Selling with VAT

If you want to sell your new home, you can choose to sell it with VAT, unless you are professionally obliged to do so.

  • If your property is new, you can choose to sell the property with VAT (that is to say ‘with application of the VAT regime’) if you are not already professionally obliged to do so.

    The VAT rate for a new house is 21 %.

    If you sell with VAT, you must make this known to the buyer and mention it in the first written agreement (e.g. the “compromis” or provisional sales agreement) and/or the notarial deed. The buyer will not have to pay registration duties.

    After the sale, you must submit a ‘104.5 VAT return’. You no longer need to file a 104.1 declaration. 

    • When is a property ‘new’?

      A property is deemed to be new until 31 December of the second year following the year of first occupation or habitation.

      Example: a home that entered use for the first time in 2025 is new until 31 December 2027.

    • What should I, as the seller, do vis-à-vis the VAT?

      After the sale, you must submit a ‘104.5 VAT return’.

      In the deed of sale, you must specify the tax office to which you will submit a 104.5 VAT return. You must also state the year in which the building was first occupied.

      Even if you have a business registration number for another activity and you sell new properties only occasionally, you still have to submit this 104.5 return. You therefore cannot use your quarterly or monthly VAT return for this purpose.

      Only those who sell houses professionally do not have to submit a special return.

      You no longer need to file a 104.1 declaration if you are selling a new home with VAT.

      If you are the seller, you must now mention in the first written agreement (e.g., the preliminary sales agreement) and/or in the notarial deed that the sale is subject to VAT.

      If both parties agree, you can opt for a transfer with VAT applied at the time of the authentic instrument.

    • How and when should I submit the 104.5 VAT return?

      You must submit the 104.5 return in triplicate to your local tax office. One copy will be returned with acknowledgement of receipt.

      You must submit the 104.5 return within one month of the VAT falling due in full. This will normally be within one month of having received the last payment from the buyer, but at the latest within one month of conveyance.

    • What VAT amounts should I include in the special VAT return 104.5 and when should I pay the VAT due?

      First of all, you must include the VAT amount received from the purchaser.

      In addition, you can deduct the VAT paid when the building is erected on the basis of your invoices.

      When you submit the 104.5 special return, you will receive an account number. You should immediately transfer the VAT due to that account.

See also