Global Mobility Tax

Belgium | Tackling federal tax benefits

Summary

Last week, the law on miscellaneous provisions was voted on; This new legislation brings important changes to the Belgian expat regime, it is a game changer with respect to family taxation, it is freezing certain fiscal amounts, but it also allows for a first increase of the maximum employer contribution in the popular benefit of meal vouchers in Belgium (see our previous posts). Moreover, a series of tax benefits are being abolished or downsized, predominantly in the sphere of individual income tax.

The detail

Abolishment of certain tax benefits

It is clear that the federal government wants to abolish a number of tax advantages, a step that will both generate budgetary savings and contribute to a simplification of the personal income tax system. The adopted measures will generally apply as from assessment year 2026 (income year 2025) unless specified otherwise. Based on the new legislation, the following tax benefits will be abolished:

Federal interest deduction (loans): game over

The long-standing federal interest deduction (for interests of loans incurred for the acquisition or maintenance of immovable property, other than the owner’s own home) was the only remaining tax benefit related to loans for non-primary residences (when a taxable cadastral revenue for the non-own dwelling was included in the tax return). It is important to note that the abolishment of this deduction will also apply to existing loans, without any transitional measures. As from tax year 2026 (income year 2025), it will thus no longer be possible to deduct interest paid during the taxable period from the corresponding immovable income. This will potentially also have an impact in the determination of the tax filing requirement for non-resident taxpayers who only own Belgian real estate.

Other remnants of federal mortgage loan tax benefits abandoned

In line with the abolition of the federal interest deduction, the federal government hereby simplifies and unifies the federal housing taxation (non-primary residences) by retaining only the long-term savings deduction for capital repayments and life insurance premiums. Other existing schemes, such as “‘federale woonbonus” / “bonus logement fédéral” and “federaal bouwsparen” / “réduction majorée fédérale pour l’épargne-logement”, will be abolished as of assessment year 2026, and the rules for long-term savings will apply to capital repayments and premiums.

The Law of 11 December 2025 on Miscellaneous Provisions also provides for the abolition of the following other tax benefits:

• tax reduction for interest of green loans
• tax reduction for low-energy houses, passive houses and zero-energy houses
• tax reduction for domestic servants
• tax reduction for premiums for a legal assistance insurance
• tax reduction for investments in recognized development funds
• tax reduction for adoption procedure expenses
• tax reduction for the installation of charging stations
  (this measure already expired and will now be deleted from the tax code)
• tax reduction for electric motorcycles, tricycles and four-wheelers
• tax exemption for additional personnel with a low wage and for additional personnel for the ‘export’ and ‘integral quality care’ and for ‘internship‘
• increased lump-sum amount for long-distance commuting
• exemption for employer contributions under the private PC-plan for interventions, abolished as of 1 October 2025
• tax reduction for capital losses suffered because of the entire distribution of the assets of a private privak
• exemption of capital gains on company vehicles for goods transports (e.g. trucks and trailers) and vehicles for paid passenger transport (e.g. busses and coaches), abolished as of 1 September 2025
• exemption for social passive (“sociaal passief” / “passif social”) following the unified employment status, exemption abolished as of 1 September 2025
• finally, the well-known tax reduction for gifts will not be be abolished, but it will be reduced from 45% to 30%

These new measures will all come into effect as of assessment year 2026 (income year 2025), although for certain measures a specific entry-into-force date in 2025 applies, as indicated above.

Contact us

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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