Inheritance tax returns

Inheritance tax returns

If you are an heir, you must declare your inheritance to the tax authorities. The tax authorities will calculate the taxes that you must pay on your inheritance based on the tax return you file. Our estates team will help you declare your inheritance by giving you an overview of what we at KBC submit to the tax authorities.

Reduce the inheritance tax burden on your heirs

When your heirs inherit part of your assets, they'll begrudge having to immediately give up some of that in the form of inheritance tax. Savings life insurance or investment-type life insurance could be a good solution for this and an easy way to do your wealth and inheritance planning.

Who completes the inheritance tax return?

If the deceased lived in Belgium

An inheritance tax return must be filed by

  • All heirs
  • The surviving spouse or partner
  • The people to whom all the estate assets are left under the will

who may each file individual returns or - more usually - make one joint declaration.

If the deceased lived outside Belgium

Heirs only need to file an inheritance tax return if they inherit real estate in Belgium.

When do you have to declare inheritance?

When you inherit from someone who died

in Belgium: within 4 months of the date of death
in another EEA*: within 5 months of the date of death
outside the EEA*: within 6 months of the date of death

When and how do you have to file an inheritance tax return?

The deceased was mainly resident in the Flemish Region during the last 5 years

Submit your inheritance tax return to the Flemish tax authorities at this address: Vlaamse Belastingdienst – Erfbelasting, Vaartstraat 16, 9300 Aalst. You can download the model inheritance tax form (in Dutch) from the Belastingportaal Vlaanderen website.

The deceased was mainly resident in the Walloon or Brussels-Capital Region during the last 5 years

Submit your inheritance tax return to the registration office in the deceased’s last tax residence. You can download the model inheritance tax return from www.myminfin.be or get one free of charge from any registration office. There's also a model form that comes with a useful guide for completing it.

The deceased lived outside Belgium

Submit your declaration to the office in the district where the real estate with the highest property tax value is located.

What do you have to include in an inheritance tax return?

The model declaration form for Flanders specifies the various items that you have to report. For the Walloon and Brussels-Capital Regions, the form guides you through the items that need to be included. To help you fill it in, your Estates Team will provide you with an overview of the tax return filed by KBC.

What you need to include in your declaration (this differs per region)

When must you pay the inheritance tax?

In the Flemish Region, after you file an inheritance tax return you are sent a tax assessment notice. You then have two months to pay the inheritance tax, which starts running from the date of receiving the assessment. In the Walloon and Brussels-Capital Regions, when you submit an inheritance tax return you are then sent a demand for payment. You then have two months from the deadline for submitting your declaration to pay the inheritance tax.

* European Union countries, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway

Notifying us that a client has died

Informing us of a death is the first step to making sure the deceased's banking and insurance affairs are taken care of properly and smoothly.

Inheritance planning

Reduce the inheritance tax burden on your heirs.

Keep paying the bills after a death

Following a death, there are various ways to keep paying the debts and bills. We’ll be more than happy to provide you with the information you need.

What to do when someone dies

We’re here to provide practical help on the things you need to do. Read the full text and/or use our handy checklist.