Recently, the far-reaching capital gains tax on financial assets was adopted by parliament. The new tax marks a significant shift in Belgium’s fiscal landscape as it deviates from the well-established tax treatment that was applied for capital gains in the past. This has major implications for private investors, individuals receiving share-based compensation, entrepreneurs and owners of family businesses. The new tax applies retroactively to all capital gains realized as from 1 January 2026 onwards.
The newly voted legislation introduces a tax on capital gains arising from the sale or transfer (against payment) of financial assets, including shares, bonds, investment funds, ETFs, all kinds of derivatives (options, futures, swaps, …), insurance contracts, as well as cryptocurrencies and valuta (including investment gold). This effectively closes the long-standing gap in Belgian tax law under which such private capital gains typically remained untaxed when they were realised within the normal management of an individual’s private estate.
The legislation provides three distinct categories of capital gains:
Category A – internal capital gains
This category covers the sale or transfer of shares to a company controlled by the seller, including cases where control is exercised jointly with family members. These transactions are taxed at a flat rate of 33%.
Category B – substantial interest
This category applies when an individual holds at least 20% of a company’s shares (no aggregation applies between spouses or family members).
When there is a substantial interest, capital gains will be taxed progressively:
For transfers to non-EEA countries, a separate tax rate of 16.5% may apply.
Category C – all other financial assets
This is the general regime that is applicable to most private investors for the capital gains realized on all remaining financial assets not covered by Categories A or B. Under this general regime, capital gains realized from 1 January 2026 onwards are taxed at a flat rate of 10%.
For capital gains realized under this general regime, taxpayers can benefit from the following relief mechanisms:
The existing Reynders tax (i.e. 30% tax on the bond component of certain investment funds) remains in place, while the new 10% capital gains tax will apply to the share component of the same funds.
Valuation of assets
The taxable gain is determined by deducting the acquisition value from the sale price, which may consist of cash, securities, or another form of consideration.
For financial assets acquired before 1 January 2026, the general rule is that their value as on 31 December 2025 (the so-called “snapshot moment”) will be treated as the acquisition value. Consequently, any capital gains realized before that date (historical capital gains) fall outside of the scope of the new capital gains tax.
However, the legislator allows a period of temporary flexibility in this respect. Until 31 December 2030, taxpayers may choose to use either the value on 31 December 2025 (general rule) as acquisition value or the original acquisition value of the assets, if the latter amount is higher. Costs related to the transaction, such as fees or valuation expenses, are not deductible.
Emigration and exit tax
To prevent taxpayers from avoiding taxation by breaking Belgian tax residency and relocating abroad, a specific exit tax has been introduced. When an individual emigrates, they are deemed to realise all latent capital gains in Belgium (even though no actual transaction took place). Payment of the resulting tax can, however, be deferred under certain conditions.
If the payment of the exit tax is deferred for a period of 2 years, either automatically or upon lodging a request (i.e. this will depend on the country of relocation) and the assets are not sold within two years after the move, the deemed realised capital gains can ultimately remain untaxed in Belgium.
Opt-out
In principle, Belgian financial institutions will be required by default to withhold the capital gains tax immediately at source when a taxable transaction takes place. However, a formal opt-out mechanism has been introduced for taxpayers who prefer to handle their own tax reporting or do not expect to surpass the exemption of EUR 10,000.
Under this option, the taxpayer can notify the financial institution that no withholding should be applied. If the opt-out is chosen, the financial institution becomes exempt from its withholding obligation but will have to send detailed information on behalf of the individual taxpayer towards the Belgian tax authorities, and the taxpayer must then declare and pay the tax through their personal income tax return.
Settlement
The capital gains tax will ultimately be settled through the Belgian resident income tax return. At this point in time, the Belgian tax authorities have not yet communicated the exact filing and reporting procedures.
For a deeper discussion on the above, please reach out to your Vialto Partners point of contact, or alternatively:
Philip Maertens
Partner
Nic Boydens
Partner
Bart Elias
Partner
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