6% VAT in Belgium: renovation or demolition and rebuilding

Renovation: the 6% rate for an older home

According to be.brussels and wallonie.be, three conditions apply:

• age: the home is over 10 years old (be.brussels). The Walloon page says “at least 10 years old”: check the reference date with the contractor and FPS Finance;
• use: the home is used exclusively or mainly as a private home;
• invoicing: the works are invoiced directly to you, as the final consumer (owner, usufructuary, tenant…).

The works covered are conversion, renovation, improvement, rehabilitation, repair and maintenance. Cleaning is excluded (be.brussels). Wallonie.be also points out that some renovation works remain subject to 21% VAT.

Since the programme law of 18 July 2025, an exclusion has been added: the reduced rate does not apply to transactions that include both the supply and the fixing to a building of the components of a central heating installation fuelled by fossil fuels, burners and control devices included (article 52 of the law). A new oil or gas boiler therefore remains taxed at the standard rate.

Our guide does not replace the FPS Finance pages, which we were unable to read. For the statements the contractor must put on the invoice and any forms, ask your contractor and FPS Finance.

Demolition and rebuilding: three cases in the law

The regime is in article 53 of the programme law of 18 July 2025, published in the Moniteur belge (the Belgian Official Gazette) of 29 July 2025. It replaces heading XXXVII of table A of Royal Decree no. 20. Notaire.be states that a permanent regime has existed since 1 January 2024, for rebuilding your sole and own home with a maximum floor area of 200 m², and that since 1 June 2024 it also covers homes intended for long-term private letting. Notaire.be also describes transitional measures for older projects, extended until 30 June 2025: a project started before 2024 must be checked case by case with the notary.

Case 1: you demolish and rebuild for yourself

Conditions of article 53, § 1:

• the total living space does not exceed 200 m²;
• the new building is on the same cadastral plot as the demolished building;
• you occupy it as your sole and main home, and you register your domicile there without delay;
• you send an electronic declaration before the tax becomes chargeable (plots, co-owners, permits and contracts attached).

The conditions must be met until 31 December of the fifth year following that of first occupation. If you no longer meet them, you declare it within 3 months and the tax benefit is repaid.

Case 2: you buy a rebuilt home

Since 1 July 2025, the law also covers the sale by a VAT-registered business that has demolished and rebuilt. Article 53, § 3, sets a floor area of 175 m² at most for a buyer who is a natural person and will occupy the home, not 200 m². The 6% does not cover the part of the price relating to the components of a central heating installation running on fossil fuels. This regime covers transactions for which the tax became chargeable from 1 July 2025.

If you buy a new home, the VAT question also arises at the time of purchase: see our guide registration duties. According to notaire.be, a home is “new” until 31 December of the second year following its first occupation, and the sale is then most often made under 21% VAT. A renovated building can be treated as new if the renovation has substantially changed its nature and structure, or if the works cost at least 60% of the sale value of the building, land excluded.

Case 3: long-term letting

Article 53 also provides for the reduced rate if the rebuilt building is let for at least 15 years: to a social housing body or a recognised body with a social purpose, or, within the 200 m² limit, to a natural person who registers their domicile there.

Rules for 2026: what is stable and what to check

The law of 18 July 2025 is the basis of the rules we read for 2026. We found no end date in it. The consolidated text may have been amended since: check the text in force, heading XXXVII of table A, and the FPS Finance circulars, before signing a quote.

Points to remember in practice:

• the 200 m² threshold applies to building for yourself; 175 m² to buying a rebuilt home;
• the plot condition means the same cadastral plot;
• the 5-year occupation period runs until 31 December of the fifth year after first occupation;
• the home must be the occupant’s sole home.

Which professional to consult

The contractor states the rate applied on the invoice, but you are the one answerable for the conditions on the age and use of the home. The notary checks the conditions for buying a rebuilt home and the VAT or registration duties regime. For a demolition and rebuilding, an accountant or FPS Finance confirms the conditions before the works. For plot boundaries, a surveyor can help.