Tax certificates for donations: what to sort out before February

Every spring, organisations submit the tax certificates for donations to FPS Finance, in recent years by the end of February at the latest. For donations made in 2026, the way this works is changing. FPS Finance is renewing Belcotax-on-web, the platform you use to submit those certificates.

What this means for you

For the certificates you send to your donors, nothing changes, because those rules stay the same. What changes is how you submit them to FPS Finance. What you need to do depends on who creates the file:

• You create the file yourself , for example with your own export. Start testing in good time. The earlier you use the FPS Finance test phase, the more time you have to fix problems. Questions about that test phase go directly to Belcotax.
• You work with a CRM from an external supplier. The supplier adapts the file. You ask whether the CRM will include the changes, when they will be tested and whether you can join the testing. Without that answer, you will only find out in February whether it works.
• You enter the certificates yourself on screen. Then you do not need to create a file and you will mainly notice the new, clearer screens. Do arrange your access now (see below).

What changes technically

According to FPS Finance, the new version will be available from February 2027 for income year 2026, so for the certificates you send in spring 2027. Details may still change. These are the main changes:

• No more XML. Software will now send a file in a new format (JSON). For donation certificates, an Excel file with a fixed structure can also be loaded directly into Belcotax-on-web.
• No more BowConvert71 for 2026 donations. This FPS Finance tool converted a simple list into XML.
• An API as an extra option. This is a direct connection between your software and FPS Finance. Your software then submits the certificates itself and, according to the technical documentation, it can also request the status and any error messages. It is probably the same file as for a regular upload, so switching can wait. The upload in Belcotax-on-web remains available. If you want to use the API, it is best to start the onboarding that FPS Finance describes now.

Organisations can already test with data from income year 2026. Those who submit certificates through the screens can expect clearer screens, data from last year that you can reuse and a simpler way to send, change and delete forms. FPS Finance explains this on a dedicated page. The technical documentation and the brochure are mainly meant for your supplier (pages in Dutch).

Four things you can do now

Check your data in January. A file is only as good as the list that goes into it. Incomplete addresses, duplicate donors, gifts that have not been received yet and donors who do not want a certificate: that is where it usually goes wrong. According to FPS Finance, a submission can even be rejected entirely if identity details are missing for people without a national number. Once the December gifts are processed, things usually calm down after the busy year-end campaigns, and then you have time to go through your list. Do not leave it to the last week of February.

Ask for the national number and explain why. For gifts made from 1 January 2024, your organisation must ask for the donor's national register number. For gifts in 2026, a tolerance still applies: donors do not lose their tax reduction if the number is missing. That tolerance will disappear in time, and FPS Finance names 1 January 2028 as the final date for all tax forms. Whether that also applies to donation certificates is still unclear. Donors share the number more easily when they know what it is for, so say that it is used only for the certificate and store it securely, for example so that only the person who creates the certificates can see it. A QR code in your mailing leading to a secure link with prefilled details lowers the threshold, but never put the number itself in the link or in an email. For couples making a joint gift, nothing is clear yet, so ask your supplier how your CRM records them.

Check that access is arranged. To send, change or view certificates, someone in your organisation needs official access to Belcotax-on-web, an eGov role. Ask internally who has that access and who can step in during an absence. If you let a supplier submit on your behalf, also check who is allowed to do what: only the person who submitted can still change a submission, but you can view it with the right role. That way you will not be blocked in February.

Test with a small trial file. Put together a file with around ten donors and deliberately include a few difficult cases: someone without a national number, someone with a foreign address and a gift you cancel afterwards. That shows you early whether those exceptions come through correctly. If your CRM creates the file, ask your supplier for a trial file and check it yourself.

A first step

You do not need to become an expert in file formats, a few good questions are enough. Start with one conversation with your supplier and ask whether your CRM is ready for February 2027. If you create the file yourself, plan your first test now. Also name one colleague to follow this up. Anyone who starts early still has time to adjust in February.

About Fundflow: Fundflow is a CRM for nonprofits in Belgium and the Netherlands, built on Salesforce. We help fundraisers with donor data, tax certificates and campaigns. Contact: [email protected] or fundflow.be.