File EWR to get your tax refund from Belgium and Luxembourg

Under certain conditions non-residents can be treated as subject to unlimited income tax in foreign countries.

The advantage of unlimited tax liability on the application is that - unlike limited tax liability - you can take advantage of all personal tax benefits as well as a whole range of family-related benefits. These include the tax deduction of special expenses (like charitable contributions, education expenses, medical and disability expenses, life insurance premiums, mortgage interest expenses).

NOTE: EU citizens are entitled to both federal and regional deductions in Belgium while non-EU citizens are only entitled to federal deductions.

EWR

There is a special advantage if you are a citizen of an EU/EEA member state and your spouse or child resides in an EU/EEA member state. In such cases, you can also benefit from family-related tax benefits. All you need is to have an EWR.

EWR is a form that is filled out and validated by your local tax office (based on your permanent residence) which confirms the amount of income from your home country. The EWR Bescheinigung is accepted by the Luxembourg and Belgian tax authorities in the German language as well.

The forms, including the one for Non-EU citizens, can be downloaded see the list of different EWR forms we compiled.