Is valuing an inherited property different?

Yes. For a succession declaration the value must reflect the property’s market value at the date of death, not today’s price. Under-declaring can expose the heirs to penalties, so an accurate figure matters. This is separate from valuing the property to sell, which uses the current market.

Valuing an inherited property carries a legal edge that an ordinary sale valuation does not. The Walloon inheritance duties (droits de succession) are calculated on the value declared in the succession declaration, and that value must reflect the market value at the date of death. Pick a date wrong or a figure too low and the consequences fall on the heirs.

Accuracy protects you in both directions. Declare too high and you may pay more inheritance duty than necessary; the direct-line brackets in Wallonia run from 3% up to 30% above 500,000 euros in 2026 (source: notaire.be 2026), so the figure genuinely moves the tax. Declare too low and the tax authority can reassess and impose penalties. The surviving spouse or legal cohabitant is exempt from inheritance duty on their share of the family home, a relief worth confirming. A broader reform of Wallonia succession and donation duties is planned for 2028, with rates expected to fall, but that is forward-looking only.

A crucial distinction runs through all of this: succession is not donation. The main-residence capital-gains exemption applies to succession, not to donation, and if the heirs later sell, an inherited property is exempt from capital-gains tax. Donation duties follow a different scale (3% up to 150,000 euros, rising to 27% above 450,000 euros). Getting the two straight avoids expensive mistakes.

The practical route: the notary sets the succession value at the date of death, while an Easyhome valuation gives the current market figure the heirs need to decide whether and at what price to sell. In Wallonia specifically, note that brackets differ in Brussels and Flanders.

At a glance