Student jobs in Belgium 2026: how many of your 650 hours are left?
In short
In Belgium in 2026, you can work 650 hours per calendar year on a student contract and pay only a 2.71% solidarity contribution on your gross pay, all employers combined; the counter goes back to 650 hours on 1 January, and unused hours do not carry over. Your official balance is on Student@work (NSSO): it deducts the hours your employers declare in the Dimona, which are planned hours, sometimes before you have worked them. Beyond 650 hours you stay on a student contract but pay ordinary contributions: 13.07% of gross pay at the full rate, reduced by the work bonus if your pay is low.
The quota is 650 hours per calendar year, with one or several employers: all your hours on a student contract go into the same counter. On 1 January it goes back to 650 hours. Unused hours do not carry over to the next year, and going over one year does not shrink the next. In the end, only the hours you actually worked are counted: public holidays and paid sick days do not come off your 650 hours.
| In 2026 | Within your 650 h | Beyond 650 h |
|---|---|---|
| Your contract | Student employment contract | Still a student contract |
| Your contributions | 2.71% of your gross pay (solidarity contribution) | Ordinary contributions: 13.07% at the full rate, less with the work bonus or until 31 December of the year you turn 18 |
| Withholding tax | None: only the solidarity contribution is deducted | Normal withholding tax may apply |
| Holiday pay | No | Yes, on those hours |
| Your employer pays | 5.42% (solidarity contribution) | Ordinary employer contributions |
How do you read your balance on Student@work?
Student@work is the official counter of the NSSO (ONSS/RSZ): the Student at work app and the My Student at work online service show your remaining hours and let you download a certificate for an employer. That balance does not follow your hours day by day. As soon as you sign a student contract, your employer declares to the NSSO, in the Dimona, the hours they plan to have you work, quarter by quarter. Those hours come off your balance straight away, even if you have not worked yet.
- Reserved hours: an employer can plan a number of hours without fixing the dates, for example 30 hours in July. Those 30 hours are already deducted from your balance.
- You work less than planned: your employer can correct the Dimona until the last day of the month after the quarter. They do not have to; your balance is also adjusted later from their quarterly declaration (DmfA). Example: a contract planned for 120 hours that stops after 80 blocks 40 hours until it is corrected.
- Rounding: every hour started is declared as a full hour, in the Dimona and in the quarterly declaration. The rounding applies to the total each employer declares, not to each day.
- No student Dimona (STU) before you start: those hours cannot get the solidarity contribution.
- On a computer, the detailed view of My Student at work shows, per employer, the planned hours and the hours actually worked: that is where you spot the employer who is blocking hours.
- Wrong balance: ask the employer concerned to correct their Dimona. If nothing happens, write to Student@work through its contact form.
Student@work counts what your employers declare (planned hours, corrected later), not what you did day by day. Keep a note of the hours you actually work, per day and per employer: your own list is what lets you ask for a correction.
What happens beyond 650 hours?
You can keep working, still on a student contract. From the 651st hour, the solidarity contribution stops: you and your employer switch to ordinary contributions, and your share is 13.07% of your gross pay at the full rate (on 108% of gross pay if you are a blue-collar worker). The work bonus lowers your share if your pay is low: it offsets all of your personal contributions up to a reference pay of about €2,300 gross a month for a full-time job, which is about €14 gross an hour. On low pay, your net pay therefore barely changes. Until 31 December of the year you turn 18, you pay lower contributions, but without the work bonus. Those hours also earn you holiday pay. What mainly changes: your employer pays more, and child benefit may be affected depending on your region.
Who can work on a student contract?
- You are mainly a student: you attend secondary school, college or university (or prepare for the central exam board), and your job comes second. Evening classes and reduced-timetable education do not give access to a student contract (except some work-linked training), and if you receive unemployment benefit, you do not have main student status.
- Age: at least 15. At 15, you must have completed the first two years of secondary school; otherwise, only ‘light student jobs’ from an official list (royal decree of 19 April 2026).
- You do not work during your class hours or compulsory school activities.
- No more than 12 months without a real break with the same employer: after that, no more student contract with them, but with another employer, yes.
- Studies finished in June: the NSSO still accepts the solidarity contribution until 30 September, for a genuine student job.
And the other ceilings?
- Child benefit: the hour limits depend on your region, for example 240 hours per quarter, all contracts combined, in Brussels, while in Wallonia and Flanders your student contract hours only count beyond 650 and in the German-speaking Community a student contract has no limit (see the Trakko guide on child benefit).
- Tax: within your 650 hours no withholding tax is deducted, but you still have to file a tax return, and your income counts towards staying your parents’ dependant (see the Trakko guide on tax).
- Health insurance: the conditions are not the same depending on whether you are the dependant of a parent or of a partner (see the Trakko guide on health insurance).
Related questions
Do hours with several employers add up?
Yes. The 650 hours apply to the whole calendar year, all employers combined: each employer declares their hours in the Dimona, and Student@work takes them off the same balance.
Why do hours disappear from Student@work before I work?
Because your employer declares the planned hours in the Dimona as soon as you sign the contract, and they come off your balance at once. If they planned too many, ask them to correct the Dimona: they can do so until the last day of the month after the quarter.
Student@work rounds my hours up: is that normal?
Yes. Every hour started is declared as a full hour, on the total each employer declares. Example: 4.5 hours on each of the 13 Saturdays of a quarter make 58.5 hours, declared as 59.
From what age can you do a student job in Belgium?
From 15, if you have completed the first two years of secondary school. Otherwise, at 15, only ‘light student jobs’ from an official list, never during class hours.
Can I still work as a student after graduating?
Yes, if you finished your studies in June: the NSSO accepts the solidarity contribution until 30 September of that year, for a genuine student job, not for a disguised trial period of a regular job.
Official sources
- Student@work (NSSO): hours package and impact
- Student@work (NSSO): online service and app, remaining and reserved hours
- Student@work (NSSO): your wage and benefits
- NSSO, instructions for employers: students (in French)
- NSSO, instructions for employers: Dimona for students (in French)
- NSSO, instructions for employers: the work bonus (in French)
Trakko is not an official source: this guide sums up the rules as published by the authorities on the date shown. For an answer you can rely on, check Student@work, mycareer.be or the body quoted.
Read next
- Student jobs and child benefit in Belgium (2026): the limits region by region
- Student jobs in Belgium 2026: tax, tax return and staying your parents’ dependant
- Student jobs and health insurance in Belgium 2026: when must you register yourself?
- Tracking your student or flexi-job hours in Belgium in 2026: Student@work, a spreadsheet or an app?