This article is intended for users who invoiced copyright income in Accountable between January 1, 2026 and April 9, 2026, and who do not have an Arts Certificate. In this situation, some invoices that have already been issued may need to be corrected so that the withholding tax is calculated correctly.
Invoicing copyright without an Arts Certificate is not a mistake. The correction only concerns the withholding tax amount, which was wrongly calculated with flat-rate expenses.
Do you invoice your copyright through Creative Shelter? Start here.
This procedure concerns the copyright invoices you created yourself in Accountable. If you go through Creative Shelter, you in principle have no invoice to correct: Creative Shelter already takes into account, at the time of invoicing, whether or not you have an Arts Certificate. If you have any doubt about an invoice, check first with Creative Shelter before changing anything in Accountable.
💡 You only need to indicate in Settings > Taxes whether or not you have an Arts Certificate. The steps are described in the article How do I create my invoice with copyright in Accountable?
Who must pay and declare the withholding tax?
When your client is established in Belgium, it is the client, as the debtor of the income, who has the legal obligation to withhold the withholding tax on your copyright, to declare it (form 273S) and to pay it to the FPS Finance.
In practice, some self-employed people pay and declare the withholding tax themselves, on behalf of their client. This is possible, but it does not transfer the legal obligation: it remains with your client. If you do this, do it with their explicit agreement and in their name, and remember to also file form 281.45 in their name. The steps are described in the article How to declare and pay withholding tax on MyMinfin and Belcotax?
In the rest of this article, "the person who paid and declared the withholding tax" refers to whoever actually carried out these steps: your client, or you on their behalf.
Key points
🚨 Before correcting your invoices, check whether the withholding tax linked to the invoice or invoices concerned has already been paid and declared.
If the withholding tax has already been paid and declared, by your client or by you on their behalf, the person who carried out these steps needs to contact the FPS Finance to find out how to regularize the situation.
If the withholding tax has not yet been paid or declared, there is no need to contact the FPS Finance at this stage.
If your client was supposed to pay and declare the withholding tax, inform them as soon as possible that you will be sending one or more credit notes as well as one or more corrected invoices with the correct withholding tax amount.
⚠️ Correcting an invoice in Accountable does not correct a declaration or payment that has already been made (via form 273S).
ℹ️ If your invoices were created outside Accountable and then imported, the correction must still be made in Accountable. Create the credit note or notes directly in Accountable for the invoices concerned.
Summary of possible scenarios
Situation | Who actually paid and declared the withholding tax? | Does the invoice need to be corrected? | What should be done in Accountable? | Is it necessary to contact the FPS Finance? |
Invoice issued in Accountable | You, on behalf of your client | No | Indicate in Settings > Taxes whether you have an Arts Certificate | Yes, only if you do not have an Arts Certificate |
Invoice issued in Accountable | The client | Yes (see the steps later in this article) | See the steps below in this article | Yes, only if you do not have an Arts Certificate |
Invoice created outside Accountable | The client or you | Depends on the situation | If a correction is needed: see the steps below in this article | Depends on the situation |
Invoicing via Creative Shelter | Creative Shelter | No | Indicate in Settings > Taxes whether you have an Arts Certificate | No action needed |
1. You are under the VAT Franchisee regime
Follow the steps below to correct your invoices in Accountable.
Step 1: check who paid and declared the withholding tax
Start by checking whether the withholding tax was paid and declared:
by your client;
or by you, on their behalf.
The person who carried out these steps needs to contact the FPS Finance to find out how to correct the declaration or payment.
Step 2: temporarily activate the Arts Certificate in the tax settings
Before creating the credit note, go to Settings > Taxes.
Answer Yes to the question: As of 2026, copyright income needs an arts certificate for lump sum deductions. Do you have one?
Then answer the question: What is the validity period of your arts certificate?
⚠️ Make sure to enter a period here.Then click Save.
ℹ️ This temporary setting allows the credit note to use the same calculation as the original invoice and cancel it correctly.
Step 3: create the credit note or notes
To create a credit note from each invoice that needs to be corrected:
Select the invoice
Click the pencil button to edit the invoice > create a credit note:
⚠️ If several invoices need to be corrected, you must create one credit note per invoice.
Step 4: disable the Arts Certificate in the tax settings
Once the credit note or notes have been created, go back to Settings > Taxes.
This time, answer No to the question: As of 2026, copyright income needs an arts certificate for lump sum deductions. Do you have one?
Then click Save.
💡 From that moment on, the system will no longer apply flat-rate deductions.
Step 5: create the corrected invoice or invoices
Create a new invoice for each corrected invoice.
The withholding tax will then be calculated on the gross amount invoiced for copyright income, without flat-rate deductions.
⚠️ If you corrected several invoices and created several credit notes, make sure to create the same number of corrected new invoices.
2. You are subject to VAT and have not yet submitted your VAT return
If you are subject to VAT and have not yet submitted your VAT return for the invoices concerned, you can correct your documents before filing it.
Step 1: check who paid and declared the withholding tax
Start by checking whether the withholding tax was paid and declared:
by your client;
or by you, on their behalf.
The person who carried out these steps needs to contact the FPS Finance to find out how to correct the declaration or payment.
Step 2: temporarily activate the Arts Certificate in the tax settings
Before creating the credit note, go to Settings > Taxes.
Answer Yes to the question: As of 2026, copyright income needs an arts certificate for lump sum deductions. Do you have one?
Then answer the question: What is the validity period of your arts certificate?
⚠️ Make sure to enter a period here.Then click Save.
ℹ️ This temporary setting allows the credit note to use the same calculation as the original invoice and cancel it correctly.
Step 3: create the credit note or notes
To create a credit note from each invoice that needs to be corrected:
Select the invoice
Click the pencil button to edit the invoice > create a credit note:
⚠️ If several invoices need to be corrected, you must create one credit note per invoice.
Step 4: disable the Arts Certificate in the tax settings
Once the credit note or notes have been created, go back to Settings > Taxes.
This time, answer No to the question: As of 2026, copyright income needs an arts certificate for lump sum deductions. Do you have one?
Then click Save.
💡 From that moment on, the system will no longer apply flat-rate deductions.
Step 5: create the corrected invoice or invoices
Create a new invoice for each corrected invoice.
The withholding tax will then be calculated on the gross amount invoiced for copyright income, without flat-rate deductions.
⚠️ If you corrected several invoices and created several credit notes, make sure to create the same number of corrected new invoices.
Step 6: submit your VAT return
💡 Make sure that the documents are linked to the VAT quarter you are about to submit.
3. You are subject to VAT and have already submitted your VAT return
If you have already submitted your VAT return, you still need to correct your invoices in Accountable.
If you are still within the deadline to modify the relevant return, go to Taxes > VAT return for the relevant quarter and mark it as not submitted and not paid.
🚨 If you are no longer within the deadline to correct this VAT return, you must still create the credit notes and the corrected new invoices in Accountable. In that case, these documents must be linked to the current VAT quarter, meaning the quarter following the one in which the original invoices were created.
You will therefore need to file a standard VAT return, rather than an amended VAT return.
Step 1: check who paid and declared the withholding tax
Start by checking whether the withholding tax was paid and declared:
by your client;
or by you, on their behalf.
The person who carried out these steps needs to contact the FPS Finance to find out how to correct the declaration or payment.
Step 2: temporarily activate the Arts Certificate in the tax settings
Before creating the credit note, go to Settings > Taxes.
Answer Yes to the question: As of 2026, copyright income needs an arts certificate for lump sum deductions. Do you have one?
Then answer the question: What is the validity period of your arts certificate?
⚠️ Make sure to enter a period here.Then click Save.
ℹ️ This temporary setting allows the credit note to use the same calculation as the original invoice and cancel it correctly.
Step 3: create the credit note or notes
To create a credit note from each invoice that needs to be corrected:
Select the invoice
Click the pencil button to edit the invoice > create a credit note:
⚠️ If several invoices need to be corrected, you must create one credit note per invoice.
Step 4: disable the Arts Certificate in the tax settings
Once the credit note or notes have been created, go back to Settings > Taxes.
This time, answer No to the question: As of 2026, copyright income needs an arts certificate for lump sum deductions. Do you have one?
Then click Save.
💡 From that moment on, the system will no longer apply flat-rate deductions.
Step 5: create the corrected invoice or invoices
Create a new invoice for each corrected invoice.
The withholding tax will then be calculated on the gross amount invoiced for copyright income, without flat-rate deductions.
⚠️ If you corrected several invoices and created several credit notes, make sure to create the same number of corrected new invoices.
Step 6: submit the appropriate VAT return
🚨 If you are no longer within the deadline to correct the VAT return concerned, do not submit a corrective return. In that case, the credit notes and corrected invoices must be linked to the current VAT quarter, and you will need to submit a standard VAT return.
If this applies to your situation, here are the steps to submit a correction to your VAT return:
🧭 Step | ✅ Via Accountable (without XML) | 📨 Via XML file |
1️⃣ Connection | Log in to Accountable | Log in to Accountable |
2️⃣ Access to Declaration | Go to Taxes | Go to Taxes |
3️⃣ Unlocking | Mark as undone | Mark as undone |
4️⃣ Correction | Modify Revenues/Expenses | Modify Revenues/Expenses |
5️⃣ Download | Not necessary | Receive XML file via email |
6️⃣ Submission | Submit to FPS Finance | Upload XML file to Intervat |
7️⃣ Finalization | Direct submission via Accountable | Reference + signature on Intervat |
Find the full steps in the article on how to submit a corrected VAT return.
💡 Make sure that the documents concerned are linked to the VAT quarter you are about to submit.
Frequently asked questions
Why do I need to temporarily answer "Yes" in the tax settings? Because the credit note must use the same withholding tax calculation as the one applied to the original invoice in order to cancel it correctly.
When do I need to answer "No" in the tax settings? Answer No after creating the credit note or notes, and before creating the corrected new invoice or invoices.
Why do I need to contact the FPS Finance? Because the declaration and payment of the withholding tax are not done through Accountable but through form 273S, any correction made in Accountable does not automatically update them.
The person who paid and declared the withholding tax, your client or you on their behalf, must therefore contact the FPS Finance to find out how to regularize the situation.
In which case is it not necessary to contact the FPS Finance? If the withholding tax linked to the invoice or invoices concerned has not yet been paid or declared, there is no need to contact the FPS Finance at this stage.
What should I do if my client was supposed to pay and declare the withholding tax? Inform your client as soon as possible that you will be sending them one or more credit notes as well as one or more corrected new invoices with the correct withholding tax amount. |
Key points
This article applies to users who invoiced copyright in Accountable between 1 January 2026 and 9 April 2026 without an Arts Certificate.
Before correcting an invoice, always check first whether the withholding tax has already been paid and declared. A correction in Accountable doesn’t automatically change a declaration or payment already made (via form 273S).
Temporarily activate the Arts Certificate in Settings > Taxes to create the credit note correctly, then deactivate it straight away, before creating the new corrected invoice.
If you’re VAT-registered and the deadline to correct the VAT return you already submitted has passed, submit a regular VAT return for the current quarter.
If you use Creative Shelter to invoice your copyright, no invoice correction is needed in principle. If in doubt, check with Creative Shelter first.
Need help? Chat with us or email tax-coach@accountable.eu, we're happy to help.