FAQ – Additional abatement for energy performance improvements
This section deals with the most common questions about the additional “renovation” abatement for energy performance improvements (which came into effect on 1 April 2023).
For any questions regarding the handling of your tax case, please contact the Opens in new windowFPS Finance (Administration of Legal Security) – only available in Dutch, French, and German.
You may also contact the registry office that registered the deed for which the abatement was granted. To find the contact details of the relevant office, Opens in new windowvisit the FPS Finance online module – only available in Dutch, French, and German.
The authority of the Brussels-Capital Region – with regard to registration duties – is currently limited to determining the tax rate, tax base and exemptions. The FPS Finance still handles individual cases.
Brussels Fiscality, the regional tax administration, does not handle individual cases related to the collection of registration duties. Therefore, if an abatement is refused, it is not useful to lodge a tax appeal with Brussels Fiscality. This administration also does not decide whether a particular event qualifies as a case of force majeure.
No. The renovation abatement is an additional benefit on top of the main abatement. This means it will only apply if the main abatement applies. In other words, if the main abatement is not granted or is withdrawn, the additional abatement will automatically not apply or will also be withdrawn.
You must therefore meet the basic conditions for the main abatement in order to qualify for the additional abatement. However, given the time required to improve the EPB-rate (e.g. applying for planning permission, obtaining quotes, carrying out the work), if you also apply for the additional renovation abatement, the deadline for establishing your domicile in the property is extended from 3 to 5 years.
As a reminder, the basic conditions to qualify for the main abatement are as follows:
- The property must be situated in the Brussels-Capital Region.
- The buyer is a natural person.
- The buyer must acquire full ownership of the property.
- The property must be used or intended, wholly or partly, for housing.
- Upon signing the sale agreement, the buyer must not already own in full ownership another property (wholly or partly) intended for housing.
- The amount on which registration duties are calculated may not exceed €500,000 (€600,000 from 1 April 2023), or €250,000 (€300,000 from 1 April 2023) for building land.
- The buyer must establish their main residence in the property within 2 years (3 years from 1 April 2023) of registering the purchase deed.
- The buyer must maintain their main residence in the property for an uninterrupted period of 5 years from the date the residence was established.
The EPB (Energy Performance of Buildings) scale includes the following classes and subclasses:
Classes | Subclasses
A | A++, A+, A, A-
B | B+, B, B-
C | C+, C, C-
D | D+, D, D-
E | E+, E, E-
F | /
G | /
To qualify for the additional renovation abatement, the improvement must be at least two full energy classes. Only the main class (G, F, E, D, C, B, A) is considered, not the subclass.
For example:
- If you improve the EPB class of the property from C- to C+, you are not moving up 2 EPB classes and therefore cannot benefit from the additional abatement.
- If you improve the EPB class of the property from B- to A++, you are not moving up 2 EPB classes and therefore cannot benefit from the additional abatement.
- If you improve the EPB class of the property from E+ to C-, you are moving up 2 EPB classes and therefore can benefit from the additional abatement.
Compliance with the improvement condition is assessed solely based on the EPB certificates issued for the purchased property.
Which EPB classes are taken into account to verify that you have improved the EPB class of your property in compliance with your commitment?
- To assess the EPB class at the time of acquisition: the class shown on the most recent valid EPB certificate on the date of the sale agreement.
- To assess the EPB class at the end of the 5-year period granted for carrying out energy renovations: the class shown on the most recent valid EPB certificate issued before the deadline. You must therefore obtain an EPB certificate confirming the improvement in energy class and submit it to the FPS Finance no later than 6 months after the 5-year period has ended.
The amount of the abatement granted at the time of registering the purchase deed depends on the commitment you make in the deed (or your request) to improve the building's EPB class.
You may:
- either opt for a minimum commitment of improving the EPB rating by 2 classes, in which case you will benefit from a €50,000 abatement, resulting in a reduction of €6,250 (12.5% x €50,000) on your registration duties.
- or opt for a greater commitment, in which case the amount of the abatement you will benefit from will be €25,000 multiplied by the number of intended class upgrades, resulting in a reduction of €3,125 per class upgrade. For example, if you commit to improving the rating by 4 classes, you will benefit from a €100,000 abatement, resulting in a €12,500 reduction.
The amount that could not be taken into account but should have been granted, given the actual improvement in EPB rating (€25,000 x 12.5% x number of additional class upgrades), will be refunded to you.
To receive this refund, you must submit a restitution claim to the FPS Finance, specifically to the registry office that registered the deed for which the abatement was granted. To find the contact details of the relevant office, Opens in new windowvisit the FPS Finance online module – only available in Dutch, French, and German.
For example: when you purchased your home, you committed to improving the EPB by 2 classes. If, at the end of the 5-year term, the EPB has improved by 4 classes, you may submit a restitution claim. In this case, €6,250 (€25,000 x 12.5% x 2 additional class upgrades) will be refunded to you.
You will be charged the difference between the abatement amount granted at the time of deed registration and the amount that should have been granted based on the actual improvement in the EPB rating. This amount will be a maximum of €6,250 if the EPB rating has improved by fewer than 2 classes, and a maximum of €3,125 per intended EPB class upgrade that has not been achieved.
In addition, except in cases of force majeure, you will also have to pay a fine equal to 1/10 of these additional duties.
Examples:
- When buying your home, you committed to an improvement in EPB rating by 2 classes. If, at the end of the 5-year term, there has been no improvement or only an improvement by 1 class, you will be charged €6,250 in additional duties and a €625 fine.
- When buying your home, you committed to an improvement in EPB rating by 3 classes. If, at the end of the 5-year term, an actual improvement by only 2 classes has been achieved, you will be charged €3,125 in additional duties and a €312.50 fine.
Whether or not there is a case of force majeure must be determined by the relevant departments of the FPS Finance. Force majeure refers to an event that you could not have foreseen at the time of purchase, that you could not have prevented, and that made it impossible to meet the requirement to improve the EPB within the 5-year deadline.
You may contact the registry office that registered the deed for which the abatement was granted. To find the contact details of the relevant office, Opens in new windowvisit the FPS Finance online module – only available in Dutch, French, and German.
Non-exhaustive list of examples of situations considered force majeure:
- Destruction of the purchased property
- Expropriation of the purchased property
- Impossibility of carrying out the work to improve the EPB class due to a hidden defect
Examples of situations not considered force majeure:
- Financial difficulties that prevent or limit the buyers’ ability to invest.
- Failure to obtain planning permission, unless this failure results from an event beyond the buyers’ control or unrelated to their project, such as a change to the sector plan or a mistake made by the authority responsible for issuing the permission. It must also be proved that the work required to improve the EPB is subject to a planning permission under applicable legislation.
In this case, you will be liable for:
- €25,000 in additional duties for failing to meet the conditions relating to the main abatement.
- up to €6,250 in additional duties for failing to fulfil the renovation commitment required for the additional abatement.
- a fine – except in cases of force majeure – equal to 1/3 of the combined additional duties.
You remain entitled to the main abatement, provided that the other conditions for benefiting from it are met.
In this regard, you have 5 years to establish your main residence in the property (instead of 3 years).
Yes, you may apply retrospectively, within 6 months of registering the purchase deed.
- If you applied for the main abatement in the purchase deed:
- you may still apply for the additional renovation abatement afterwards.
- If you did not apply for the main abatement in the purchase deed:
- you may apply for the main abatement retrospectively.
- or you may apply for both the main abatement and the renovation abatement retrospectively.
You do not need to submit both applications together. You may first apply for the main abatement, and then – provided that the 6-month deadline has not passed – apply for the additional renovation abatement.
- If you applied for the main abatement in the purchase deed: