Set Up a Belgian Company as a Luxembourg Entrepreneur
Between two neighbouring and complementary business hubs
Set Up a Belgian Company as a Luxembourg Entrepreneur
We are J. Jordens, and Luxembourg entrepreneurs who contact us often have one question in mind: why choose Belgium rather than centralizing everything in the Grand Duchy? Here are the answers we usually give, along with the concrete steps to set up your Belgian company.
Freedom of establishment between two European countries
As a Luxembourg citizen, you benefit, like any EU national, from freedom of establishment. You can therefore set up and manage a Belgian company without a professional card or special authorization, under the same conditions as a Belgian entrepreneur.
Why some Luxembourg entrepreneurs choose Belgium
- Access to a larger market: Belgium offers a broader client and talent pool than Luxembourg, particularly relevant for certain commercial activities.
- Complementarity rather than substitution: many entrepreneurs keep a Luxembourg structure while developing a distinct Belgian operational activity.
- Structural costs sometimes more favourable in Belgium depending on the exact nature of the planned activity.
- Geographic proximity to the Belgian province of Luxembourg and the Arlon region, making regular back-and-forth trips easier.
Belgian SRL/BV and Luxembourg company: different logics
The Belgian SRL/BV, with no minimum legal capital since the CSA/WVV, follows a different logic from Luxembourg structures, which are more geared toward wealth engineering and international holdings. For an operational and commercial activity aimed at the Belgian market, the SRL/BV generally remains the simplest and fastest structure to set up, without unnecessary complexity.
The formation steps
As with any Belgian company, the procedure includes choosing the legal form, drafting the articles of association, obtaining a Belgian registered office via a registered office service if necessary, then mandatory registration, VAT activation and the declaration of beneficial owners (UBO).
The tax question between two financial centres
Your Belgian company will be subject to Belgian corporate tax on its own results, independently of any Luxembourg structure existing elsewhere. If your project involves flows between the two entities, we recommend surrounding yourself with a tax advisor familiar with Belgian-Luxembourg arrangements, to ensure consistent structuring compliant with the rules of both jurisdictions.
Our support for Luxembourg entrepreneurs
Since 1948, our firm in Uccle has supported entrepreneurs from many European countries, including Luxembourg, in establishing themselves in Belgium. We help you determine whether your project would benefit from being structured in Belgium, whether or not alongside your Luxembourg situation, and we then handle all the formation formalities.
Anticipating coordination between your two structures
If your project involves coordination between your Belgian company and an existing Luxembourg entity, we recommend clarifying from the outset the division of activities between the two structures: which entity invoices which clients, where the effective management of each company is located, and how flows between them will be documented.
Clear structuring from the outset avoids complex tax requalification issues later on, a point that the Belgian and Luxembourg administrations examine closely when two related structures operate on either side of the border.
Are you a Luxembourg entrepreneur considering setting up a company in Belgium? Contact us for an initial conversation about the relevance and structuring of your project. This dual dimension — a Belgian operational company on one side and an existing Luxembourg structure on the other — deserves prior thought, which we are happy to work through with you before any procedure. You are not alone facing this question: we address it regularly with entrepreneurs in a similar situation, and we can share concrete examples of structuring adopted by other Luxembourg clients.