Belgium: Parliament approves program law containing various tax measures
The approved legislation implements the November 2025 budget agreement, introducing tax rate increases and compliance measures across multiple sectors.
Parliament on May 29, 2026, approved the program law containing several tax measures to implement the budget agreement reached on November 24, 2025. The law was published in the Belgian Official Gazette on June 1, 2026, with some measures becoming effective as of June 11, 2026, and others as of July 1, 2026.
Tax area | Changes | Effective date |
VVPRbis scheme | Distributions after three-year waiting period taxed at 18% (previously 15%) | July 1, 2026 |
Liquidation reserve | Distributions taxed at 9.8% (previously 6.5%) after waiting period, with anti-abuse measures for business leaders | June 11, 2026 (anti-abuse from July 1, 2026) |
Copyright income | Scope extended to computer programs; lump-sum cost deduction requires art work certificate | January 1, 2026 (June 11, 2026, for withholding tax |
Wage withholding tax exemptions | Corrective factors applied to limit exempt amounts (e.g., 97% in 2027; 93.35% in 2028; 95.9% in 2029) | January 1, 2027 |
Securities accounts | Tax rate increased from 0.15% to 0.3% | June 1, 2026 |
Credit institutions | Bank tax rate increased to 0.19286% and 0.25626% for assessment year 2027 | Assessment year 2027 |
Insurance premium | Standard tax rate increased from 9.25% to 9.6% | July 1, 2026 |
Aircraft boarding | Uniform tax set at €10, with progressive increases for short-distance flights | January 1, 2027 |
Read a June 2026 report prepared by the KPMG member firm in Belgium