Buying and selling with registration duty

• What if the price stated in the instrument is lower than the estimated sale value?

  If we consider that the mentioned price (or the declared value) is lower than the sale value, we will inform you of our estimate.

  Do you want more explanation or do you disagree with the estimate?

  You can let us know at that stage. If we cannot come to an agreement, we can demand an expert examination within two years from the registration of the instrument. The designation of one or three experts is done by mutual agreement (or by the justice of the peace if we cannot come to an agreement).

  Are you found to be in the wrong by the experts upon the control estimate?

  You will then pay the additional registration duty and a default interest of 7 per cent.

  If the difference between the sale value and the price stated (or the value declared) is equal to or more than 1/8th of the price stated or the value declared, you will have to pay a fine and the costs of the proceedings will be charged to you.

  You can only dispute the sale value determined by the expert by bringing a claim before court.

  What if the price does not correspond to the price actually paid?

  If part of the price was paid ‘under the table’, both the buyer and the seller will incur a fine which, in principle, is equal to the evaded duty. Moreover, criminal sanctions can also be pronounced.

• Who has to submit the instrument of sale for registration and who pays the registration duty?

  A sale contract must be submitted for registration within the prescribed period. We can register the instrument only upon payment of the registration duty.

  Sale contract by civil-law notary

  When the sale contract is drawn up by the civil-law notary, it is the civil-law notary who will submit the instrument for registration and transfer the registration duty.

  The civil-law notary will ask the buyer and/or seller to advance the payable registration duty. In practice, unless otherwise agreed, it is usually the buyer who pays the registration duty.

  Purchase by private instrument

  If the purchase is recorded by private purchase instrument (compromise), the obligation to register and pay duty rests on both the buyer and the seller.

  You have a period of four months to register that private instrument.

  It is important to respect that period. Failure to do so will result in a fine. The fine will be indivisibly payable by the parties. This means we can appeal to both the buyer and the seller for payment of the entire sum.

  If the private instrument is followed by an authentic instrument, you do not need to have the private instrument registered provided the authentic instrument (usually a notarial deed) is drawn up within four months from the date the private instrument was signed. If the authentic instrument is executed before a civil-law notary, the civil-law notary still has fifteen days to register it.

Tax reductions in the Brussels-Capital Region

• Buying a house in the Brussels-Capital Region

  In the Brussels-Capital Region, you are entitled, under certain conditions, to a tax-free allowance for the purchase in full ownership of a house that will serve as your main residence. The tax-free allowance is part of the tax base on which you do not have to pay registration duty.

  The tax-free allowance amounts to 200,000 euros. You will then pay no registration duty on a bracket up to 200,000 euros of your purchase. That is a tax advantage of up to 25,000 euros (200,000 x 12.5 per cent).

  The tax-free allowance applies to houses up to 600,000 euros but is also applicable to purchases of off-plan houses or purchases of houses under construction.

  Conditions for the tax-free allowance

  The tax-free allowance for the purchase of a house has the following conditions:

  • The house must be located in the Brussels-Capital Region.
  • You must be a natural person. This means that companies, associations or other legal entities are not eligible.
  • It must be a pure purchase. Exchange, for example, is excluded.
  • You must purchase the house in its entirety in full ownership (this may be done by several persons together). Therefore, purchases of a part, the usufruct or the bare ownership of the property are excluded.
  • On the date of the acquisition agreement, you may not be the full owner, in its entirety, of another immovable property intended, in whole or in part, for residential use. In case of acquisition by several persons together, this condition applies to each of them separately.
    Exception: If you do not meet this condition at the time of acquisition, you can apply for the tax-free allowance afterwards, through a refund. To this end, you must have disposed of all other immovable property within two years from the date of registration of the deed of acquisition of the second house.
  • You must establish your main residence in that house within three years (i.e. be registered there in the population register or the register of foreign nationals):
  • You must maintain your main residence in that house for a continuous period of at least five years from the time you established your main residence in that house.
  • The amount on which we levy the registration fee may not exceed 600,000 euros.

• Buying a building lot in the Brussels-Capital Region

  In the Brussels-Capital Region, you are entitled under certain conditions, to a tax-free allowance for the purchase of a building lot. The tax-free allowance is part of the tax base on which you do not have to pay registration duty.

  The tax-free allowance amounts to 100,000 euros. You will then pay no registration duty on a bracket up to 100,000 euros of your purchase. That is a tax advantage of up to 12,500 euros (100,000 x 12.5 per cent).

  The tax-free allowance applies to building lots up to 300,000 euros.

  Conditions for the tax-free allowance

  You must establish your main residence at the building lot address within three years.

  The tax-free allowance for the purchase of a building lot has the same conditions as the tax-free allowance for a house, with one difference: the amount on which you pay registration duty cannot exceed 300,000 euros.

• Energy-efficient refurbishment in the Brussels-Capital Region

  In the Brussels-Capital Region, under certain conditions, you are entitled to an additional tax-free allowance for energy-efficient refurbishment. The tax-free allowance is only possible if the main tax-free allowance for the purchase of a house is applied. The additional tax-free allowance is an extra tax incentive to improve the energy performance of your house.

  The tax-free allowance amounts to 25,000 euros per energy class improvement (EPIC (energy performance and indoor climate) or EPB), provided you improve the energy class of the house by at least two classes within a period of five years from the registration date of the sale contract or from the latest date of submission for registration. That is a tax advantage of 6,250 euros for a two-class improvement and 3,125 euros for each additional EPIC energy class improvement.

  If, at the end of the five-year period, the EPIC class improvement is less than your commitment, the difference will be recovered between:

  • the amount of the tax-free allowance granted at the time of registration of the instrument, and
  • the amount that should have been granted according to the actual EPIC class improvement

  That amount is no more than 6,250 euros if the two-class increase has not been achieved, and/or no more than 3,125 euros for each additional EPIC class increase included in the commitment and not achieved.

  In addition, except in cases of force majeure, you will have to pay a fine equal to 1/10th of this additional duty (625 euros or 312.5 euros).

  Conditions for the tax-free allowance

  The tax-free allowance for energy-efficient refurbishment is an additional tax-free allowance for the purchase of a house. In other words, it is only possible if the main tax-free allowance for your house is also applied. You must therefore meet the conditions of the main tax-free allowance for this additional tax-free allowance, with one difference and one additional condition:

  • An EPIC class improvement may take time (obtaining an environmental permit, cost estimates, carrying out the works). That is why the period in which you must be settled in the house is five years instead of three years.
  • There is also an additional condition: you must improve the energy class of the house by at least two classes within a period of five years, counting from the date of the registration of the instrument of sale or from the deadline for submitting the instrument for registration.

• Mandatory entries in the instrument

  There are some form requirements in order to qualify for the tax-free allowance in the Brussels-Capital Region. Your adviser can assist you in this regard (e.g. your civil-law notary).

  In the instrument (or in a signed document attached to the instrument), you must state that:

  • you are not already the owner of a house which results in the exclusion of the tax-free allowance;
  • you undertake to establish your main residence in the property purchased:
    • within three years if it is an existing house, a building lot, an off-plan house or flat, or a house or flat under construction;
    • within five years if it is also the additional tax-free allowance for energy-efficient refurbishment;
    • you undertake to maintain your main residence in the purchased immovable property for a continuous period of five years calculated as from the date of establishment of the main residence in the purchased immovable property.

  The following also applies to the additional tax-free allowance in case of an energy-efficient refurbishment:

  • You must provide details of the energy performance of the purchased property according to the most recent, valid EPIC certificate on the date of the acquisition agreement (the number of the EPIC certificate, the issue date and the energy class mentioned in the certificate). You must also attach the EPIC certificate to the instrument.
  • You must undertake to carry out the energy class improvement, specifying the intended improvement (minimum two classes).

Tax reductions in the Walloon Region

• Purchase single owner-occupied property in the Walloon Region (from 1 January 2025)

  When you purchase a property in the Walloon Region intended as your main residence, you will have to pay a reduced registration duty of 3 per cent instead of 12.5 per cent under certain conditions.

  The reduced rate also applies to the purchase of a building lot, an off-plan house or a house under construction.

  Conditions

  You must acquire the entire new home and, together with all the other buyers, have full ownership (no usufruct, for example).

  You must not own the entire full ownership of another property in Belgium or abroad, intended in whole or in part for residential use. If you do have such a property, you must sell it within three years in order to benefit from the reduced rate.

  You must establish your main residence in that property:

  • within three years when buying an existing property
  • within five years when buying a building lot, an off-plan house or a house under construction

  You must maintain your main residence in the property for at least three years from the time of establishment of your main residence in that property.

  Procedure

  As a rule, it is the civil-law notary who ensures that the correct rate and any reductions are applied in the authentic deed. To that end, a number of stipulations must be included in the deed. Your notary can provide you with the necessary assistance in this regard.

• Buying social housing in the Walloon Region

  If you buy social housing (house or flat) in the Walloon Region from a legal entity governed by public law, the registration duty is reduced to 0 per cent. In practice, this means that you pay the general fixed duty of 50 euros.

  Conditions

  • You must be a natural person eligible for the purchase premium as referred to in the Walloon Housing Code.
    Please note, in case of any withdrawal of the premium, you will be obliged to pay the difference between the fixed general duty levied and the standard registration duty of 12.5 per cent.
  • It must involve the purchase of a social housing property (house or flat) from a body governed by public law (social housing company, intermunicipal cooperative society, municipality, public centre for social welfare ...).