International Mobility Services

Address the challenges & opportunities of international employment

Supporting your company with employing people across borders

Does your company operate internationally? In that case, you likely send employees to your foreign subsidiary from time to time to support or coordinate your operations. Or perhaps you have employees with specialist knowledge, skills or roles, who are employed in different countries.  

With the rise of teleworking, new categories of international mobile employees are emerging. For example, employees and managers who want more autonomy in choosing where and how they work. While accommodating this flexibility is important, you also need to align their work strategy with the overall organisation’s objectives.

This means that doing business with an international workforce comes with many unique challenges: meeting the need for more flexibility, attracting and retaining crucial talent, motivating managers and employees, optimising business transaction strategies, and complying with increasingly complex global tax requirements. 

You’re not alone in facing these challenges. At BDO, we support you in navigating the complexities of global mobility, offering a comprehensive, full service solution for managing your international workforce.

How BDO can help

When you employ people internationally, there are implications in terms of taxation, social security, immigration and labour law. Which legislation applies? Where and to whom do you have to pay social contributions and taxes? BDO clarifies it all, making sure you stay compliant in every market.

Navigating the complexities of multiple tax jurisdictions doesn’t need to be overwhelming. Our team ensures that you comply with local tax and social security laws in each country where you operate. We also assist with structuring pay conditions, fringe benefits, and insurance for employees to ensure they meet legal requirements and maximise benefits.

Curious about the potential tax implications for your international employees? Try our Special Tax Regime calculator to get quick insights into tax and social security obligations based on different scenarios.

We focus on sustainable, pragmatic, tailor-made solutions to minimise your tax burden while ensuring full compliance. We help you find opportunities to reduce costs and optimise your tax position.

BDO brings together experts from various fields to provide you with a comprehensive, all-in-one service for international mobility:

  • Our International Mobility Services team assists with tax returns, tax briefings,  tax calculations and payroll assistance. We also provide comprehensive tax advisory services with respect to international employment, split payroll, equity, compensation and investment income.
  • Our social legal team supports you with immigration and labour law issues.
  • Our payroll team processes the actual payroll according to the prepared payroll tables.
     You have the flexibility to choose a single point of contact to coordinate these services or interact directly with the relevant experts within each team, depending on your needs.

Our International Mobility Services

Discover the possibilities for your company

Managing tax and social security obligations for international assignments can be complex. Our experts collaborate closely with your HR and finance teams to ensure a seamless process, reducing the risk of errors and compliance issues.

We provide end-to-end support for international mobile employees, from preparing payroll summaries and managing the filing of personal income tax returns to assisting with non-resident tax filings. If your employees qualify for special tax regimes, such as those for incoming employees or researchers, we’ll guide you through the application process, ensuring all relevant opportunities are explored – so you can focus on your business with peace of mind.

Our services also include:
  • Coordinating with your HR and finance teams to manage your global mobility population.
  • Preparing payroll overviews that take personal and work situations into account, ready for processing by your social secretariat.
  • Conducting tax briefings with employees to explain their tax obligations and opportunities.
  • Assisting with reporting foreign bank accounts and real estate holdings, ensuring compliance with local laws and regulations.
  • When expanding into new countries or adjusting to new business dynamics, it’s essential to have a clear strategy in place. We guide you through the process of managing global mobility, from analysing the specific obligations of your company to formulating or adjusting your global mobility policy. We ensure that your global mobility strategy aligns with your broader business objectives. 
How shares and other equity-based compensations allotted to you by your employer abroad are taxed depends on a number of things. Regulations can vary widely depending on the type of reward, the structure of the organisation, the tax characteristics of the recipient and the country where the recipient is located at the time of the allotting or exercising of the benefits received. 

To help you through this maze, we offer Global Equity services worldwide to employers implementing international equity-based reward systems. In doing so, our object is to minimise the tax burden and compliance risk wherever possible, through our international network and tools such as the BDO Global Equity Mobility Solution and the Global Equity Rewards Matrix.   

International Mobility Navigator

Discover the key points of attention for cross-border employment

Are you thinking about expanding your company across borders and hire foreign employees? Looking for information on the tax and legal aspects of employing Belgian workforce across borders?

Check out our International Mobility Navigator, a useful and pragmatic document focusing on the key points of attention of international employment. Get an overview of labour law implications, immigration formalities, tax matters and payroll.

Teleworking tool

What if your employees want to telework from home in a cross-border situation?

As an employer, you may have employees working - temporarily or regularly - in a country other than their usual country of employment. BDO has created a Teleworking tool for these kinds of situations. This tool offers a first insight into the applicable Belgian rules and points of attention for cross-border teleworking for topics such as: personal income tax, payroll, labour law.

Throughout the tool, you will be provided with immediate feedback with a consolidated report send to you via e-mail afterwards.

Special Tax Regime calculator

Calculate the impact on your employee’s compensation package

Your employees and company directors may be able to benefit from the expat regime for incoming taxpayers or researchers, provided certain conditions are met. If eligible, they are entitled to an allowance free of taxes and social security.

To have a clear view on the impact of a possible application of the Special Tax Regime on your (prospective) employee’s compensation package, you can use our Special Tax Regime calculator.

This tool offers you a straightforward way to compare a regular salary with multiple scenarios of applying the 30% tax-free allowance on top or deducted from the gross salary.

Get in touch with our International Mobility Services experts

No matter the challenge or curiosity, we’re here to support your business journey. 

Send us your questions, and our experts will provide the answers you need.

Nancy Slegers

Nancy Slegers

Partner International Mobility Services
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