NSSO sport and culture vouchers

Sport and culture vouchers are not subject to social security contributions if they meet certain conditions. 

A Royal Decree modifies some of those conditions and specifies the ones specific to electronic sport and culture vouchers.

Those modifications will enter into force on 1st July 2024.

Shared conditions for paper and electronic vouchers

As from 1st July 2024, paper or electronic sport and culture vouchers must meet the following conditions in order not to be considered as remuneration by the NSSO: 

• The voucher cannot be granted in lieu of or in conversion of remuneration, bonuses or benefits in kind or any other benefit or supplement subject or not to social security contributions; 
• The granting of the voucher must be provided for in a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) at sector or company level, or in a written individual agreement if the conclusion of such a CBA is not possible, provided that the vouchers are granted to all workers or to a category of workers. All sport and culture vouchers granted in the absence of such a CBA or written individual agreement, or granted under a CBA or written individual agreement that does not comply with those conditions, are considered as remuneration subject to the NSSO; 
• The voucher must be issued in the name of the concerned worker: this condition is deemed to be met if the granting of the voucher and the data related to it (number of sport and culture vouchers, value of the sport and culture voucher) appear in the worker's individual account;
• The voucher must also clearly mention that: 
  • Its period of validity is limited to 15 months as from the date it is made available to the worker. The period of validity of the voucher is therefore no longer from 1st July of said year to 30 September of the following year. The provision of the vouchers is the moment when the worker receives them with a validity of 15 months following the end of the month during which they were issued. If the sport and culture voucher is provided electronically, its 15-month validity period begins when the sport and culture voucher is placed on the electronic sport and culture account (NEW); 
  • It can only be accepted by cultural operators recognized, certified, or subsidized by the competent authority or by sports associations affiliated to a federation recognized or subsidized by the respective communities or belonging to one of the national sports federations; 
• The total value of the granted vouchers may not exceed €100 per year per worker;
• Vouchers cannot be converted, in whole or in part, into cash.

If all those conditions are not met, the total amount granted constitutes remuneration and must therefore be subject to social security contributions.

Additional specific conditions for electronic vouchers

In addition to the conditions mentioned above, electronic sport and culture vouchers must also meet the following conditions in order not to be subject to social security contributions: 

• The sport and culture vouchers are deemed to be granted to the worker at the moment when his/her sport and culture voucher account is credited. This account is a database which allows an approved publisher to register and manage the number of electronic sport and culture vouchers for a worker; 
• The gross amount of electronic sport and culture vouchers is mentioned on the pay slip; 
• Before using the electronic sport and culture vouchers, the worker can check the balance and the validity period of the vouchers that have been granted to him and have not yet been used; 
• The choice for electronic sport and culture vouchers is governed by the Collective Bargaining Agreement or individual agreement referred to hereabove. If the granting of the sport and culture vouchers is referred to in a sectoral CBA which does not opt for electronic vouchers, a CBA concluded at company or sector level can make this choice. If such a CBA cannot be concluded due to the absence of a trade union delegation, or if it relates to a category of personnel which is normally not targeted by such a CBA, the choice for electronical sport and culture vouchers is governed by an individual written agreement;
• The sport and culture vouchers can only be provided for by an approved publisher; 
• The use of electronic sport and culture vouchers may not entail any costs for the worker, except in the event of theft or loss under the conditions to be determined by a CBA concluded at sectoral or company level, or by the work rules when the granting of electronic sport and culture vouchers is governed by an individual written agreement. In any case, the cost of the replacement medium in the event of theft or loss may not exceed the face value of a meal voucher if both electronic meal vouchers and electronic sport and culture vouchers are granted within the company. However, when only electronic sport and culture vouchers are granted within the company, the cost of the replacement medium may not exceed €5.

Reactivation of vouchers

Workers can request to the approved publisher a one-off reactivation of their sport and culture vouchers within 3 months of their expiry date. The first reactivation request is free, regardless of the number of vouchers for which reactivation is requested.

Reactivation provides for a new validity period of 3 months.

The next reactivation requests may be charged to the worker who introduces the request. The maximum cost will be €5, regardless of the number of vouchers for which reactivation is requested (unless the worker can prove a force majeure).

Source: Royal Decree of 2 June 2024 amending the Royal Decree of 28 November 1969 in execution of the Law of 27 June 1969 revising the Decree-Law of 28 December 1944 concerning the social security of workers with regards to sport/culture vouchers, Belgian Official Gazette of 17 June 2024