Frequently asked questions about supporting UZ Leuven

UZ Leuven is the hospital of KU Leuven. To avoid duplicate staff costs and other overheads, there is one single department for both organisations that handles everything related to donations and gifts. This way, as much as possible of your donation or gift is preserved for the purpose you wish to support.

If you make a donation via KU Leuven that is specifically intended for UZ Leuven or for a fund managed by UZ Leuven physicians, you can be sure that this support will indeed reach its intended destination.

Yes. If you donate at least 40 euros over the course of a year, you benefit from a 45% reduction in income tax on your donation. In the spring of the following year, we’ll send you your tax certificate by post, in time for your tax return for the completed tax year.

Only donations in money, whether made in cash, as a manual gift or by bank transfer, entitle you to a tax certificate. Donations in kind (material items or immovable property) are not eligible. Buying tickets, sponsoring an event, or the proceeds of a collection or sale are not considered donations and therefore do not give entitlement to a tax certificate.

You can find all information on tax relief for donations on the website of the Federal Public Service Finance (in Dutch).

In some cases they are. Read more on the KU Leuven website.

Your donation is tax-deductible if:

• you make a donation in money and donate at least 40 euros in total over a year;
• you transfer the money to a main KU Leuven account, preferably to account number 734-0194177-89 (IBAN BE45 7340 1941 7789, BIC code KREDBEBB);
• your name and address are stated with the transfer;
• your donation is used for KU Leuven’s activities;
• it is a disinterested donation (i.e. with no consideration in return).

Your donation is not tax-deductible if:

• your donation is passed on to KU Leuven via an unrecognised association, even if your donation is partly used by the university;
  • in that case you will not receive a certificate if the organisers transfer all collected donations as one lump sum to a KU Leuven account.
• your donation is forwarded to a natural or legal person other than KU Leuven;
• you receive something in return for your donation (e.g. the provision of a good or a service) or you enjoy an additional benefit (with the exception of small items such as a sticker or an information brochure).
  • The following are therefore excluded: membership fees, payments for journal subscriptions, tuition and school fees, course, examination and similar fees, admission tickets for concerts...
  • This also applies if it concerns only part of the donated amount. For example: a transfer of 50 euros of which 10 euros is used to buy a book does not entitle you to a tax certificate for 40 euros.

You will receive your tax certificate in the spring of the year following the year in which you made your donation. So if you donated in 2023, your certificate will arrive in your letterbox by the end of April 2024 at the latest.

No. We automatically send your tax certificate to the postal address linked to the account number from which you made the transfer.

For transfers from a foreign account, parts of the postal address may be lost during the transaction, which may prevent us from sending your tax certificate. In that case, we ask you to contact us.

For more information about your certificate, please contact KU Leuven’s Fundraising Office. They will be happy to help you.

Our Taxation Service sends the list of certificates and the corresponding donor details to the tax authorities every year. It uses the information that comes with the bank transfer. However, this information may differ from the data held by the tax authorities (for example another or a new address, an abbreviation in the street name, etc.). In such cases, the certificate unfortunately is not always linked to the correct person.

You can manually add the certificate yourself in section 1394 “Gifts”, using the wizard (wand icon). By clicking on “Add a tax certificate”, you can upload an additional document. To do this, you may need the following details:

• Name of the organisation: Katholieke Universiteit te Leuven
• Company number: 0419.052.173
• Certificate number: this is shown on the certificate under “Ons kenmerk” or “Our reference”).

You can search for the organisation by name and easily find it in the list. Select “Add” and a new window will open with the company number already filled in. You then enter the certificate number and the amount. After saving the certificate, click on “Include in the tax return” to actually add it to your return.

As a rule, you do not need to attach a copy of the certificate to your tax return. If you wish, you can do so via the “Attachments” tab in the full return. For questions about your tax return and Tax-on-Web, you can contact your tax office.

No. In return for their financial contribution, sponsors receive visibility. This may take the form of a logo mention, an advertisement or other promotional exposure. A donation is only tax-deductible when there is no consideration in return. For sponsorship, you therefore do not receive a tax certificate. Read more on the KU Leuven website.

No. An invoice is only issued for goods or services provided, in other words when there is something in return. Donations are made “free of charge” and therefore do not give rise to an invoice.

Since 1 July 2021, you no longer pay gift tax in the Flemish Region when KU Leuven is the beneficiary of your donation. You also do not pay inheritance tax if the donor dies within three years after making the donation.

Where gift tax is due, the following rates apply: 6.6% for donors whose tax domicile is in the Brussels-Capital Region and 7% for donors whose tax domicile is in the Walloon Region.

You can find more information in the brochure ‘Schenken en Legateren aan KU Leuven’ (in Dutch).

A small part of your donation is used to cover operating expenses (overheads). Half of this goes to the university and the other half to the Fundraising and Alumni Relations Office. This allows us to guarantee optimal service. With this contribution we support more than 250 funds and chairs, process donations, issue tax certificates and communicate with our donors. So this money is reinvested in fundraising, which also benefits your chosen cause.

In concrete terms, 12% of your donation goes towards operating costs, with a few exceptions. For projects that support the Global South, the overhead is 3%. Donations for scholarships go in full to the fund in question. In all cases, we aim to keep operating costs as low as possible so that your donation is used as effectively as possible.

By donating your body to science, you make a particularly valuable contribution to the progress of medical research and education. But how does it actually work? Are there any costs involved? And what happens to your body?

Read more about donating a body to science (in Dutch).