Registering a gift

A gift is an agreement by which a donor, irrevocably and without consideration, transfers a movable or immovable property in favour of a beneficiary, and by which the beneficiary accepts that property.
Registering a gift of movable property

  • Registration of a gift is a federal competence and shall always take place with the FPS Finance.

    Gift tax is a regional tax. This means the regions determine the tax base, rate and reductions. As far as the Brussels-Capital Region and the Walloon Region are concerned, the FPS Finance is still responsible for levying the gift tax, while the Flemish Region levies it itself (in Dutch).

    Compulsory or optional registration

    Gifts of movable property (such as money or jewellery) do not always require registration. However, for a gift of immovable property (such as a house or land), registration is always compulsory. When registering a gift, you will have to pay gift tax.

    Movable property

    You can donate a movable property in several ways:

    • Through the civil-law notary. This is called a notarial gift. In this case, registration is compulsory and is carried out through your civil-law notary.
    • Via a manual gift (for example, the handing over of a sum of money or jewellery) or via a gift by bank transfer (of a sum of money). This is called an indirect gift. In that case, you have the option whether or not to have the gift registered.

    If you do not have a manual gift or gift by bank transfer registered, no gift tax will be levied. However, if the donor dies within three years of the gift (five years in the Walloon Region), the gift must be included in the declaration of estate. In that case, inheritance tax will be due on the amount of the gift. Inheritance tax rates are higher than gift tax rates.

    If you choose to have the gift registered, this will also ensure legal certainty, as you will be given a proof of registration of the donation. This allows you to prove that the donated property belongs to you, preventing family members or others from contesting your ownership.

    Immovable property

    When you want to donate immovable property, such as a house or building lot, you should always call upon a civil-law notary. Registration is then compulsory and is carried out through your civil-law notary.

    Registration application for a gift of movable property

    You can easily submit your manual gift or gift by bank transfer online for registration via MyMinfin.be. This is the fastest way.

    1. Draw up the document.

      You should draw up a document with a number of details. That document is the private instrument on the manual gift or gift by bank transfer. With that information, we determine which region should receive the gift tax and therefore which rates are applicable.

      Please note that if certain information is missing, we shall refuse the document. We will then ask you to complete those details. We will not be able to register the manual gift or gift by bank transfer until the date you re-submit that additional information along with the private instrument.

      Information of the donor

      • names and surname
      • place and date of birth
      • address (the legal place of residence according to the population register)
      • all tax residences the donor has had during the five-year period before the date on which you apply for registration of the gift of movable property (the tax residence is the actual, effective, continuous place of residence of the donor, where the donor's family and centre of business are located)

      Information of the beneficiary

      • names and surname
      • place and date of birth
      • address (the legal place of residence according to the population register)
      • only for a gift from a non-resident to a resident: all the tax residences the beneficiary has had during the five-year period before the date on which you apply for registration of the gift of movable property

      The beneficiary must also accept the gift in express terms.

      Information of the gift of movable property

      • the goods or sums donated and their value
      • the date of the gift (this date must be in the past as the gift must in principle have already been made)

      Kinship

      • the kinship between donor and beneficiary, e.g. no kinship or child, partner, brother/sister, aunt/cousin …
      • the lasting power of attorney (if applicable)

      Signature

      • the signature of the donor
      • the signature of the beneficiary

    2. Create one single pdf document with the signatures of all parties.

      You are allowed to upload one document in pdf format (instrument with attachments merged into one pdf). This may be a copy of the instrument with the manual signatures of the donor and the beneficiary, or an original copy with the electronic signatures (eID certificate) of the donor and the beneficiary.

    3. Send the document via MyMinfin.

      1. Log in to MyMinfin.
      2. Still on the welcome page, click on the tab ‘Mijn interacties’ (‘My interactions’) and open the section ‘Een document indienen of antwoorden op een brief’ (‘Submit a document or reply to a letter’).
      3. Select ‘Ik wil een document indienen’ (‘I want to submit a document’) and choose ‘Onderhandse akte roerende schenking’ (‘Private instrument of a gift of movable property’) from the drop-down menu.
      4. Indicate whether you are applying for registration of the document:
        • in your own name (you are the donor or the beneficiary)
        • on behalf of someone else (you are not the donor or the beneficiary)
      5. Add the document in the second screen.

        You can add an additional comment in the box ‘Bijkomende informatie’ (‘Additional information’).

        Preferably mention your e-mail address in this box. This allows us to send you an e-mail as soon as a document is available in the MyMinfin portal.

        If both the donor and the beneficiary do not have their tax residence in Belgium, you should indicate in this box which region you want the rates to be applied from (Flemish Region, Brussels-Capital Region or Walloon Region).

      6. Click the button ‘Indienen’ (‘Submit’) to submit the document.

        You will be notified that your application has been well received.

      We will check whether we can register the document:

      • If the application meets the legal conditions, you will receive the payment notice, if any, and the proof of registration.
      • If the application does not meet the legal conditions, you will receive a refusal notice stating the grounds for refusal.

      Once those notices have been drawn up, you can view them via under ‘Mijn documenten’ (‘My documents’). Is your eBox (in Dutch/French/German) activated? You will then receive a notification when the notices are available.

  • Are you unable to send the document online via MyMinfin? You can also send the document by post or have it physically registered at one of our offices by appointment.

    • Where can I find the document I sent via MyMinfin?

      Under the tab ‘Mijn documenten’ (‘My documents’) you will find the document and the date of the registration application.

      You can also download the document there.

    • When will my gift of movable property be registered?

      We will register the gift of movable property if it meets the legal conditions for registration.

      Brussels-Capital Region and Walloon Region

      We will register the gift of movable property as soon as we have received the gift tax in our account.

      Flemish Region

      We will register the gift:

      • If we receive the document before 12 noon, on the date of receipt of the document.
      • If we receive the document after 12 noon (or during (long) weekends or public holidays), on the next working day (in Dutch/French), both for documents submitted via MyMinfin and by post.

      We will then forward the registered document to the Flemish Tax Administration, which will in turn claim the tax due and send the payment request.

      When your gift is registered, you will receive a proof of registration:

      • If you send the application via MyMinfin, you will receive the proof of registration via MyMinfin. If you have activated the eBox, you will be notified accordingly. If your eBox is not activated, you need to check whether the document is available yourself.
      • If you send the application by post or hand it over at the office, you will receive the proof of registration by post. You can also find the document in MyMinfin.

    • How can I register a foreign notarial deed for a gift of movable property?

      If you have a gift of a movable property dealt with through your civil-law notary, the civil-law notary will in principle take care of the registration, except in the case of notarial deeds for gifts of movable property executed abroad.

      Those foreign notarial deeds must be delivered to us by post or after appointment at the office before registration. Applying for registration via MyMinfin is not possible.

      If you want the foreign notarial deed registered by post, you can look up the address in our office directory:

      1. Select the option ‘Registratie van akten’ (‘Registration of instruments’) in the section ‘Registratie’ (‘Registration’).
      2. Under ‘Bevoegdheid’ (‘Competences’), select ‘Registreren van notariële akten’ (‘Registration of notarial deeds’) and click ‘ZOEKEN’ (‘SEARCH’).
      3. Under ‘Gemeente’ (‘Municipality’), enter the first letters of the municipality, choose the municipality from the suggestion list and click ‘ZOEKEN’ (‘SEARCH’) again.

      You will then get the address details.

      Original copy

      To register a notarial deed executed abroad, you must submit it on issue, transcript or extract on paper according to the legal provisions (in Dutch/French).

      In other words, you can only submit the original copy of the issue, transcript or extract for those foreign deeds. A copy of the issue, transcript or extract is not allowed.

      In case this condition has not been fulfilled, we will have to refuse registration. The document submitted will then be returned to you, stating the grounds for refusal in writing and requesting you to resubmit it.

  • Rates

    We calculate the gift tax on the gross value of the donated property.

    The rates are those of the region in which the donor is tax resident at the time of the gift. If the donor had different tax residences in Belgium during the five-year period prior to the gift, the rate of the region in which the donor was tax resident for the longest time during that period will apply.

    Brussels-Capital Region

    • Movable property

      Kinship Rate
      Gifts in the direct line, between spouses, between legal cohabitants and between de facto cohabitants (who have been living together for at least 1 year) in the Brussels-Capital Region 3 %
      Gifts between all other persons in the Brussels-Capital Region 7 %

    • Immovable property

      Rate in the direct line, between spouses, between legal cohabitants and between de facto cohabitants (who have been living together for at least 1 year) in the Brussels-Capital Region

      Portion of the gift

      Rate

      Tax on previous portions

      From 0.01 up to 150,000 euros

      3 %

      		  

      From 150,000.01 up to 250,000 euros

      9 %

      4,500 euros

      From 250,000.01 up to 450,000 euros

      18 %

      13,500 euros

      Above 450,000 euros

      27 %

      49,500 euros
      Reductions

      You can obtain a reduction in gift tax if you have at least three children under 21 who are alive. The reduction is:

      • as a beneficiary spouse/legal cohabitant, 4 per cent per child younger than 21, with a maximum of 124 euros per child
      • as other beneficiary, 2 per cent per child younger than 21, with a maximum of 62 euros per child

      Rate between all other persons in the Brussels-Capital Region

      Portion of the gift

      Rate

      Tax on previous portions

      From 0.01 up to 150,000 euros

      10 %

      		  

      From 150,000.01 up to 250,000 euros

      20 %

      15,000 euros

      From 250,000.01 up to 450,000 euros

      30 %

      35,000 euros

      Above 450,000 euros

      40 %

      95,000 euros
      Reductions

      As a beneficiary, you can obtain a reduction in gift tax if you have at least three children under 21 who are alive.

      The reduction is 2 per cent per child younger than 21, with a maximum of 62 euros per child.

  • Walloon Region

    • Movable property

      Kinship

      Rate

      Gifts in the direct line between spouses and between legal cohabitants in the Walloon Region

      3.3 %

      Gifts between all other persons in the Walloon Region

      5.5 %

      Please note, if the gift of movable property depends on a condition that is fulfilled by the death of the donor, the gift tax for a gift of immovable property is levied.

    • Immovable property

      Rate in the direct line between spouses and between legal cohabitants in the Walloon Region

      Portion of the gift

      Rate

      Tax on previous portions

      From 0.01 up to 150,000 euros

      3 %

      		  

      From 150,000.01 up to 250,000 euros

      9 %

      4,500 euros

      From 250,000.01 up to 450,000 euros

      18 %

      13,500 euros

      Above 450,000 euros

      27 %

      49,500 euros
      Reductions

      You can obtain a reduction in gift tax if you have at least three children under 21 who are alive. The reduction is:

      • as a beneficiary spouse/legal cohabitant, 4 per cent per child younger than 21, with a maximum of 124 euros per child
      • as other beneficiary, 2 per cent per child younger than 21, with a maximum of 62 euros per child

      Rate between all other persons in the Walloon Region

      Portion of the gift

      Rate

      Tax on previous portions

      From 0.01 up to 150,000 euros

      10 %

      		  

      From 150,000.01 up to 250,000 euros

      20 %

      15,000 euros

      From 250,000.01 up to 450,000 euros

      30 %

      35,000 euros

      Above 450,000 euros

      40 %

      95,000 euros
      Reductions

      As a beneficiary, you can obtain a reduction in gift tax if you have at least three children under 21 who are alive.

      The reduction is 2 per cent per child younger than 21, with a maximum of 62 euros per child.

  • Flemish Region

    More information on Flemish gift tax rates can be found on the website of the Flemish Tax Administration (in Dutch).

See also

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