FAQ – General abatement
This section deals with the most common questions about the general abatement on registration duties.
1. Contact/case management
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.
2. Formal requirements/procedure
Your request must be sent to Opens in new windowthe FPS Finance – website only available in Dutch, French, and German.
Although registration duties have become a regional tax since the 2002 tax year, the Brussels-Capital Region is only responsible for setting tax rates, the tax base and exemptions. The federal government (i.e. the FPS Finance) is therefore still responsible for collecting the tax and handling individual cases on behalf of the Brussels-Capital Region.Practically speaking, the notary is the one who officially mentions in the deed of sale that you are requesting the abatement, and that you agree to comply with the requirements. The notary then sends the deed of sale including the abatement request to the FPS Finance.
The request must include:
- a declaration that, on the date of the purchase agreement, you do not own in full ownership any other property wholly or partly intended for housing.
- a commitment to establish your main residence in the vicinity of the purchased property within 3 years – or, in the case of a request for the additional abatement, within 5 years – from the date of registration of the notarial deed (or from the deadline for submitting the document for registration after the deadline for doing so has expired).
- a commitment to maintain your main residence in the property purchased for an uninterrupted period of at least 5 years, from the date of establishing your main residence in the property for which the reduction was obtained.
If you did not request the main abatement or additional abatement for energy performance improvements when you registered the notarial deed, you can request it retroactively within 6 months of its registration date. This is known as a “restitution claim”.
Such a request must be sent to Opens in new windowthe FPS Finance – website only available in Dutch, French, and German.
3. Substantive requirement: “Not owning another property in full ownership”
No. To benefit from the abatement, the buyer must not, upon signing the sale agreement, own in full ownership another property wholly or partly intended for housing. When the property is purchased by more than one person, each buyer must meet this condition.
To benefit from the abatement, the buyer must not, upon signing the sale agreement, own in full ownership another property wholly or partly intended for housing.
When a property is purchased by more than one person, the buyers must not jointly own, in full ownership, another property wholly or partly intended for housing.
In this case, the abatement remains applicable if:
- the buyer owns an undivided share (e.g. 1/2, 2/3, 15%, etc.) in full ownership.
- the buyers own, separately or jointly, an undivided share in full ownership.
To benefit from the abatement, the buyer must not, upon signing the sale agreement, own in full ownership another property wholly or partly intended for housing.
When a property is purchased by more than one person, the buyers must not jointly own, in full ownership, another property wholly or partly intended for housing.
In this case, the abatement remains applicable if:
- the buyer owns the entire property in usufruct or bare ownership.
- the buyers own, separately or jointly, the entire property in usufruct or bare ownership.
No. To benefit from the abatement, the buyer must not, upon signing the sale agreement, own in full ownership another property wholly or partly intended for housing.
When a property is purchased by more than one person, the buyers must not jointly own, in full ownership, another property wholly or partly intended for housing.
In this case, the abatement cannot be granted if the buyers jointly own the entire property, both in usufruct and bare ownership, as they then jointly own it in full ownership.
No. For the abatement to be granted, the buyer must not, on the date of the purchase agreement, own in full ownership another property that is wholly or partly intended for housing. Properties located abroad also fall under this exclusion.
If you own another home and transfer ownership of all properties that prevented the abatement from being immediately applied – no later than 2 years after the registration date of the document that led to the collection of the 12.5% duty on the purchase for which a restitution is claimed – the abatement may be granted retroactively. You must submit a restitution claim for the excess duty paid no later than 2 years after transferring ownership of the other home you owned.
4. Substantive requirement: Domiciliation
If the commitment to establish the main residence:
- is not fulfilled by any of the buyers, they are jointly and severally liable for the payment of additional duties on the amount of the abatement, and a fine equal to these additional duties (Art. 46bis, para. 6, Code of Registration Duties – Brussels-Capital Region), or reduced to 1/3 of these additional duties if there is no fraudulent intent, in accordance with the scale annexed to Opens in new windowthe decree of 11 May 2006 – only available in Dutch and French.
- is only fulfilled by some of the buyers, the additional duties due and the reduced fine (applicable if there is no fraudulent intent) are determined in proportion to the legal share – with regard to the purchase – of the buyers who have failed to fulfil the commitment.
- is not fulfilled due to force majeure, the additional duties remain due but not the fine. Only buyers who cannot invoke force majeure will be required to pay the reduced fine (applicable if there is no fraudulent intent) in proportion to their legal share in the purchase. However, additional duties are not due if the buyers establish their main residence at the location of the purchased property as soon as the force majeure ceases.
All buyers must meet this requirement and therefore establish their domicile in the relevant property within the specified deadline.
If this requirement is only fulfilled by some of the buyers, the additional duties due and the reduced fine (applicable if there is no fraudulent intent) are determined in proportion to the legal share – with regard to the purchase – of the buyers who have failed to meet the requirement.
Failure to meet the 3-year requirement to establish your main residence due to force majeure means you will still have to pay additional duties, but not the fine. However, additional duties are not due if the buyers establish their main residence at the location of the purchased property as soon as the force majeure ceases.
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 establish domicile in the property purchased.You may contact the registry office that registered the deed for which the abatement was granted. Opens in new windowVisit the FPS Finance online module – only available in Dutch, French, and German – to find the contact details of the relevant office.
5. Requirement to maintain residence
Except in cases of force majeure, the tax benefit must be repaid. Since 1 April 2023, this repayment has been prorated based on the number of years remaining.
This easing of the repayment rules also applies to an abatement granted before 1 April 2023, provided that the failure to comply with the 5-year term occurs on or after that date.
Failure to maintain your main residence during this 5-year period must be reported to the FPS Finance. You may contact the registry office that registered the deed for which the abatement was granted. Opens in new windowVisit the FPS Finance online module – only available in Dutch, French, and German – to find the contact details of the relevant office.An easing of the penalty is provided for in case the requirement to maintain the main residence in the purchased property for 5 years is not met. This easing of the penalty also applies to an abatement granted before 1 April 2023, provided that the failure to comply with the 5-year term occurs on or after that date.
For example, you were granted an abatement for a property purchase, with the notarial deed registered on 1 March 2022. You established your main residence there on 25 March 2022. Therefore, the 5-year period for maintaining the property as your main residence ends on 24 March 2027. If you move out before that date and no longer meet the residence condition, the amount to be repaid will depend on how many years the condition was not met.
In this example, if you move out:
- on 27 March 2023: all the additional duties (i.e. the tax benefit obtained) remain due.
- on 2 April 2023: 4/5 of the additional duties are due.
Since 1 April 2023, if you do not comply with this residence requirement, you will have to repay the tax benefit in proportion to the number of years remaining.
For example, when (at least one of) the buyers have (has) maintained the property as their main residence:
- for 7 months: they must repay 5/5 of the additional duties calculated based on the amount of the abatement.
- for 1 year and 6 months: they must repay 4/5 of the additional duties calculated based on the amount of the abatement.
- for 4 years and 11 months: they must repay 1/5 of the additional duties calculated based on the amount of the abatement.
The requirement is met if at least one of the buyers remains domiciled in the property.
Even if only some of the buyers comply with the requirement to maintain the property as their main residence, the additional duties must not be repaid.Except in cases of force majeure, the tax benefit must be repaid if the residence requirement is not met.
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 maintain the purchased property as your main residence.
You may contact the registry office that registered the deed for which the abatement was granted. Opens in new windowVisit the FPS Finance online module – only available in Dutch, French, and German – to find the contact details of the relevant office.
6. Off-plan purchase
Yes. The €200,000 general abatement also applies to purchases of off-plan or under-construction properties.
The general abatement also applies to the purchase of an off-plan or under-construction property, if the sale is partially subject to VAT (new buildings).
When VAT applies to the construction portion and registration duties apply to the land value, the abatement may be granted on the portion of the land price subject to registration duties, provided that the conditions are met.
In this case, the €600,000 cap is exceeded if the total price of the sale of the constructed or to-be-constructed building (land portion + new construction excluding VAT) exceeds €600,000.When the sale is fully subject to VAT, no abatement applies.
More information
Legal base
- Opens in new windowArticle 46bis of the Code of Registration, Mortgage and Registry Duties (only available in Dutch, French and German)
- Opens in new windowArticle 46ter of the Code of Registration, Mortgage and Registry Duties (only available in Dutch, French and German)
- Opens in new windowOrdinance of 14 December 2017 amending Article 46bis of the Code of Registration, Mortgage and Registry Duties, with the aim of introducing an abatement on registration duties due on the sale of building land (only available in Dutch and French)
- Opens in new windowOrdinance of 17 November 2022 amending the abatement on registration duties and introducing an additional abatement on registration duties for energy performance improvements (only available in Dutch and French)