BELGIUM Law and Practice Contributed by: Robin Minjauw and Anouk Van der Mast, Tiberghien
The taxable base is determined in the same manner as for residents. • Private rental: indexed cadastral income plus 40%. • Professional rental: actual rent less deductible expenses. Companies For companies (resident or non-resident), immovable income is generally included under business profits and taxed under corporate income tax rules. 3.2 Business Profits Companies Companies that are tax resident in Belgium are subject to corporate income tax on their worldwide income. The standard corporate income tax rate is 25%. Small companies within the meaning of the Belgian Companies and Associations Code may benefit from a reduced rate of 20% on the first EUR100,000 of taxable income, provided certain conditions are met, including a minimum annual remuneration to at least one director. Non-resident companies are only subject to corporate income tax on income attributable to a Belgian estab - lishment or Belgian-sourced income. Individuals Individuals carrying out business or professional activities in Belgium (eg, self-employed persons) are subject to personal income tax on their net profes - sional income. Personal income tax is levied at progressive rates, ranging from 25% to 50%. In addition, a municipal surcharge applies to the federal tax due. Non-resident individuals are taxed in Belgium on pro - fessional income derived from activities carried out in Belgium or from prior activities performed in Belgium. 3.3 Passive Income Passive income (eg, dividends, interest and royalty income) is typically subject to withholding tax at source. The taxation depends on the type of income and the recipient of the income.
For Belgian resident individuals, passive income (Belgian or foreign-sourced) is generally subject to a withholding tax of 30%. Exemptions and reduced rates could be applicable (eg, VVPR-bis, liquidation reserves). The withholding tax is final, which means that the income should not be declared in the income tax return. For Belgian resident companies, passive income (Bel - gian or foreign-sourced) is included in their taxable profits and subject to the standard corporate income tax rate. However, dividends may benefit from the Dividends Received Deduction (DRD) regime, under which qualifying dividends are fully exempt if certain conditions are met, including a minimum participation threshold, a minimum holding period of one year, and a subject-to-tax requirement. Non-residents are taxed only on Belgian-source pas - sive income. The income is subject to a 30% with - holding tax rate, but an exemption or reduced rate could apply under domestic law, an applicable tax treaty or an EU directive (eg, the Parent-Subsidiary Directive or the Interest and Royalties Directive). Until 2026, Belgium did not impose a general capital gains tax on shares or other financial assets. As a rule, such capital gains were tax exempt, provided they were realised within the scope of the normal man - agement of private wealth. Capital gains could, how - ever, be taxed if they were realised in the context of a professional activity (and thus treated as professional income) or if they resulted from abnormal manage - ment, in which case a separate taxation at 33% (plus municipal surcharges) applied. 3.4 Capital Gains Personal income tax Belgium has introduced a general capital gains tax of 10% on financial assets realised as from 1 Janu - ary 2026. The new capital gains tax applies to capi - tal gains realised on the transfer for consideration of financial assets (including shares, crypto, liquidities and certain insurance contracts). The capital gains tax is limited to gains realised within the scope of normal management of private wealth. The new regime only targets the increase in value accrued as from 2026, meaning that historical capital gains remain exempt
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