Living in Belgium: tax residency, capital gains, contributions and gifts

Once you've settled in Belgium, four factors will affect your assets: your place of residence, the new Belgian capital gains tax on financial assets, social security contributions, and inheritance and gift taxes, which vary by region. This page is based on official texts and information sheets. It does not provide the Belgian income tax rates or the taxation of dividends and interest; these points should be confirmed with a Belgian financial professional.

Where are you a resident: the Belgian text and the 1964 convention

Belgian law refers to "domicile" and "seat of assets." The law on capital gains from financial transactions equates "the transfer of domicile or seat of assets outside Belgium" with a sale. Belgian intermediaries who withhold tax act on behalf of "residents of the Kingdom." The articles consulted do not define this latter concept, and this page does not define it either.

If both France and Belgium consider you a resident, the convention of March 10, 1964, decides in its article 1, paragraph 2, in this order:

1. the permanent home; ;
2. the center of vital interests, that is to say the closest personal and economic ties; ;
3. the usual stay; ;
4. nationality; ;
5. Failing that, an agreement from the competent authorities.

Article 12 of the convention also stipulates that private pensions are taxable in the country of residence. Article 19 B 2 exempts income attributed exclusively to Belgium from taxation in France. Our page on the France-Belgium convention provides further details on these articles. For information on arrival in a Belgian municipality, see our page on departure from France: the registration certificate must be requested within three months of the arrival of an EU citizen, and a €200 administrative fine is imposed for late submission.

The Belgian tax on capital gains from financial assets

The parliamentary file from the Chamber of Representatives indicates that the bill was tabled on December 17, 2025, voted on in plenary session on April 2, 2026, passed on April 6, 2026, and published in the Belgian Official Gazette (Moniteur belge) No. 089 on April 21, 2026. According to the official document, the text adopted in plenary session is identical to that of the committee. The Belgian Official Gazette could not be consulted: this page does not provide the date on which the tax will come into effect.

What the articles are aimed at. They tax capital gains realized outside of professional activity in three categories:

• transfers of shares, units and profit-sharing units by a transferor who, alone or with his spouse, his descendants, ascendants and collateral relatives up to and including the second degree and those of his spouse, exercises control over the transferee within the meaning of Article 1:14 of the Companies and Associations Code; ;
• the shares for which the transferor owns at least 20 % of the rights in the company; ;
• other financial assets.

Article 92 defines financial assets as: financial instruments; insurance and capitalisation contracts, with the exception of certain assurance-vie contracts of branch 21 without a savings or investment objective, which only provide a benefit in the event of death; crypto-assets; funds (scriptural money or electronic money); investment gold; central bank digital currencies.

The figures read for the second category (at least 20 % of the rights). The first €1,000,000 of capital gains are exempt. The rates are 1.25% up to €2,500,000, 2.5% from €2,500,000 to €5,000,000, and 5% from €5,000,000 to €10,000,000. This page does not provide the rate for gains exceeding €10,000,000, nor does it specify the rate and exemptions for the third category.

Departure and arrival. Relocating your tax residence outside Belgium is treated as a sale. Upon arrival in Belgium, the acquisition value of a transferred financial asset is its value on the first day it became subject to personal income tax. For an insurance policy, this is the inventory reserve at the time of arrival; the capital gain at the time of sale is the value less any premiums paid. For a assurance-vie policy, have these rules validated by a Belgian professional.

Social security contributions: Cleiss rates as of January 1, 2026

Cleiss indicates that the Belgian scheme covers people who reside in Belgium or who work there. As of January 1, 2026, the contributions are as follows.

Gifts and inheritance: a regional issue

Gift of a building in Brussels. The recipient pays the gift tax. The rate depends on the region where the donor is domiciled at the time of the gift. If the donor has had several residences in the previous five years, the applicable region is the one where they were domiciled for the longest period. For a non-resident donor giving away real estate, the applicable region is the property's location. The Brussels Taxation factsheet, updated on September 4, 2025, publishes two rates for real estate. It does not specify who is subject to each rate. Real estate located in Belgium is gifted by notarial deed.

Purchase of a building in Brussels. The registration duty rate is set at 12.5%. Under certain conditions, it is possible to avoid duties on the first €200,000; this page does not detail these conditions.

Succession. Inheritance taxes vary by region. In Wallonia, according to the information sheet, they depend on the region where the deceased resided or the region where the estate is located. In Flanders, the rule applies to a deceased Belgian whose last tax residence was in Flanders, or to a property located in Flanders. In Brussels, for a non-resident, taxes are levied only on properties located in Belgium, at the rates set by the region. This page does not provide an inheritance tax schedule.

Between France and Belgium. The convention of January 20, 1959, on inheritance and registration is listed in the BOFiP (Official Bulletin of Public Finances). Real estate is taxable where it is located, while securities and receivables are taxable at the deceased's domicile. According to the BOFiP, it does not apply to gifts inter vivos. Our list of inheritance and gift conventions places it among the others.

Gift of a €600,000 building in Brussels: a numerical example (fictitious profile)

Situation. A fictitious donor, residing in Brussels for more than five years, wants to donate a Brussels building worth €600,000.

Issue. She wants to measure the difference in taxes payable by the donee between the two rates published in the information sheet. The sheet does not specify who is responsible for each: the example does not designate any beneficiary.

Strategy. Calculation assumption: each rate only applies to the portion of the value within its bracket; the document does not explicitly state this, and the result depends on it. It therefore applies each rate to the corresponding €600,000 bracket, first with the "rate applicable in direct line between legal partners" and then with the "rate applicable between all other persons".

Result. With the first rate: €4,500 on the first €150,000, €9,000 on the next €100,000, €36,000 on the following €200,000, and €40,500 on the remaining €150,000, totaling €90,000 (15 %). With the second rate: €155,000 (25.83 %). The difference is €65,000. The taxes are calculated here solely on the property's value, without any deductions or other factors. The profile and amounts are hypothetical.

What changes depending on your situation

• Your residence situation: home in Belgium or France, nationality, usual residence.
• The nature of your financial assets: share transfers to a transferee you control, shares from 20 % rights, insurance, crypto-assets.
• Your social status: employee, employer or self-employed.
• The location of the property and the donor's region of residence.
• The gift rate that applies to you, which the information sheet does not link to a specific arrangement.

The rule depends on your situation. No results are guaranteed.