Belgium: capital gains tax 2026, TOB, withholding and CAP

• Law: the act of 6 April 2026 introducing a tax on gains on financial assets, published in the Belgisch Staatsblad of 21 April 2026, effective from 1 January 2026. Rate: 10%.
• Exemption: the law sets a base amount of EUR 4,855 before indexation. LYNX Belgium gives EUR 10,000 per taxpayer for assessment year 2027.
• Withholding: intermediaries established in Belgium have withheld the tax since 1 June 2026 unless all account holders opt out. With a foreign provider you in principle declare the tax yourself.
• TOB stock exchange tax: 0.12%, 0.35% or 1.32%, each with a cap.
• Foreign accounts: report them once to the National Bank's Central Point of Contact (CAP) and mention them in your tax return every year.

According to the text adopted in second reading (Chamber document 56 1244/008), the 10% rate applies to the other gains on financial assets (Art. 90, para. 1, 9°, c, ITC 92). Under the new Art. 92 § 1, financial assets are financial instruments, insurance and capitalisation contracts, and crypto-assets.

Starting value for older assets: for assets acquired before 1 January 2026, the gain is measured against their value on 31 December 2025. For disposals up to 31 December 2030 you can instead use the proven historical acquisition value on request.

Exemption: the law exempts a first slice of EUR 4,855 (new Art. 96/2, 2°, ITC); that is the base amount before indexation. LYNX Belgium writes that for assessment year 2027 the exemption is EUR 10,000 per taxpayer. We could not retrieve the official indexed figure. Unused exemption can be carried forward under conditions: under Art. 33 the King sets the amount (base amount EUR 480) so that, indexed, it equals EUR 1,000 for income from 2027; per taxable period these carry-forwards are capped at a base amount of EUR 2,426. LYNX gives EUR 15,000 as the maximum total exemption.

Other categories remain: according to Wikifin (page dated 27 January 2026), speculative gains are taxed at 33% and must be declared; gains from a professional activity are taxed at progressive rates of 25% to 50%.

The duty to withhold falls on intermediaries established in Belgium (new Art. 261, para. 1, 5°, ITC). The law places no such duty on intermediaries outside Belgium.

• From when: withholding applies from 1 June 2026. For 1 January to 31 May 2026 an equivalent amount could be paid only at the request of all account holders; the request had to be made by 31 August 2026, and payment follows by 30 November 2026.
• Opting out (Art. 265/1 ITC): if all account holders expressly choose no withholding, the intermediary withholds nothing. It then informs the tax administration of your choice and of all income concerned. The choice can be revoked once per taxable period, with effect from the next.
• Transition in 2026 (Art. 34): the opt-out for 2026 had to be communicated to the intermediary by 31 August 2026 and applies to the whole of 2026. Tax on gains between 1 June and 31 August 2026 is due by 30 November 2026. The rule treating these months as opted out applies only to insurance and capitalisation contracts, not to securities.

What the providers write:

• Keytrade Bank, like all intermediaries established in Belgium, withholds the tax for opt-in clients from the first euro of gain. It does not net losses and does not apply the exemption; you reclaim that through your tax return. If your assets are held at a foreign institution, according to Keytrade you must in principle determine the tax base yourself, calculate the tax and declare it in your personal income tax return.
• Bolero (KBC's online platform) says on its own page that it withholds the tax automatically from 1 June 2026 unless you opt out.
• [LYNX](/en/brokers/lynx-broker) says on its own page that it works with the opt-out system and does not automatically withhold the tax at source.
• [Trade Republic](/en/brokers/trade-republic) operates in Belgium as a branch (Trade Republic Bank GmbH, Succursale de Belgique). Whether the Belgian branch of a foreign bank counts as an intermediary established in Belgium is a legal question we do not answer.

Worked example (our own calculation): in 2026 you sell shares bought in 2026 at a gain of EUR 15,000 through a Belgian bank, without opting out. The bank withholds 10% from the first euro, which is EUR 1,500. If the EUR 10,000 exemption stated by LYNX applies and you have no other gains or losses, the tax is 10% of EUR 5,000, which is EUR 500; you reclaim the remaining EUR 1,000 through your return.

The TOB applies at the same rate on purchases and on sales. According to Wikifin there are three rates, with some exceptions:

On a EUR 10,000 purchase that is EUR 12, EUR 35 or EUR 132, depending on the rate (our own calculation).

If you hold an account abroad, you pay the TOB yourself, by the last working day of the second month after the transaction, unless the foreign bank withholds and remits it. LYNX Belgium writes that it has withheld the stock exchange tax at source for years and remits it to the tax authorities.

• Dividends: the withholding tax (roerende voorheffing) is 30% and is final when a Belgian intermediary withholds it. If you receive dividends on an account abroad without a Belgian intermediary, nothing is withheld at source and you declare the dividends in your return (Wikifin, page dated 5 January 2026).
• Exemption: dividends from shares received from 1 January 2025 and for 2026 are exempt up to EUR 833 per taxpayer per year. You reclaim the tax withheld through your return.
• Reynders tax: on gains on the bond part of accumulating shares of bond funds or trackers, the bank withholds 30%. A fund is caught once it invests 10% in bonds (25% for units bought before 1 January 2018).
• Interest: Saxo Belgium states in its price list that credit interest is subject to withholding tax.
• US dividends: under the treaty with Belgium, US withholding tax is 15% (IRS, Table 1).

All Belgian residents must report their foreign accounts directly to the National Bank's Central Point of Contact (CAP). According to Wikifin, one report is enough; in the tax return, however, the accounts must be mentioned every year. The sources speak of foreign accounts in general; we have not checked in detail which accounts at a foreign broker are covered.

• Securities: every financial instrument held at a credit institution or investment firm from the EEA is protected up to EUR 20,000 per person per institution if it fails. The cover applies only if the securities cannot be returned, and it does not cover losses in value.
• Cash: investment cash (beleggingstegoed) at a Belgian investment firm is protected up to EUR 100,000 per person per institution, and deposits at EEA credit institutions also up to EUR 100,000.

• TOB withheld at source: LYNX.
• Capital gains tax withheld at source: not at LYNX (opt-out system); not verified for Saxo and Trade Republic.
• Website in Dutch: LYNX, Saxo and Trade Republic.

Two Belgian providers that we do not compare and do not rate are Bolero (KBC) and Keytrade Bank (the Belgian branch of Arkéa Direct Bank, France). The overview with source and date for every entry is on the page brokers for investors in Belgium. All brokers that accept clients resident in Belgium: broker directory for Belgium; for ETF investors: ETF brokers for Belgium.

• the official indexed exemption for assessment year 2027: the tax administration's page could not be retrieved automatically;
• how DEGIRO, Trade Republic and Saxo handle the TOB and the capital gains tax in Belgium; DEGIRO's Belgian site was unreachable;
• whether Belgian branches of foreign banks count as intermediaries established in Belgium;
• that Wikifin's page on the tax rates is dated 27 January 2026 and still describes the capital gains act as planned.

1. 1Ask your provider whether it withholds the capital gains tax and whether an opt-out applies to your account.
2. 2With a foreign broker: record acquisition values and the values of 31 December 2025, declare the gains yourself, pay the TOB on time if the broker does not remit it, and check the reporting duty to the CAP.
3. 3Reclaim the EUR 833 dividend exemption in your return.

• Belgisch Staatsblad, table of contents of 21 April 2026
• Chamber of Representatives, document 56 1244/008, text adopted in second reading
• Wikifin, De belastingen op je Belgische beleggingen, Hoe worden de geïnde dividenden belast, Je beleggingen in het buitenland and Je rekeningen in het buitenland
• National Bank of Belgium, Centraal Aanspreekpunt
• Guarantee Fund, Beschermingsregelingen
• IRS, Tax Treaty Table 1
• LYNX Belgium, Meerwaardebelasting and Tarieven
• Keytrade Bank, FAQ meerwaardebelasting and home page; Bolero, Meerwaardebelasting
• Saxo Belgium, Commissions, charges and margin schedule; Trade Republic, Belgium

This article is for information only and does not constitute investment, legal or tax advice.