Launching your online store as a side hustle

Are you employed full-time or part-time, but you’re itching to start a business? Are you thinking about taking the plunge and launching your online store as a side hustle? In this article, we’ll explain in detail how to make your dream come true. Registering as self-employed in a secondary occupation, managing your webshop’s accounting, navigating the sometimes confusing VAT regulations… We’ll explain it all!

1. Launch your online store as a secondary self-employed activity
2. Create your online store
3. Register as self-employed in a secondary occupation
4. Taxes 
5. VAT
6. Accounting for your online store

Starting as self-employed in a secondary occupation: what are the conditions?

To create your online store, you’ll need a VAT number. The first step is therefore to register as self-employed, whether in a main or secondary occupation.

Do you imagine your online store being a secondary self-employed activity? If so, you need to meet certain criteria:

• Your main activity as an employee must take up at least half of your working time;
• Or you must be registered as a job seeker with the National Employment Office (ONEM/RVA) and be authorised to carry out a secondary activity;
• Or you receive benefits from your health insurance fund (related to work as an employee prior to your incapacity for work) and have been authorised by your doctor to carry out a secondary self-employed activity.

💡 Want to learn more about the conditions for starting out as self-employed in a secondary occupation?

Launching your online store as a secondary self-employed activity

Building an online store doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a lot of work, from meeting with suppliers and selecting products to developing your online store and setting up an efficient shipping and return policy.

But in the first few months, will you sell enough to earn a living? If you’re not sure, it’s better to start out being self-employed in a secondary occupation. This way, you maintain the financial security of your salaried job while taking your first steps into entrepreneurship.

Do you already know what products you’re going to sell? The next step is then to determine where to sell them. There are several e-commerce platforms that let you easily create an online store, for example:

• Etsy and its community overflowing with creativity;
• Bol.com, where you can offer your products to a wide audience;
• and, of course, the e-commerce giant Amazon.

The advantage of these platforms is that your products are visible to a large customer base. The disadvantages are that you have less freedom to showcase your own brand, you often pay a small commission for each sale, and international VAT rules can be tricky.

Of course, you can also create your own website or have one built for you, using, for example, a Shopify template. Shopify lets you design and launch your online store, offer a secure payment method, optimise your SEO, partially automate your marketing, and develop a user-friendly website.

The possibilities are endless!

Registering as self-employed in a secondary occupation

Before you can open the virtual doors of your new online store, you need to officially register with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (CBE). This costs €105.50 in 2024. Shortly after your registration, you’ll receive your unique company number. This number will then be used to activate your VAT number, which costs around €70. 

You can register as self-employed yourself, through a business counter, or via an accountant.

These registration fees, as well as other start-up expenses you incur for your business (such as the purchase of a computer, your inventory, or your Shopify subscription), are deductible business expenses. So keep your invoices and proofs of purchase carefully (including for purchases made up to 3 months before activating your VAT number).

Taxes when you’re self-employed in a secondary occupation

Like any self-employed person, when you’re self-employed in a secondary occupation, you have to register with a social insurance fund. Every quarter, you pay social security contributions to your social secretariat. These contributions correspond to approximately 20.5% of your taxable income.

When you’re self-employed in a secondary occupation, you also pay taxes on the entirety of your income. The income from your main profession is therefore added to that of your secondary activity. As a result, you may find yourself in a higher tax bracket fairly quickly. But don’t let that hold you back: deducting professional expenses can help you reduce your tax burden.

Example:

• Let’s say your annual income from your salaried job is €35,000.
• In addition, you sell €8,000 (excluding VAT) worth of products in your online shop. In the first year, you had €5,000 in costs (start-up costs, stock, equipment, etc.). You deduct these costs from your income. Your net taxable income from your side business therefore amounts to €3,000.
• Your taxes will be calculated on an annual income of €38,000.

💡 Learn more about taxes when you’re self-employed in a secondary occupation

VAT rules when you’re self-employed in a secondary occupation

In principle, all self-employed people in Belgium are subject to VAT, with the exception of certain liberal professions such as doctors and dentists. If your turnover is less than €25,000 per year, you can apply for the VAT exemption scheme for small businesses. Under this scheme, you don’t have to charge VAT to your customers. However, it also means that you can’t recover VAT on your professional purchases.

Most self-employed people who start a secondary activity opt for this VAT exemption scheme, but you don’t have to. If you’re setting up an online store, you’ll probably buy a lot of materials and products to build up your stock. If you don’t opt for VAT exemption, you’ll be able to reclaim the VAT on those purchases.

E-commerce & VAT

If you don’t opt for the VAT exemption scheme for small businesses, you’ll have to charge 21% VAT on your products – unless you sell specific products like food or books, which are subject to a rate of 6% VAT. Check this page to find out what VAT rate applies (page in French, Dutch version available here) to your products.

• If you only sell to Belgian individuals, it’s simple: you always charge 21% (or 6%).
• If you sell your products to individuals within the EU, you normally need to apply the VAT rate of your customer’s country – unless your turnover is less than €10,000 per year, in which case, you can continue to apply Belgian VAT.

If you sell on international platforms like Etsy or Amazon, your customers will typically not only be Belgian. We strongly advise you to seek advice from an accountant specialising in e-commerce for these cases.

💡  Learn more about VAT rules for e-commerce

One Stop Shop (OSS) System

Do you sell to individuals in the EU and your annual turnover from those online sales is over €10,000? In this case, you have to apply the VAT rate in force in your customer’s country and make the VAT declaration and payment in that country.

Since 2021, declaring and paying foreign VAT has become easier thanks to the introduction of the One Stop Shop (OSS). The OSS allows you to choose a simplified scheme whereby VAT due in other Member States is declared and paid in Belgium. This declaration is made quarterly.

Once you have submitted your OSS declaration via Intervat, the system transmits your declaration and payment to the tax authorities of the EU countries where you made sales. This means you no longer need to fill out a local VAT declaration for each EU country.

💡 Accountable tip: Do you want to sell to individuals in the EU and your annual turnover is more than €10,000? Having an accountant is a worthwhile investment!

Accounting for your online store

Let’s move on to your accounting. Like all freelancers, you need to manage your income and expenses. You can take care of your accounting and taxes yourself with Accountable or get help from an accountant.

Income

As a webshop owner, you sell to private individuals. This means that you don’t issue an invoice for each sale (although this is recommended for amounts of €250 and above).

If you only sell to Belgian individuals, you can take care of your accounting yourself with Accountable. Here’s how to enter your income in Accountable:

• Create a private client called ‘Belgian individuals’. This ‘client’ will be used for all sales to Belgian individuals.
• Create an invoice in Accountable for this customer.
• In the total amount (VAT included), indicate the amount of your sales to Belgian customers via your online store.
• The following quarter, you will have to file a Belgian VAT declaration for this amount.

Expenses

In addition to your income, it’s important to carefully keep track of all your expenses. Save the invoices and receipts for all your business purchases, as you can deduct them from your income. This will help you reduce your taxable income, meaning you’ll pay less tax.

💡  Find out here which expenses are deductible and to what extent

Want to launch your web shop as a secondary self-employed activity? Follow the guide!

Do you want to become self-employed in a secondary occupation and open your online store? Register as self-employed today with Accountable.Keep things simple.✨