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