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Until now, there was no wealth tax in Belgium. It’s only when you let your capital grow that the tax authorities, in many cases, claim a piece of the pie.
Since the end of January, the tax authorities have had a new tool to detect tax evasion. From now on, banks will be required to transmit twice a year to the Central Contact Point for accounts and financial contracts (PCC) the balances of their bank accounts and certain financial contracts. Critics, including Matthias Dobbelaere-Welvaert, the man behind the “Ministry of Privacy”“, talk about a register of wealth.
It is to be feared that such a register will lead to a wealth tax. “Government authorities will be shocked at how rich Belgians are. You can be sure that a wealth tax will soon be introduced,” remarked Anton van Zantbeek, tax lawyer at Rivus, in a recent interview with MoneyTalk.
Savings exempt up to a certain level
Although there is no wealth tax in our country, the tax authorities will soon knock on your door as soon as your wealth generates income. Income from savings remains partially out of reach. There is indeed an exemption for regulated savings accounts. For this year, this exemption amounts to 980 euros per person. This means that you only have to pay tax on interest above this limit. In this case, the tax authorities apply a favorable rate of 15%.
In the current interest situation, you must already have a small capital to be taxed on your savings. For example, you must have 890 910 euros into your savings account before you have to pay interest taxes, at least if you put your money in a savings account that pays 0.11%.
The above regulation only applies to regulated savings accounts. Anyone putting their money in an unregulated savings account must pay a 30% withholding tax on all products.
Withholding tax
Investors must also pay part of their income to the state. In our country, you pay withholding tax (again 30%) on dividends and coupons. In general, this tax is automatically deducted by the financial institution. However, this is not the case everywhere. With some brokers, you still have to declare the tax yourself.
It should be added here that dividends up to 800 euros (tax year 2022) are exempt from tax. However, you must first pay the withholding tax and then recover it via the tax return. The maximum rate of withholding tax being 30%, you can recover a maximum of 240 euros.
Capital gains tax
But what about capital gains? In principle, capital gains are not taxed, at least if you manage your private assets as a “good father”.
If the tax authorities believe that there is speculation, then you must pay a tax of 33% (plus municipal tax) on the capital gain realized. In this case, this income is considered as “miscellaneous income”. This reasoning also applies to cryptocurrencies. The question is of course when it comes to speculative investments.
There is one exception: the Reynders tax for investment funds. You have to pay 30% capital gains tax when you sell a fund that invests at least 10% in fixed income assets. This tax is only levied on the capital gain of the cash and bond portion. Equity funds therefore escape this tax.
Remember that the tax authorities also tax your capital in other ways. Think for example of the stock market transaction tax (TOB) and the tax on life insurance premiums.