Self-employed student: everything you need to know

Dreaming of launching your own activity alongside your studies? With the self-employed student status, you can start your own business without losing your family allowances or paying high social security contributions.

What is the self-employed student status?

It’s a status designed for students who want to start their own business. You can launch your activity, either alone or through a company, and as long as you do not earn too much, you pay very low social security contributions.

Another good thing: your parents can continue receiving family allowances, and you remain covered by their health insurance fund.

Do you meet all the conditions?

To qualify for this status, you must meet 5 conditions:

• You are at least 18 years old and no older than 25.
• You are enrolled in a recognised educational institution, either in Belgium or abroad, with the aim of obtaining a diploma, certificate, qualification or recognised title.
• You are enrolled for at least 27 credits per academic or school year, or you attend at least 17 hours of classes per week.
• You regularly attend classes or take part in exams.
• You carry out a self-employed activity, meaning you work for your own account and not as an employee for an employer.

Important: if you no longer meet one of these conditions, you automatically switch to the status of self-employed worker as a main activity, with higher contributions. So as soon as something changes, inform your social insurance fund.

How much do you pay in social security contributions as a self-employed student?

It depends on how much you earn net per year, meaning your income minus your professional expenses.

💡 Good to know when starting out: During the first 3 years, you pay a provisional quarterly contribution. Think you will earn less than €8,687 this year? You can request an exemption from your social insurance fund and pay nothing at all.

In case of doubt, it is safer to pay the quarterly contribution to avoid additional fees later.

Taxes and family allowances as a self-employed student: what changes?

1. Can you remain “dependent” on your parents?

Being “dependent” means that you are still included in your parents’ tax return. As a result, they pay less tax.

To keep this advantage, your net income after professional expenses cannot exceed €12,300 per year for 2026 income.

💡 Tip: declare as many professional expenses as possible: laptop, software, phone, office equipment, subscriptions, etc. The more expenses you declare, the lower your taxable income will be, and the lower the risk that your parents lose their tax advantage.

2. Family allowances and social rights

Good news: your parents can keep receiving family allowances as long as your income stays within certain limits. But be careful, the rules depend on your region.

If you live in Brussels

You keep your family allowances as long as you do not work more than 240 hours per quarter, including both your self-employed activity and any possible employee job.

If you exceed this limit, your parents lose the family allowances for the entire quarter concerned.

Bekijk ook onze lijst van studentenjobs!

One exception applies during summer, in July, August and September: you can work more than 240 hours, as long as you resume your studies in September or October.

Important: as a self-employed student, you do not yet build up pension rights or personal social rights. You remain covered through your parents, for example through their health insurance fund.

If you live In Flanders

Family allowances are called the Growth Package (Groeipakket). This is the monthly allowance your parents receive as long as you are studying.

As a self-employed student, your parents can keep receiving the Growth Package as long as your annual net income does not exceed €17,374.08 in 2026.

If your income goes above this limit, your parents may temporarily lose the Growth Package.

If you live in Wallonia

You can work up to 650 hours per year under a student contract without any impact on family allowances. The family allowance fund does not take into account work performed under a student contract.

Beyond those 650 hours, you switch to employee status with ordinary social security contributions. You then benefit from an additional quota of 240 hours per quarter, during which you can continue working without affecting family allowances.

Only the hours actually worked count. Paid public holidays, for example, are not included.

How to become a self-employed student, step by step

It’s easier than you might think. Here is what you need to do, in order:

1. Check that you meet the conditions listed above.
2. Register with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (CBE) through a business counter of your choice and obtain an enterprise number. Registration costs €111.50 in 2026. Prices for additional services vary depending on the business counter.
3. Activate your VAT number before starting your activity.
4. Register with a social insurance fund and make sure you request the self-employed student status. This must be done before you start, but you can take care of it up to 6 months in advance.
5. Inform your health insurance fund that you are starting as a self-employed student.
6. Organise your accounting: open a separate bank account for your activity and choose a suitable accounting tool, or work with an accountant.

💡 Tip: if you expect to make less than €25,000 in annual turnover, you may be eligible for the VAT exemption scheme for small businesses. This means you do not charge VAT to your clients. However, you still need to submit a yearly client listing, and you cannot recover VAT on your purchases. Ask your business counter or an accountant for advice.

When does the self-employed student status end?

Your self-employed student status automatically ends in 3 situations:

• You turn 25: the status ends on 30 September of the year in which you turn 25, regardless of your exact birthday.
• You graduate: you keep the status until the end of the quarter in which you graduate. For example, if you graduate in June or September, the status remains valid until 30 September. If you graduate in January, the status remains valid until 31 March.
• You no longer meet the study or activity conditions.

After your studies, you automatically switch to self-employed status as a main activity or as a complementary activity, depending on what you do next.