Meta Ads costs rise in 6 countries, Belgium is preparing its own tax

Since 1 July 2026, Meta has added location fees to Facebook and Instagram ads delivered in six European countries. Belgium isn't on that list, for now. But it's drafting its own digital services tax, at the same 3% rate. If you run Meta campaigns, it's worth getting ahead of this.

1. What changed on 1 July

Meta applies a surcharge based on the country where your ad is seen, not where your company is based. France, Italy, Spain: 3%. Austria, Turkey: 5%. United Kingdom: 2%. The surcharge is added to the usual bill, whether your budget is €500 a month or €10,000: nobody targeting these countries is exempt.

2. A bill that mirrors national digital taxes

For several years, some European countries have taxed the advertising revenue large digital platforms earn on their territory. Meta passes part of that cost on to advertisers rather than absorbing it. Country by country, the surcharge matches the local digital services tax rate. Google and Amazon already run similar mechanisms.

3. Belgium isn't on the list yet, but not for long

Belgium isn't among the six countries Meta has picked so far. It is, however, moving ahead with its own tax: a bill accepted by the Chamber on 17 April 2026 would introduce a 3% tax on targeted online advertising and digital intermediation services from 1 January 2027. It would target large international groups, over €750 million in worldwide revenue and over €3 million in taxable digital revenue in Belgium, not Belgian SMEs themselves. But once the law is in force, nothing stops Meta from adding Belgium to its location-fee list, the way it did for France.

4. What this already means for your campaigns

Many Belgian companies also target France in their Meta campaigns: a nearby French-speaking market, cross-border customers, trade shows, e-commerce. If that's you, the 3% surcharge already applies to the share of your budget delivered in France. A quick look in Meta Ads Manager will show whether a "location fee" line has appeared, and whether your geographic targeting needs adjusting.

The AI lens, people first

AI can track these fees country by country automatically, flag a new line on an invoice, or model the budget impact of a targeting choice before a campaign launches. It runs the monitoring. But the decision, adjusting a budget, changing targeting, strengthening other acquisition channels, stays a human call, grounded in knowledge of the Belgian market. Our stance: people first, AI in support.