Purchasing power bonus: 31 March is fast approaching

The purchasing power bonus is a (para)-fiscally advantageous bonus that you can award your employees in the shape of consumption vouchers if your company turned a high or exceptionally high profit in 2022.  A good way to define what are ‘good results’ are in a practical sense is by setting an (exceptionally) high profit benchmark at sectoral consultation level. Several sectors have already introduced a purchasing power bonuses.

This federal government scheme was rolled out in late 2022 in order to keep up employees’ purchasing power.

The bonus takes on the form of a paper or electronic consumption voucher. It is not a cash bonus.

Place your order with our partner Pluxee or with any of the other providers. Speak to your Acerta contact to arrange this for you.

In principle, the allocation of the bonus needs to be arranged by way of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA), which can either be put in place at sectoral or company level.

• Where a sectoral collective bargaining agreement is concluded, it will need to define the high and the exceptionally high profit in 2022 and specify the amount of the bonus to reward employees’ efforts in achieving these results. The bonus is limited to a maximum of 500, resp. 750 euros.
• In the case of a company-wide collective bargaining agreement, it is up to the employer to show that it was able to generate good results in spite of the crisis, before setting the bonus amounts up to a maximum of 750 euros.
• Where it is impossible to go by a collective bargaining agreement, the purchasing power bonus can also be awarded based on an individual agreement. In case of a written contract addendum, the employer does not need to prove anything. Where the bonus amounts of a sectoral collective bargaining agreement remain below the statutory caps, individual employers remain free to decide to go higher.

The maximum amount of the purchasing power bonus depends on how much profit your company turned. For companies that turned a large profit, the upper ceiling amount of the bonus is set at 500 euros per employee. For exceptionally large profits, this maximum amount is raised to 750 euros.

Your sectoral or company-wide arrangements may also set out a lower amount.

If you observe the bonus award rules, the purchasing power bonus is exempt from tax and the regular social security contributions.  However, the law does impose a special 16.5% employer-paid social security contribution. Both the bonus and the special social security contribution are tax-deductible for you.

There can be no exempt bonus award for company managers.

The purchasing power bonus comes with more or less the same strong suits as the corona bonus at the time: a lower special social security contribution and no withholding tax. The spending options are more restricted than with the corona bonus, and are now similar to those of meal vouchers and eco-vouchers.

The one-off bonus offers companies that achieve good results the opportunity to give their employees a (para)-fiscally advantageous bonus, thereby boosting their purchasing power, by way of appreciation for their contribution towards the fine results. So in spite of the 0% wage norm, the bonus leaves some room for companies to reward their staff and stand out as employers on a tight labour market.

You were allowed to award the bonus from 1 June to 31 December 2023. You must issue the bonus by 31 March 2024 at the latest. Your employees can spend their bonus until 31 December 2024.

The purchasing power bonus may be spent in the form of consumption vouchers on:

• paying for meals or the purchase of ready to eat food,
• buying products and services of an ecological nature (the same products and services that can be paid for with eco-vouchers).