Political agreement reached on introduction of capital gains tax

The federal government has reached a political agreement on the capital gains tax on 30 June 2025. This agreement is being translated in a draft legal text, which the government plans to approve on 4 July 2025. The approved draft will then be sent to the Council of State for legal vetting.

Below is a summary based on an explanation by the Minister of Finance during the session of the House Finance Committee of 1 July 2025 and other publicly available information.

A new capital gains on financial assets will be introduced in the personal income tax and in the income tax on legal entities as from 1 January 2026. In the personal income tax capital gains on financial assets will be taxable as miscellaneous income. Capital losses on such assets can be deducted within the same year and within the same category of capital gains. The FIFO (First In First Out) method is to be used for determining the capital gain or loss.

Contrary to the initial proposal of the Minister of Finance, the taxation of capital gains at 33% in case of abnormal management of private property (e.g. in case of speculation) will remain possible. Apart from the case of abnormal management, the following categories of capital gains tax will be introduced:

Financial assets are broadly defined and also include crypto assets. An exemption applies for the first 10.000 EUR (amount subject to annual indexation). If the exemption is not used, an additional exemption of maximum 1.000 EUR can be claimed in the next year for 5 years in a row, resulting in a possible maximum exemption of 15.000 EUR after 5 years.

Contrary to the proposal of the Minister of Finance, no exemption will apply if the assets are held for at least 10 years. On the other hand, capital gains on group insurances, pension funds and pension savings funds will remain exempt.

The Reynders tax (i.e. the existing capital gains tax on certain investment funds) will  not be abolished but will remain applicable on the bond component of the capital gain. In addition, the new capital gains tax will be applicable on the non-bond component.

The premium tax which is applicable to individual life insurance products like branch 21 and branch 23 remains at 2%. The reduction in the initial proposal to 0,7% is no longer foreseen.

The tax must in principle be withheld at source by the Belgian financial intermediary. The exemption of the first 10.000 EUR and the deduction of capital losses must be claimed via the tax return. However, the taxpayer has an opt-out: in that case no withholding tax will be applied and the capital gain must be declared in the individual income tax return, but the financial intermediary has a reporting obligation to the Belgian tax authorities.

The tax will also apply to shareholdings in holdings, real estate and management companies. However, a significant shareholding does not include profit certificates.

The first million EUR will be exempt, not per year, as in the initial proposal, but over a period of 5 years.

The threshold of 20% is to be evaluated at the level of the individual shareholder (not together with other family members as in the initial proposal) and at the moment of transfer of the shareholding, while the initial proposal allowed an evaluation at any time in the preceding 10 years.

The transfer of a significant shareholding to a non-EEA entity will be taxable at 16,5% (similarly to current tax law).

The tax applies to transfers of shares in case of control of the acquirer (e.g. sale of shares to own holding company).

Capital gains which arose before 1 January 2026 will be exempt (exemption of historic capital gains). A ‘picture’ of the value at 31 December 2025 must be taken. A valuation can be based on a report from an auditor or certified accountant. However, if the acquisition value is higher than the value at 31 December 2025, the acquisition value can be used, but this exception only applies for 5 years. A similar exception does not apply to capital losses.

In case of emigration, financial assets and capital gains must be reported for two years after emigration. In case of transfer during this period, an exit tax on the capital gain will be due.

The capital gains tax is also applicable to entities subject to the legal entities tax such as foundations and non-profit entities. However, an exception is provided for associations which are recognized to receive tax deductible donations.

Should you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact your KPMG advisor.