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US Belgium Taxes

Question

I am a stay at home husband. My wife is working for an American company with an affiliation here in Vilvoorde. We both have US citizenships and she is French.

I have two questions
1 Can the US-Belgium Tax treaty apply to us? (as it is now; US govt only taxes her for the days in US she works during work related travel plus they tax her bonus related stock options) The days worked in US are not taxed in Belgium but her work related bonus/stock options are taxed in Belgium resulting in double taxation.

2 Am I able to work here in Brussels without needing a company to apply for my work visa since my wife is a European citizen.

thank you

enviro

Re #1 you should not be taxed double but consider contacting a good US expat tax accountant to sort out the details for you. I found the ones in Brussels to be very expensive, but had a good experience with Greenback Expat Tax Services. I think they do more preparation of returns than giving one-off advice.

Another option is to contact the IRS assistance for overseas taxpayers. There is a phone number in the US (see the IRS website) and also assistance based in certain embassies that you can contact by phone or in person; I think Paris is the closest.

2. I see no reason why you should not be able to work here. Your marriage certificate to an EU citizen would exempt you from requiring a work permit. This is what I was told when I registered as an independent/freelance worker here.

Jun 27, 2012 16:35