Capital gains tax in Belgium 2026: what you really pay on shares, crypto and homes

Last reviewed: November 2026 · Reviewed by Stéphane Gombauld, tax expert, technologist and digital nomad

You hold shares, ETFs, crypto or a rental flat and you are either living in Belgium or planning to. Until 2025, Belgium was famous for not taxing private capital gains at all. That changed on 1 January 2026. This guide explains what you now pay by asset type, which exemptions still exist, and how the rules differ for non-residents.

Belgium capital gains tax in 2026: the key figures

Is this guide for you?

Read on if you…

• live in Belgium, or will soon, and hold a brokerage or crypto portfolio;
• plan to sell a company you founded or a stake of 20% or more;
• own Belgian property you may sell within a few years.

Probably not your case if you…

• trade crypto daily as your main activity (that is professional income, see our crypto tax guide);
• hold your investments inside a Belgian company (corporate rules apply, see corporate income tax in Belgium).

What changed in Belgium on 1 January 2026?

Before 2026, a private individual managing their own wealth in a "normal" way paid no tax on gains from shares or crypto. Only abnormal, speculative gains were taxed at 33%.

The federal coalition that took office in 2025 introduced a general capital gains tax, officially called a solidarity contribution (solidariteitsbijdrage / contribution de solidarité). It applies to gains realised from 1 January 2026 on financial assets. That term covers listed and unlisted shares, bonds, fund units, ETFs, trackers, crypto assets, and certain insurance and savings products.

Here's the catch for long-term holders, and it is good news. Only the gain built up from 1 January 2026 is taxed. The value of your assets on 31 December 2025 becomes your deemed purchase price. If you bought higher than that, you can use your real purchase price instead, but only for sales until the end of 2030.

The rate is a flat 10%. It is a separate tax, so no municipal surcharge applies on top.

How much capital gains tax do you pay on shares, funds and crypto?

Step 1: calculate your net gain for the year

Add up all gains on financial assets sold in the year, subtract losses on financial assets realised in the same year. Losses only offset gains of the same category and in the same year. You cannot carry a loss forward to next year.

Step 2: apply the annual exemption

The first EUR 10,000 of net gain per person per year is exempt. The amount is indexed. If you do not use the full exemption in a year, EUR 1,000 of unused exemption carries forward, up to a maximum exemption of EUR 15,000 after five years.

Step 3: pay 10% on the rest

Belgian banks and brokers withhold the 10% at source by default. You can opt out of withholding and declare the gains in your tax return instead. That is usually the better choice if you want to use the exemption, offset losses, or hold accounts at several institutions. Foreign brokers do not withhold, so you declare those gains yourself.

Crypto

Crypto assets are financial assets under the new rules, so the same 10% applies. Two older categories survive. If your trading is speculative or abnormal, the old 33% rate still applies. If it is your professional activity, gains are ordinary income taxed at up to 50% plus social security. Our cryptocurrency taxes in Belgium guide walks through the three categories.

Funds with bonds inside

The existing 30% "Reynders tax" on the interest component of bond-heavy funds continues. The new 10% tax applies to the remaining gain, so the two do not stack on the same euro.

What if you sell a company or a stake of 20% or more?

Founders get a separate, gentler scale. A substantial holding means you held, directly or indirectly, at least 20% of the company at any time in the 10 years before the sale.

The EUR 10,000 annual exemption does not stack with the EUR 1 million founder exemption. The old 16.5% tax on selling a substantial holding to a buyer outside the European Economic Area is absorbed into this new scale.

If your business is held through a Belgian company, the picture is different. Companies pay no tax on share gains if the participation conditions are met. That is covered in legal forms of business in Belgium.

How is property taxed when you sell in Belgium?

Property rules did not change in 2026. They depend on what you sell and how long you held it.

• Your own home: exempt, provided it was your main residence for at least 12 months in the 18 months before the sale.
• Other built property (a rental flat, a second home): 16.5% on the gain if you sell within 5 years of buying. After 5 years, no tax.
• Building land: 33% if sold within 5 years, 16.5% between 5 and 8 years, nothing after 8 years.
• Inherited property: no capital gains tax on sale.

These rates carry the municipal surcharge, on average around 7%. Registration duties on the purchase are a separate cost, covered in specific taxes in Belgium.

Residents versus non-residents: who pays?

Belgium taxes you on worldwide gains if you are a Belgian tax resident, meaning your domicile (where you actually live) or your seat of fortune (where you manage your wealth) is in Belgium. Our tax residency in Belgium guide explains the tests.

Non-residents are taxed only on Belgian-source gains. For shares and crypto that generally means nothing, because gains on movable assets are taxed where you live. Belgian property gains remain taxable in Belgium whatever your residence. Most tax treaties confirm both results.

The new exit tax

Here's the part that matters for digital nomads. The 2026 law treats a move of your tax residence out of Belgium as a deemed sale of your financial assets. Tax is calculated but not immediately collected. If you move inside the EEA or to a treaty country, payment is deferred. If you do not sell within 2 years of leaving, the deferred tax lapses.

Timing therefore matters. Read our guide to ceasing your tax residency in Belgium before you set a departure date.

Common mistakes (and what they cost)

• Not documenting your 31 December 2025 values. Without proof, the tax office may use a lower basis, and you pay 10% on gains that were actually exempt.
• Leaving withholding switched on at two banks. Each bank withholds 10% from the first euro. You then have to reclaim the EUR 10,000 exemption and loss offsets in your return, or lose them.
• Calling active trading "normal management". If the tax office sees speculation, it applies 33% plus municipal tax, not 10%, and can add a penalty of 10% to 200%. See tax fraud regulations of Belgium.
• Selling a second home in year 4. Waiting a few months past the 5-year mark would have cut the 16.5% tax to zero.
• Leaving Belgium with a large unrealised gain and selling right after. The exit rule can catch sales within 2 years of departure.

Frequently asked questions

Is there capital gains tax in Belgium in 2026?

Yes. From 1 January 2026, private individuals pay a 10% tax on gains from financial assets such as shares, ETFs, bonds and crypto. The first EUR 10,000 of net gains per year is exempt, and gains accrued before 2026 are not taxed. Property gains keep their own rules: 16.5% or 33% for sales within 5 or 8 years.

Do I pay tax on gains I made before 2026?

No. The law uses the value of your assets on 31 December 2025 as your acquisition cost. Only the increase since then is taxed. If your real purchase price was higher, you can use it instead for sales up to the end of 2030. Keep statements showing the year-end 2025 value of every position.

Are ETFs and funds taxed differently from individual shares?

Mostly no: the 10% rate applies to both. The difference is the older 30% Reynders tax on the bond-interest part of funds that hold more than 10% in debt instruments. That tax continues, and the 10% contribution applies only to the remaining gain. Pure equity ETFs are not affected by the Reynders tax.

Does Belgium tax crypto capital gains?

Yes. Crypto assets fall under the 10% tax on financial assets from 2026. If the tax office considers your activity speculative, the old 33% rate applies instead, and professional traders pay progressive income tax up to 50%. The EUR 10,000 exemption applies to crypto gains in the 10% category.

Do non-residents pay Belgian capital gains tax on shares?

Generally no. Non-residents are taxed only on Belgian-source income, and gains on shares or crypto are taxed in the country of residence under Belgian law and most treaties. Belgian real estate is the exception: gains on property located in Belgium are taxable here, regardless of where you live.

How do losses work under the new rules?

Losses on financial assets realised in 2026 reduce gains on financial assets of the same year. They cannot be carried to later years or offset against salary, rent or dividends. If your bank withholds at source, you must file a return to claim the offset.

Related guides

• Cryptocurrency taxes in Belgium: the three categories
• Tax residency in Belgium: domicile and seat of fortune tests
• Ceasing your Belgian tax residency: step-by-step
• Specific taxes in Belgium: securities account tax, registration duties, inheritance
• Belgium tax landscape overview
• Capital gains tax in Germany
• Capital gains tax in Austria
• All country tax guides

Sources

• FPS Finance (Belgian federal tax authority)
• Belgian Official Gazette (Moniteur belge / Belgisch Staatsblad)
• Fisconetplus: Income Tax Code 1992 and commentary
• MyMinfin: Belgian tax portal
• OECD: Belgium tax policy

This guide is general information, not personalised tax advice. See how we research and review.