Apply for a refund of withheld taxes from the Belgian State with form 276R.

By law, PlayRight is obliged to withhold tax from any rights it pays out. In turn, PlayRight passes on this withholding tax to the Belgian State. But if you are not a Belgian tax resident, chances are that your rights will be taxed again when you declare them on your tax return in your own country of residence.

In situations like these, you can apply for a full or partial refund of the withholding tax you paid to the Belgian State through the form 276R. Within and outside of the EU, there are tax treaties in place that stipulate on what type of income countries are entitled to levy taxes or not. All the EU countries and also many non-EU countries have concluded such as treaty with Belgium. The texts of these treaties can be found on the website of the FPS Finance.

What should you do?

You can either apply for a refund by submitting form 276R each time you receive a payment from PlayRight or you can submit one form at the end of the year for all the payments you would like to obtain a refund for. Simply send your duly completed form 276R to the Belgian Tax Authorities and they will send you a refund.

You have 5 years to apply for a refund. This 5-year term starts to run as of 1 January of the year you received the royalties in question in.

• Step 1: Download form 276R here.
• Step 2: Enter the name of the country you pay tax in.
• Step 3: Enter the PlayRight contact details and enterprise number (VAT: BE0440 736 227).
• Step 4: Enter the currency, your own contact and bank details.
• Step 5: Enter the details of the royalties you received.
• Step 6: Take the form to your local tax office (so not to the town hall or some other department). The official will complete, stamp and sign your form.
• Step 7: Take a photocopy of the completed, stamped and signed form.
• Step 8: Send the original (preferably by registered post) to: Controle Brussel Buitenland – FINTO – Kruidtuinlaan 50, bus 3424 – 1000 Brussels