10 questions about capital gains tax answered
Investors will soon be expected to pay a 10% tax on their capital gains. So what do we already know about this new tax? While we await the final legislation, we answer 10 questions based on the information currently available, bearing in mind that details may still change.
1. Who must pay this capital gains tax?
The capital gains tax targets private individuals (subject to personal income tax) and legal entities, such as non-profit organisations and foundations (subject to legal entity tax). Certain fiscally transparent structures, such as the civil partnership, may also be subject to it. The capital gains tax applies if the shareholders are natural persons, non-profit organisations or foundations, or a combination of both.
Foundations and non-profit organisations that may receive tax-deductible donations are exempt. Companies are also exempt from this capital gains tax.
2. Which investments are subject to the capital gains tax?
The capital gains tax will apply to several financial assets: shares (both listed and unlisted), bonds, funds and trackers, money market instruments, all kinds of derivatives (such as options, futures and swaps), insurance products (branches 21, 23 and 26), cryptocurrencies and physical gold.
Investments such as pension savings, long-term savings and group insurance are exempt from this tax. Dividends and interest on which you have already paid 30% withholding tax on income from movable property are also excluded. Finally, physical precious metals other than gold - such as silver, platinum or palladium - are also exempt from the tax.
3. How do the tax authorities determine taxable capital gains?
The bank is required to take a "snapshot" of your portfolio on 31 December 2025. Only the capital gains you realise from this point onwards will be subject to tax. The capital gain is equal to the price received minus the acquisition value. Taxes, such as those on stock exchange transactions, and costs may not be considered.
For securities that are worth less at 31 December 2025 than what you paid for them, you may use the higher acquisition value as the basis. You can do this up to five years after the legislation has come into effect, i.e., until 31 December 2030. If you sell in 2031 or later, the value at 31 December 2025 will automatically be used if you bought the securities before this date.
If you have spread positions, the FIFO (First In, First Out) method applies. The tax authorities consider the securities you bought first to be the first to be sold. For staggered purchases made before 31 December 2025, for which you want to claim a higher acquisition price than the one of EOY2025, an average purchase price for the remaining position EOY 2025 should be used.
The tax authorities take a "snapshot" of your portfolio on 31 December 2025. Only the capital gains you realise from this point onwards will be subject to tax.
4. How much is the capital gains tax and is there a basic exemption?
The basic rate of the capital gains tax is 10%. The draft legislation provides for a general exemption of €10,000 per taxpayer. This amount will be indexed annually. If you do not make use of this exemption, you may carry forward €1,000 to the next year for 5 years, up to a maximum of €15,000. For couples married in community of property, the exemption can thus amount to €30,000 (indexed).
Do you hold at least 20% of a company's shares?
Investors with a substantial holding are subject to a specific regime. If you have at least 20% of a company's shares, the first EUR 1 million in capital gains is exempt. You can reuse this exemption every five years. Above this threshold, progressive rates apply.
| Capital gain | Rate |
| < €1,000,000 | Exemption |
| < €2,500,000 | 1,25% |
| €2,500,001 - €5,000,000 | 2,50% |
| €5,000,001 - €10,000,000 | 5% |
| > €10,000,000€ | 10% |
5. Is the exemption of €10,000 automatically applied?
No, you must claim the exemption of €10,000 yourself through your tax return. In practice, this means you must declare all the capital gains you realised.
Did you realise less than €10,000 in capital gains in total? Then you are completely exempt from capital gains tax. You can then recover the tax withheld in full. Did you have more than €10,000 in capital gains? Then the tax you paid on the exempted amount of €10,000 will be refunded. Please bear in mind that any excess tax withheld will only be refunded about 2 years later, once your tax return has been processed.
6. Are unrealised capital gains taxable?
No, only the capital gains you realise on the sale of your investments are subject to capital gains tax. As long as you do not sell, the tax authorities will not levy any capital gains tax.
7. Are capital losses deductible?
You may deduct capital losses from the capital gains you realised in the same year. Capital losses are only deductible for investments in the same category. You may thus deduct losses on shares from any capital gains you realised on shares.
It is not possible to carry over losses to the next years. You may only deduct capital losses that were established by the tax authorities after the "snapshot" of 31 December 2025. Any historical losses that were incurred before this date are not deductible.
8. How is the capital gains tax collected?
A levy at source will be the standard method. This means that Belgian financial institutions will withhold the 10% capital gains tax directly from any capital gains you realised.
Alternatively, you can opt for a personal declaration (opt-out), whereby you declare the capital gains you realised yourself. In that case, Belgian financial institutions will be required to submit a tax certificate to the tax authorities.
In any event, you must declare the capital gains you realise on foreign accounts, on the sale of cryptocurrencies, or on the sale of physical gold yourself.
9. What about the Reynders tax?
The Reynders tax is a tax on investment funds that invest more than 10% of their assets in interest-bearing securities, such as bonds. The tax rate is 30% and is applied to the capital gains realised on the fund's bond component. This tax will continue to exist in part. It will only be applied to the interest component of the capital gains.
For balanced funds, the bond component remains subject to the Reynders tax. The capital gains tax, meanwhile, will apply to the share component.
10. Do you expect the tax rate to rise in the future?
This is difficult to predict. Based on the history of withholding tax on income from movable property, rate increases cannot be ruled out. Withholding tax on income from movable property has increased over the years from 15% to the current 30%.
Please take into account that the answers to the above questions are based on draft legislation. The drafts already give an idea of what we can expect, but they are subject to change. We will monitor this issue closely and get back to you as soon as we have more information.
Questions? Contact your relationship manager to discuss them.