Belgium - utopialand/Utopia GitHub Wiki
View BELGIUM on Wikipedia
Capital: Brussels
Official Languages: Dutch, French and German
Intellectual Property Federal Public Service Economy, SMEs, Self-employed and Energy
Ms. Séverine Waterbley
Directrice générale /Director General
E-mail address: [email protected]
Telephone: (00 32) 2 277 9011, (00 32) 2 277 6638
Telefax :(00 32) 2 277 5262
Website: https://economie.fgov.be/en
Address: DG de la Réglementation économique City Atrium Rue du Progrès, 50 1210 Bruxelles
Selling a house in Belgium is submitted to an official procedure involving the mandatory use of a notary and the payment of a number of taxes and a fee to the notary of the buyer. Not following this procedure will imply that your sale will not be valid and will not be respected by third parties.
The notary will guide you through the legal and tax regulations. The notary should be carefully chosen, as he is responsible for protecting the buyer’s interests.
When you own a property in Brussels, you have to pay taxes. The tax rules for buying, selling, gifting and inheriting property are complex: property taxation in the Brussels-Capital Region.
In Belgium most contracts must be written in Dutch or French, and it is a legal requirement that the signer fully understands the contract. This means that you have the right to bring a translator and have each clause explained in your own language.
If you're looking for translation to English or German, you will probably be able to find a real estate agent or notary who speaks your language fluently. For other languages, you may need to hire a translator and pay the translator's fees yourself.
Both buyer and seller must be represented by a notary. Their fees are fixed by the state as a percentage of the property purchase price. The house sale must also be registered at the registry office within four months of the purchase being complete, at which time registration fees are due.
Deposits and Mortgages
The deposit or down payment is usually 10% of the property purchase price. It must be paid into an escrow account or held by a notary, and must not be paid directly to the buyer or their agent.
Both fixed and variable rate mortgages are available in Belgium. Loans are typically fixed for a period of at least 10 years or more, as this provides a tax advantage in Belgium.
Your mortgage provider will usually insist that a professional valuation of the property is undertaken, which costs around €100-200, but note that this is not a structural survey. The valuer will focus on estimating the value of the property and may overlook or not notify you of significant structural issues. Residential surveyors are uncommon but architects in Belgium provide a similar service.
Costs of buying Belgian property
In Belgium the costs of buying a property are split between the buyer and seller, although the buyer will pay the majority of the costs, around 11–15% of the purchase price, and the seller around 3–5%. Buying a new property is more expensive for the buyer with total fees rising to around 22% for new-builds, due to different applicable tax rates.
The fees typically paid by the buyer break down as follows:
- Registration tax (old properties only) – 10% (Flanders) or 12.5% (elsewhere)
From 1 June 2018, buyers in Flanders have seen this rate cut to 7%. For homes priced up to €200,000, buyers don’t need to pay fees on the first €80,000 and get an extra discount of €5,600.
- VAT at 21% (new properties only) – Value Added Tax is charged on properties less than two years old.
- Notary's fee – 0.2% to 4%, a fee fixed by law that depends on the purchase value; You can get an estimate of how much you’ll need to pay in notary fees on the Royal Belgian Notariat Federation website
- Cost of deed of sale: €800–1,000;
- Real estate agent's fee: 0.2–0.6%.
Why are new Belgian properties subject to extra charges?
VAT is charged on any Belgian property that is less that two years old, even if it has been lived in before. A property's age is up when it reaches the second 31 December after it was first inhabited. This means that if a property was moved into any time in 2015 it will count as 'new' until 1 January 2018.
Although VAT is payable if the property is classed as new, the buyer does not have to pay registration tax, which is only applicable to properties older than two years.
Lower registration tax
All Belgian properties have an assigned value called a revenu cadastral/kadastral inkomen. While this typically relates to the rental value of the property in 1975, it's easier to treat it as an arbitrarily assigned score.
If you are buying a low scoring property, ie. one with a or revenu cadastral/kadastral inkomen below a fixed amount, then registration tax is reduced to 6% when buying a Belgian property. These reductions do not apply in the Brussels region.
The Flemish region has overhauled this outdated system, however. Buyers in Flanders previously had their fee cut to 5% - but since 1 June 2018 that fee has risen to 7%. Buyers purchasing cheaper homes (under €200,000) don’t have to pay on the first €80,000 and get an extra discount of €5,600.
Tax deductions for buying Belgian property
A tax break of up to €2,000 is available for homeowners with a mortgage. The exact amount depends on several factors including when your loan was initially set up, the number of children you have and the amount of interest due.
However, this is balanced somewhat by an annual tax on the estimated rental value of your Belgian property (even if it is owner-occupied) of between 1.25 and 2.5%. The modern rental value is calculated by multiplying the 1975 value, the revenu cadastral/ kadastral inkomen, by a standard figure set by the government.
There are no restrictions to stop foreigners buying property in Belgium, even if they are non-resident, although different tax implications apply between resident and non-resident buyers in Belgium. You can read about Belgium's visa and permits for foreigners, as well as applicable Belgian taxes and how to claim non-resident Belgian tax status.
It's important to note that those who rent out their apartment, even temporarily on house-sharing websites such as Airbnb, must declare any income on their Belgian tax return. In 2017, the Belgian government announced it would employ processes to scan holiday-let websites in an attempt to clamp down on tax cheats. Those who fail to declare rental income risk a fine of up to €1,250 or a 200% tax surcharge. New regulations that came into force at the start of 2018 allow Belgian landlords to earn up to €6,000 tax free.
source: https://www.google.com.ph/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwi4xN6C_t_eAhWNZVAKHeRJC3wQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftoplovelywalls.blogspot.com%2F2015%2F03%2Fbrussels-tourism.html&psig=AOvVaw23h5LkAgAexA743FVCVkw1&ust=1542700605181743