Capital gains tax in Luxembourg in 2026: shares, crypto and property

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

You hold ETFs, crypto, a startup stake or a flat, and Luxembourg is your base or your next one. The rules reward patient investors and punish quick trades. After this guide you will know what each asset costs you in 2026, which exemptions apply and what changed for property.

Luxembourg capital gains tax in 2026: the key figures

What changed for 2026

• Property speculation period now 5 years. The ACD's 2026 property-gain return, form 700, treats a sale within five years as a speculative gain, not two.
• Transitional windows closed. The two-year period survived only for sales between 1 January and 30 June 2025. It also covered sales to 30 September 2025 when the sale agreement was registered by 30 June 2025.
• Quarter-rate relief ended. The temporary quarter rate (maximum 10.5% before surcharge) covered property gains realised up to 30 June 2025 only.
• Crypto reporting. A law of 27 March 2026 transposes DAC8. Crypto platforms now report users' transactions to the tax authority for automatic exchange.

Is this guide for you?

Read on if you…

• are, or will become, a Luxembourg tax resident with an investment portfolio;
• own more than 10% of a company you may sell one day;
• own Luxembourg property, or plan to buy some.

Probably not your case if you…

• trade so often that it looks like a business (that becomes commercial profit, taxed in full);
• hold your investments inside a company (see legal forms of business in Luxembourg).

How are shares, ETFs and crypto taxed in Luxembourg?

Everything turns on one date: six months after you bought the asset.

Sold within six months: a speculative gain

A speculative gain is the law's term for a short-term profit. Art. 99bis LIR defines assets other than real estate as "recently acquired" for six months. The gain is added to your income and taxed at progressive rates.

Good news: if your total speculative gains for the calendar year are below EUR 500, they are not taxable. Above it, the whole amount is taxed, not just the excess, according to the ACD's miscellaneous income page.

Held for more than six months: not taxed

Sell after six months and the gain escapes income tax, provided your stake is 10% or less. Guichet.lu confirms non-taxable gains are not even reported on your return.

Losses

Losses offset gains in the same category of the same year. They cannot reduce salary or business income, and they cannot be carried forward.

Crypto: same clock, one trap

Privately held crypto follows the six-month rule. The ACD circular of 26 July 2018 on virtual currencies says swapping one coin for another is a disposal. Paying for goods or services with crypto is one too. Each swap restarts the clock on the new coin.

Mining usually meets the criteria of a commercial activity. Frequent trading, borrowed money or dealing for others can also turn you into a business. Our Luxembourg crypto tax guide covers this in detail.

What happens if you own more than 10% of a company?

A substantial participation means you held more than 10% of the capital at any time in the five years before the sale. Holdings of your spouse or partner and minor children count together.

Here's the catch: the six-month exemption does not protect you. The gain stays taxable however long you hold.

• Sold within six months: progressive rates, like any speculative gain.
• Sold later: half of your global rate, meaning the average rate on your total income. Guichet.lu confirms the half-rate rule. Half the top 42% rate is 21%; with the 9% employment fund surcharge the ceiling is 22.89%.
• Allowance: EUR 50,000, shared with long-term property gains and reduced by allowances used in the previous 10 years.

How is property taxed when you sell?

Your main home

The gain on your main residence is exempt, whatever the holding period. You must still report the sale, says Guichet.lu's sale page.

Other property: the five-year line

• Held five years or less: a speculative gain, taxed at your progressive rate.
• Held over five years: half your global rate. Guichet.lu puts the maximum at 21% before the employment fund surcharge. The acquisition cost is revalued for inflation using the coefficients printed in form 700.
• Allowance: EUR 50,000 every ten years, or EUR 100,000 for couples taxed jointly.

An extra EUR 75,000 allowance can apply to a building inherited in direct line that your parents lived in, under conditions. You report the sale on form 700. For the 7% duties when you buy, see specific taxes in Luxembourg.

Do non-residents pay capital gains tax in Luxembourg?

Usually not on a portfolio. Gains on securities are taxable when a resident realises them, or a non-resident who opted to be treated as resident.

Luxembourg keeps the right to tax some Luxembourg-source gains:

1. Luxembourg real estate, under the same speculative and long-term rules.
2. A substantial participation in a Luxembourg company, in limited cases, notably for long-term former residents who sell soon after leaving.

Most tax treaties give the right to tax share gains to your new country of residence. Check your treaty in our guide to Luxembourg's international tax treaties. Plan the sequence of a departure with our practical guide to ceasing your tax residency in Luxembourg.

What are the legal ways to reduce the bill?

1. Watch the calendar. Waiting past six months for securities, or five years for property, changes the rate completely.
2. Keep speculative gains under EUR 500. Split disposals across calendar years when the amounts are small.
3. Stay at 10% or below. Count your spouse's and minor children's shares before each funding round.
4. Time the allowance. Using EUR 50,000 on a small gain blocks it for ten years.
5. Document your main residence. Registration at the address and real occupation protect the exemption.

Common mistakes (and what they cost)

• Selling crypto or ETFs a few weeks before the six-month mark → paying your marginal rate, up to 45.78%, instead of zero.
• Letting speculative gains reach EUR 500 → the whole amount becomes taxable, not just the excess.
• Applying the old two-year property rule → a sale in year three or four is now taxed at progressive rates.
• Forgetting family holdings in the 10% test → a stake you thought small is taxed for life as substantial.
• Swapping coins and assuming no disposal → each swap is a sale, and a new six-month clock.

Frequently asked questions

Is there capital gains tax on shares in Luxembourg?

Only in two cases. Shares sold within six months are taxed at progressive rates, unless your total speculative gains for the year stay below EUR 500. Shares in a company where you held more than 10% in the last five years are taxed at half your global rate. Other private share gains are not taxed.

How is crypto taxed in Luxembourg in 2026?

Privately held crypto follows the same six-month rule as shares. Sell or swap within six months and the gain is taxed at progressive rates, unless yearly speculative gains stay below EUR 500. Hold longer and it is not taxed. Mining or trading like a business turns the gains into commercial profit.

How long must I hold property in Luxembourg to avoid the full rate?

More than five years. Since the 2025 amendment, a sale within five years is a speculative gain taxed at progressive rates. After five years, the gain is taxed at half your global rate, after inflation revaluation and the EUR 50,000 ten-year allowance. Your main residence is exempt at any time.

What is the 22.89% rate in Luxembourg?

It is the ceiling on long-term gains from substantial participations and property held over five years. These gains are taxed at half your global rate. The top income tax rate is 42%, raised by the 9% employment fund surcharge to 45.78%. Half of that is 22.89%. Most people pay less.

Is selling my home in Luxembourg tax-free?

Yes, if it was your main residence. The gain is exempt whatever the holding period, but you still report the sale. A second home or a rental flat does not qualify. It is taxed at progressive rates within five years, and at half your global rate after that.

Can I deduct capital losses in Luxembourg?

Only within the same category and the same year. A loss on a speculative sale can offset a speculative gain realised that year. Losses cannot reduce your salary or business income and cannot be carried forward. Losses on securities held over six months, outside substantial participations, have no tax effect.

Related guides

• Cryptocurrency taxes in Luxembourg
• How to cease your tax residency in Luxembourg
• Luxembourg's international tax treaties
• Luxembourg tax landscape overview
• Capital gains taxation in Malta, for comparison
• Capital gains tax in Austria, for comparison
• All country tax guides

Sources

• Form 700 (2026): gains on private real estate – ACD
• Miscellaneous net income – ACD
• Reporting the sale of real estate – Guichet.lu
• Income from the sale of shares – Guichet.lu
• Circular on virtual currencies (2018) – ACD
• Employment fund surcharge – ACD

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