As a Belgian investor, you want to focus on growing your wealth. But first, you need to understand the tax implications of your investment decisions. With five different types of investment taxes, it's easy to make costly mistakes.
This guide walks you through each tax that applies to Belgian investors. We'll explain what they are, when they apply, and how to handle them correctly.
We do our best to keep this information up-to-date. We closely follow any changes in the Belgian tax system and update this page whenever something important shifts. Still, there’s always a small chance that something might have changed since you’re reading this. Check when this article was last updated at the top, and make sure to double-check things yourself too.
Tax on transactions (“beurstaks” or “taxe boursière”)
There's a tax on every securities transaction. This happens when you buy or sell a security (like a stock, bond, or ETF). It's called the tax on stock-exchange transactions, or TOB. The tax rate is between 0.12% and 1.32% of the transaction amount. But determining the exact tax rate for a stock or ETF is complicated. In fact, it confuses even brokers as they sometimes use different tax rates for the same ETF. For instance, Bolero charges a 1.32% tax rate for the VWCE ETF whereas DEGIRO uses a 0.12% tax rate.
Belgian brokers handle the transaction tax for you. But many foreign brokers don't. In that case, learn how to declare the transaction tax.
Tax on dividends (“roerende voorheffing” or “précompte mobilier”)
There’s a 30% tax on dividends that you perceive through stocks that you hold. This tax is not only applicable to individual stocks, but also to distributing funds and ETFs.
Capital gains tax
Until now, Belgium hasn’t taxed profits from stocks, including funds and ETFs that invest only in stocks.
But that’s about to change. Starting 1 January 2026, the Belgian government plans to introduce a 10% tax on realised capital gains on most financial assets. The details are still being worked out, but here’s what we know so far.
The new tax will apply when you sell assets like stocks, ETFs, index funds, bonds, crypto (including NFTs), commodities such as investment gold, and derivatives. Pension saving plans will keep their own separate rules.
Each year, you’ll get a €10,000 exemption, which will be indexed to inflation. If you don’t use the full amount, you can carry over one-tenth per year for up to five years, so your exemption could grow to around €15,000.
Your gain will be calculated simply as the selling price minus the purchase price. You can’t deduct broker fees, transaction taxes or other costs. If you sell at a loss, you can offset that loss against other realised gains in the same year, but you can’t carry it forward to the next year.
How the tax is collected depends on where you invest. Belgian brokers will normally withhold the 10% tax at source, which means you’re done. Though they can’t apply your exemption or losses, so you might reclaim part of it later in your tax return. You can also opt out and handle the declaration yourself. Foreign brokers won’t withhold the tax, so you’ll need to track, calculate and declare your gains each year in your tax return.
Capital gains tax for bond funds (Reynders tax)
For funds and ETFs that consist of at least 10% bonds, there is a 30% tax on the profits made when selling. For example, if you bought a bond at €100 and end up selling it later for €130, your net profit will only be €21. The other €9 will go to the Belgian state through the Reynders tax.
Funds that only consist of bonds will incur a 30% tax rate on their entire profit. For mixed funds, such as those that contain both bonds and stocks, the tax applies only to the bond part of the fund. So, if you own a fund of 50% bonds and 50% stocks, the tax rate on the profits will be 15%, not the full 30%. But there's a caveat. The Belgian tax authorities require the fund provider to publish certain documents. Most foreign providers don't as Belgium is a small market for them. So in practice, you'll likely still pay the full 30%. This applies to for instance the Vanguard LifeStrategy ETFs.
Belgian brokers handle the Reynders tax for you. Foreign brokers don’t, which means you’ll need to do the maths and file it yourself each year.
Tax on investment accounts (“taks op effectenrekeningen” or “taxe sur les comptes-titres”)
In February 2021, the Belgian government introduced a tax on the richest Belgian investors. It is a 0.15% tax on investment accounts over €1,000,000. Fortunately, the tax man looks at each account in isolation. You can have several investment accounts that together can add up to over €1,000,000. But, you won't owe the tax if none is worth over €1,000,000. There's a caveat though. If you divided a €1,000,000 account after the tax started in February 2021, the tax man sees it as tax evasion. Be careful!
Belgian financial institutions withhold the tax for you. For foreign accounts, you will have to declare and pay the tax yourself.
Learning more
We have in-depth resources on the transaction tax, the Reynders tax, the dividend tax, and the capital gains tax. We also cover how crypto is taxed.
We also refer you Wikifin’s website in Dutch or French. The FSMA, the Belgian regulator for the financial sector, maintains Wikifin. Their information is trustworthy and independent.
Our conclusion
As you can see, Belgium's investment tax system is quite complex. From transaction taxes to dividend taxes, and the new capital gains tax, there's a lot to keep track of. The good news? Most of these taxes are manageable with the right approach.
The key is to make informed decisions about your investment strategy. For instance, choosing accumulating funds helps you avoid dividend taxes. And if you're worried about handling these taxes yourself, working with Belgian institutions can take much of the administrative burden off your shoulders.
At Curvo, we understand these tax complexities can feel overwhelming. That's why we've designed our portfolios with tax efficiency in mind and provide clear guidance when it's time to handle your tax declarations. Ready to start investing without the tax headache? Learn more about our tax-efficient portfolios.