Inheritance tax on property in Belgium

Which Region applies its rules?

What counts is not the Region where the property is, but the one where the deceased lived. According to notaire.be, the rules are those of the Region in which the deceased resided the longest during the last 5 years of their life. Moving house the day before the death therefore changes nothing.

The tax also depends on the relationship with the deceased, the value received and the Region’s rates. Each heir is taxed separately on what they receive. A child, a spouse or a legal cohabitant belong to the “direct line” in the scales below.

The scale in Wallonia

Here is the rate in the direct line, between spouses and between legal cohabitants, as presented by notaire.be (page consulted on 13 October 2026). Each bracket is taxed at its own rate.

Notaire.be also mentions exemptions for the heir in the direct line, the spouse or the legal cohabitant: €12,500 of the first bracket is not taxed, with an additional exemption of €12,500 if the net share does not exceed €125,000. For a child under 21, there is €2,500 of exemption per full year remaining until their 21st birthday.

What changes in 2028

The Walloon decree of 5 December 2024 replaces this scale for deaths occurring from 1 January 2028. The rates in the direct line, between spouses and between legal cohabitants become:

According to notaire.be, the exemption on the first bracket will rise from €12,500 to €25,000 on that date. For estates opened before 2028, the old scale applies.

The scale in Brussels

In Brussels, notaire.be gives a single scale for spouses, legal cohabitants and heirs in the direct line.

The first €15,000 of the share of the estate is not taxed. For a child under 21, the exemption is increased by €2,500 per full year remaining until their 21st birthday. The page gives no update date: confirm the scale in force at the date of death with the notary.

For the home where the deceased lived, gentler rules exist (see the family home in an estate).

The inheritance tax return and the deadlines

The heirs must file an inheritance tax return (déclaration de succession) with the competent registration office. According to notaire.be, the deadline is:

• 4 months from the death if the deceased died in Belgium;
• 5 months if they died elsewhere in Europe;
• 6 months if they died outside Europe.

These deadlines can be extended in some cases, for example when the estate is difficult to value. An heir who renounces the estate does not have to file the return. If an asset was forgotten or discovered later, a supplementary return is needed.

If the deceased lived abroad and leaves a building in Belgium, the return is called a “declaration of transfer on death” (déclaration de mutation par décès). Only the heir who receives the property signs it and files it with the office of the commune where the property is located.

Payment

The tax must be paid within the 2 months following the expiry of the deadline for filing the return. In practice, this comes to about 6 months from the death for a death in Belgium, 7 months for a death elsewhere in Europe and 8 months outside Europe (notaire.be).

Notaire.be also recommends a precaution: do not withdraw money from the deceased’s accounts in a hurry, because the tax authority will turn to the heirs. The notary can explain how to release the funds.

Which professional to consult

A notary can prepare the return, calculate the tax and assist you in dividing the property. To know the value of the house, a property valuer or a surveyor (géomètre-expert) can provide a written valuation. An accountant or a tax adviser can help if the estate is complex (see also gifting property to compare).