Legislation and taxation screen glasses 2024

Below you'll find a simple overview about the legislation and tax issues concerning screen glasses (or computer glasses).

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Are screen glasses mandatory?

Screen work should not endanger anyone's health and safety. Under the  Health and Safety Act, every employer is obliged to ensure that employees can do their work safely. A number of rules have been drawn up to protect employees.

Prior to screen work or when eye complaints arise, employers must offer their employees the opportunity to undergo eye examinations. If it is established that screen glasses can help against the complaints, the employer is obliged to reimburse the costs of the screen glasses. Employees who need reading glasses and do screen work are entitled to screen glasses by default.

Source: Working Conditions Decree Article 5.11. Measures relating to the protection of workers' eyes and eyesight

Are screen glasses a health and safety provision?

Yes, screen glasses are a health and safety provision. A specific exemption applies to occupational health and safety provisions that is not at the expense of your free space under the work-related costs scheme.

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Are screen glasses (computer glasses) tax deductible?

Yes this is possible, but under certain conditions.

This is because a health and safety provision always falls under the work-related expenses scheme. The work-related expenses scheme allows employers to give untaxed allowances to their employees. The health and safety provision must meet the following conditions:

Effective January 1, 2022, the specific exemption for occupational health and safety provisions has been amended, clarifying that only provisions that are directly related to the employer's obligations are exempt.

Health and safety provisions are only specifically exempted if they meet the following conditions:

• The provisions derive directly from the Health and Safety Act. Briefly, these are facilities that ensure the safety and health of the employee.
• The employee uses or consumes the provisions at the (home) workplace (in whole or in part), or at a place where you implement the Working Conditions Act.
• You don't charge any costs to the employee. In other words, the employee may not pay a personal contribution for the provisions. Exchanging a taxed wage component for an untaxed provision is also a personal contribution in this context, for example in cafeteria arrangements.

If your employee wants a more luxurious, equally safe version of the same provision or an upgrade of a health and safety facility (a more expensive frame for screen glasses), this is possible, but the specific exemption does not apply to the additional costs involved. For these extra costs or a non-mandatory occupational health and safety provision, you can ask for a personal contribution from the employee. You deduct this contribution from the net salary. Instead, you can opt to designate the additional costs or non-compulsory health and safety provision as a final taxable benefit and charge it to the tax-free allowance, subject to the customary use criterion. The provision will then remain untaxed for your employee. You can also make use of a cafeteria scheme for the additional costs or the non-compulsory health and safety provision (see section 4.15 of the Payroll Tax Handbook 2021).

Source: Payroll Tax Handbook 2021 edition October 2021 article 22.1.9, Payroll Tax Newsletter 2022

It is always advisable to consult with the tax authorities or contact your tax advisor to find out in your specific situation whether the screen glasses can be compensated untaxed and whether the screen glasses compensation is deductible for your employee.

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