Costs, financing and tax

There is no specific municipal tax triggered by the act of selling itself. The seller only settles ongoing local charges up to the deed, chiefly their pro-rata share of the property tax. Municipal levies such as the second-residence tax relate…

A taxable property capital gain is reported in your annual personal income tax return, in the miscellaneous income section, for the year of the sale. It is taxed separately at 16.5% for a built property sold within 5 years. Exempt…

Not from your ordinary income tax when you sell your own home. But agency commission is deductible as a selling cost when calculating a taxable capital gain, reducing the taxable amount. For a landlord, agency and management fees can be…

Keep the purchase and sale deeds, the mandatory certificates, renovation invoices, agency and mortgage-release documents, and your property tax notices. The general retention period for tax records in Belgium is 7 years, with 10 years recommended as a precaution; the…

No. In a standard Belgian sale the seller’s mortgage loan is not transferred to the buyer. It is repaid in full out of the sale proceeds at the deed, and the mortgage inscription is lifted (mainlevee) so the buyer receives…

At the deed the notary repays the seller’s outstanding loan from the sale proceeds, settles any early-repayment indemnity, and lifts the mortgage inscription (mainlevee). The buyer then receives the property free of the old charge and arranges their own financing…

A mortgage release (mainlevee) in Belgium costs roughly 1% of the original loan amount, commonly 1,500 to 2,500 euros. For a 250,000 euro loan expect about 1,800 to 2,500 euros, covering notary honoraria, the release duty, registry fees and 21%…

An EPC (PEB) certificate in Wallonia typically costs between 150 and 400 euros, depending on the size and type of property. It is issued by an accredited certifier and remains valid for 10 years (ImmoAnalyse, 2026). The EPC (PEB), the…

A seller in Wallonia mainly pays for the mandatory certificates (EPC and electrical compliance), a possible mortgage release, and the agency commission. The big transfer taxes (registration duties, notary purchase fees) fall on the buyer, not the seller (Notaire.be, 2026).…

An electrical compliance certificate (CE) for a home in Wallonia usually costs between 100 and 170 euros for the inspection. It is carried out by an accredited inspection body, and a favourable report on a domestic installation is valid for…

On top of the price, a Walloon buyer pays registration duties (3% on a sole and own home, otherwise 12.5%), the notary’s honoraria and disbursements, and, if borrowing, the mortgage deed costs. Budget roughly 10% to 13% of the price…

Yes. A valid EPC (PEB) is compulsory to sell a home in Wallonia, and the energy label must appear from the very first advertisement. It is issued by an accredited certifier and stays valid for 10 years (ImmoAnalyse, 2026). The…

In Wallonia the registration duty on your sole and own home is 3% since 1 January 2025, down from 12.5%. The standard 12.5% rate still applies to a second property or an investment. The buyer pays this regional transfer tax…

Yes. An electrical compliance certificate (CE) is compulsory to sell any home with a fixed electrical installation, and the report must be handed to the buyer at the deed. The report can be favourable or unfavourable; a non-compliant one does…

A Walloon notary’s own pay (honoraria) is fixed by Royal Decree on a degressive scale, not freely set, plus 21% VAT. On top of that you pay disbursements of about 800 to 1,500 euros. The much larger part of what…

The sale can still go ahead. The seller hands over the unfavourable inspection report, and the buyer becomes responsible for bringing the installation up to standard within 18 months of the deed, then having it re-inspected. Non-compliance affects the price,…

Legally, the property tax (precompte immobilier) is owed by whoever owns the property on 1 January of that year, so the tax office bills the seller for the whole year. In practice the deed splits it pro rata, and the…

No. Joint ownership changes nothing about the EPC obligation. Any sale of a residential building in Wallonia needs a valid EPC (PEB) before advertising, whoever owns it. Co-owners simply commission one certificate together for the shared property (ImmoAnalyse, 2026). The…

The property tax is split pro rata temporis at the deed date: the seller carries the days from 1 January to the deed, the buyer the days from the deed to 31 December. Because the seller was billed for the…

A Walloon seller mainly pays for the mandatory certificates (EPC and electrical), any mortgage release, the agency commission and their pro-rata property tax up to the deed. Registration duties and the notary’s purchase fees are the buyer’s costs, not the…

Yes, but only in limited cases. A built property resold within 5 years of purchase is taxed at 16.5% on the gain, and building land is taxed at 33% within 5 years then 16.5% up to 8 years. Your main…

The second-residence tax is a municipal levy on a home you own but do not use as your official domicile, and do not rent out. It varies by commune, generally between 500 and 1,500 euros a year, and comes on…

Yes. Selling your main residence in Belgium is exempt from the 16.5% property capital-gains tax, provided the home was your principal residence for at least 12 months during the 18 months before the sale. There is no limit on the…

No. A gift does not receive the automatic capital-gains exemption that inheritance enjoys. If the person who received the gift resells within three years, the 16.5% tax can apply, and the holding period is counted from the donor’s original purchase…

Yes. Property received through inheritance is fully exempt from the 16.5% property capital-gains tax, no matter when the deceased originally bought it or how soon the heirs sell. Only inheritance tax (droits de succession) is due on the estate itself…