Inheritance tax in Belgium

This guide on estate and inheritance taxes in Belgium includes advice on the following topics:

Belgian inheritance law and succession rules

Belgian inheritance law is based on residence. This means that if Belgium is the country where you normally live and where your family and work are, then its laws and taxes usually apply upon your death.

Inheritance law and tax in Belgium apply to the whole estate, including any real estate owned abroad.

It is possible, however, for foreign residents to have their estate handled according to the laws of their home country instead.

Inheritance rules in Belgium

Belgian inheritance law follows a system of forced heirship. This means there are some rules as to how the deceased’s estate is distributed, with a certain amount automatically passed to heirs without the need for probate or court order.

Since reforms that took effect in September 2018, the children of the deceased collectively have a reserved share equal to half of the estate, irrespective of the number of children. The remaining half – known as the free portion – may be distributed freely by will.

A surviving spouse is entitled by law to usufruct rights, at minimum over the family home and household goods, and may inherit a larger share if this is provided for in the will. The exact distribution depends on marital status, family structure, and the existence of a valid will.

An overhaul of inheritance rules allowed people planning their estates to be more flexible over setting up agreements within their families.

The rules also cover how gifts before death are valued as part of an inheritance.

Rather than property being valued based on the increase between the date of the gift and the inheritance being granted, values are now based on what the property was worth the day it was gifted, indexed to inflation on death.

Inheritance law for people with no will

If no will has been left, Belgian intestate law determines that the estate is divided equally in the following order of priority:

• Children and grandchildren
• Parents and siblings (and siblings’ descendants)
• Other relatives up to the 4th degree (aunts, uncles, cousins)
• The Belgian government

The rights of the spouse in situations where there is no will depend on the family situation:

• If the deceased has one or more children, the spouse receives usufruct (the right to use and earn income) from the estate.
• When there are no children but other legally recognized heirs, the spouse inherits the community property and is entitled to usufruct from any private property owned by the deceased.
• If there are no heirs, the spouse inherits the whole estate.

Can you reject an inheritance in Belgium?

All beneficiaries to an estate, whether as heirs or through a will, can choose whether to accept or reject their inheritance. Under Belgian law, there are three options:

• Accept an inheritance, which means obligation to pay debts even if they exceed the value of the estate.
• Accept under beneficium inventarii (benefit of the inventory), which means that debts cannot exceed the value of the estate.
• Reject the inheritance.

Accepting under beneficium inventarii and rejection must be given in a declaration to the clerk of a Belgian court.

EU inheritance law in Belgium

Citizens of European Union countries can choose whether Belgian laws or those in their country of nationality apply to their estate upon their death.

If you’re an expat living in Belgium and want the laws of your country of nationality to apply rather than Belgian law, you need to express this clearly in a will or separate declaration.

These laws then apply as long as they don’t oppose local public policy (e.g., discrimination of heirs based on gender or being born out of wedlock).

The EU rules do not apply to the following matters linked to your inheritance:

• Inheritance tax in Belgium
• Your civil status
• The property regime of your marriage/partnership (i.e., how your property should be divided after the death of your spouse/partner)
• Matters concerning companies

Inheritance tax in Belgium

Inheritance tax in Belgium (erfbelasting in Dutch or les droits de succession in French) is levied on all assets other than real estate outside Belgium (if the deceased lived in Belgium), and on real estate inside Belgium (if they were based abroad).

There is an exemption for tax purposes for diplomats living and Belgium and working at the European Union or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Belgian inheritance tax is levied on the net value of the estate, calculated as the total value of the deceased’s assets at the time of death minus deductible debts and expenses, such as outstanding loans, certain maintenance obligations, medical costs incurred before death, and reasonable funeral expenses.

Certain assets, such as lifetime gifts or life insurance benefits, may be included in the taxable base only in specific circumstances, depending on how and when they were transferred and on the applicable regional tax rules.

Inheritance tax is a regional tax and thus varies from region to region. Belgian tax is paid to the region in which the deceased was a tax resident for the majority of the last five years of their life.

Inheritance tax in Brussels

Portion value	Children, parents, spouse, grandparents, grandchildren	Brothers, sisters	Uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces	Other heirs
Up to €12,500	3%	20%	35%	40%
€12,500–25,000	3%	25%	35%	40%
€25,000–50,000	3%	30%	35%	40%
€50,000–100,000	8%	40%	50%	55% up to €75k, 65% between €75–100k
€100,000–175,000	9%	55%	60%	65%
€175,000–250,000	18%	60%	70%	80%
€250,000–500,000	24%	65%	70%	80%
€500,000+	30%	65%	70%	80%

In the Brussels-Capital Region, inheritance tax does not operate with uniform tax-free allowances. Instead, spouses and close relatives benefit from reduced tax rates and specific exemptions, including relief for the family home and tax reductions for minor children. Distant relatives and unrelated beneficiaries generally receive little or no tax-free relief and are subject to higher rates from the first euro inherited.

Inheritance tax in Flanders

Portion value	Children, parents, spouse, grandparents, grandchildren	Brothers, sisters	Other heirs
Up to €50,000	3%	25% (up to €35,000)	25% (up to €35,000)
€50,000–250,000	9%	30% (from €35,000 to €75,000), then 55%	45% (up to €35,000 to €75,000) then 55%
€250,000+	27%	55%	55%

Exemptions or reductions may apply in specific situations, such as for the family home inherited by a surviving spouse or partner, or in planned future reforms.

Inheritance tax in Wallonia

Portion value	Children, parents, spouse, grandparents, grandchildren	Brothers, sisters	Uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces	Other heirs
Up to €12,500	3%	20%	25%	30%
€12,500–25,000	4%	25%	30%	35%
€25,000–50,000	5%	35% (up to €75,000)	40% (up to €75,000)	60% (up to €75,000)
€50,000–100,000	7%	50%	55%	80%
€100,000–150,000	10%	50% (up to €175,000)	55% (up to €175,000)	80%
€150,000–200,000	14%	65%	70%	80%
€200,000–250,000	18%	65%	70%	80%
€250,000–500,000	24%	65%	70%	80%
€500,000+	30%	65%	70%	80%

In Wallonia, tax-free exemptions are structured as follows:

• A direct heir (child, parent, spouse or legal cohabitant) pays no inheritance tax on the first €12,500 of their net share. If that net share is €125,000 or less, an additional €12,500 exemption applies. Children under 21 receive an extra €2,500 per full year until age 21.
• Other heirs are exempt from inheritance tax only if their net share does not exceed €620.

Additional regional exemptions — for example on the family home — may also apply.

Taxes on family businesses transferred through inheritance

• Brussels: 3% flat rate (if the company meets certain conditions of employment, investment, and minimum shareholding).
• Flanders: businesses located within the EU are exempt if the deceased held at least 50% of shares and certain employment conditions are met.
• Wallonia: 3% maximum rate.

Paying inheritance tax in Belgium

All heirs to an estate must file an inheritance tax return (Dutch: aangifte van nalatenschap, French: déclaration de succession), either on an individual or collective basis.

While it’s possible to file this yourself, it can be complex; you may wish to ask a notary for help instead.

You’ll need to make this declaration at the local registry office where the deceased lived (Dutch: registratiekantoor, French: bureau de l’enregistrement). If you’ve rejected an inheritance, you still need to inform the registry office.

If the person died in Belgium, you have four months to file the return. However, this increases to five months for people who died elsewhere in Europe or six months elsewhere in the world.

If you need to transfer inheritance funds internationally, consider using specialized money transfer services like Wise. Wise offers transfers at the mid-market exchange rate with transparent fees, which could save you money compared to banks when paying inheritance taxes from abroad or transferring inherited assets to your home country. This is particularly relevant for non-residents who may need to convert currencies to pay Spanish inheritance tax or move inherited funds back to their home country.

Double taxation rules in Belgium

Belgium doesn’t usually grant any relief from double taxation with respect to inheritance tax. This means that assets can be subject to double taxation in some circumstances.

Only inheritance tax paid on real estate abroad can be exempt. Any other capital tax paid abroad can be offset as a liability against the net value of the estate.

Belgium only has double tax treaties regarding inheritance tax with France and Sweden.

Transfer tax: inheritance tax for non-residents of Belgium

If the deceased was not resident in Belgium, Belgian inheritance tax is levied only on Belgian real estate owned by the deceased. Belgium does not tax the non-resident’s worldwide estate.

In such cases, the tax applies solely to the Belgian real estate, and only debts and expenses directly linked to that property may be deductible. General expenses, such as funeral costs unrelated to the Belgian property, are typically not deductible.

The deductibility of real-estate-related debts can vary by region. In the Brussels-Capital Region and Flanders, deduction rules historically differed depending on whether the deceased was an EU or EEA resident, although these rules have been influenced by EU law. In the Walloon Region, the rules are generally less dependent on the deceased’s nationality or residence.

While Belgium limits its taxation to Belgian immovable property in such cases, the deceased’s country of residence or nationality may still apply its own inheritance or estate tax rules to the broader estate.

Reducing your Belgian inheritance tax

Belgium applies a three-year rule to certain lifetime gifts. If a movable asset is given without registration and the donor dies within three years, the value of the gift is added back to the estate and subject to inheritance tax. This rule does not apply to gifts of immovable property.

If a gift of movable property is registered and gift tax is paid, the gift is not subject to inheritance tax on the donor’s death. Gifts of immovable property must always be executed by notarial deed and are taxed at the time of the gift.

In Brussels, gift tax on movable assets is 3% for spouses, legal cohabitants, and direct relatives, and 7% for other beneficiaries. Gift tax on immovable property is calculated using progressive regional rates that depend on the value of the property and the relationship between donor and recipient.

Gift tax in Wallonia on movable assets ranges from 3.3% to 7.7%, depending on the relationship. Gift tax on immovable property follows Wallonia’s own progressive rate scales.

Parents may gift property to their children while retaining a right of usufruct, allowing them to continue using the property during their lifetime. In such cases, gift tax is paid at the time of the transfer, and the gifted property is generally not subject to inheritance tax.

Currency conversion can significantly affect cross-border inheritances. Banks often apply exchange-rate markups of 3–5%, meaning that converting an inheritance of €100,000 could result in losses of €3,000–€5,000 purely due to foreign exchange costs.

Wise offers an alternative approach. By using the mid-market exchange rate and charging a transparent fee, Wise can help preserve more of your inheritance value when transferring funds internationally. For large transfers related to inheritance, this could represent significant savings on certain currency routes compared to traditional banking options.

Useful resources

• Belgian Ministry of Finance – guide to calculating and paying inheritance tax in Belgium (in Dutch and French)
• Notaire.be – how to find a notary in Belgium
• Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs – guide to succession, wills, and gifts
• European Union – cross-border succession law
• European Commission – FAQs on cross-border inheritance tax
• Wise – For cost-effective international money transfers related to inheritance matters