What does the capital gains tax mean for you?

The tax applies to:

• Natural persons who are subject to personal income tax in Belgium
• Certain legal entities subject to the tax on legal entities (mainly non-profit organisations, foundations and private foundations) An exception is made for entities that are able to receive gifts for which a tax reduction applies.

This means that the tax does not apply to:

• Companies
• Natural persons and legal entities that have their tax residence abroad

The capital gains tax has a very broad scope of application. It covers different types of both Belgian and foreign financial products such as shares, bonds, funds, options, trackers, ETFs, warrants, capital redemption insurance, investment-type insurance, gold, foreign currency, crypto assets, etc., both listed and unlisted.

Capital gains tax does not apply to:

• Group insurance
• Long-term savings plans
• Pension savings and other types of non-statutory pension accrual

1. Capital gains

The capital gain is the difference between the amount you receive when selling the product and the amount you paid when purchasing the product. As the new tax takes effect from 1 January 2026, only capital gains accrued on or after that date will be affected. To determine the price of products you have bought before that date, we look at the value of the product on 31 December 2025 (known as the ‘snapshot value’).

Deduction of costs or taxes to reduce the realised capital gain is not permitted.

Example
You bought a share in 2023 at a price of 100 euros, and sell it on 15 September 2026 for 150 euros. Over the entire period, you therefore realise a capital gain of 50 euros. However, the price of the share on 31 December 2025 is 120 euros. As a result, you pay only 10% of 30 euros (150 - 120) in tax.

2. Capital losses

It is possible that in addition to capital gains in a given year, you also realise capital losses. You can deduct these capital losses from the capital gains you realised in the same year, across different types of investments. They cannot be carried over from one year to the next.

As capital gains are taxed as from 1 January 2026, capital losses can also be deducted from that date.
You can only set off capital losses in your tax return. If, as intermediary, KBC withholds the 10% capital gains tax for you, KBC may not take into account the capital losses you have realised.

Example
In 2027, you realise a total capital gain of 25 000 euros by selling various investments. You also sell some investments in the same year on which you realise a total loss of 3 000 euros. The net taxable capital gain is then 25 000 - 3 000 = 22 000 euros (leaving aside any exemptions).

3. Historically higher acquisition value

If you bought a share before 31 December 2025 at a higher price than the ‘snapshot value’, you will be allowed to use the higher purchase price instead of the snapshot value.

This option only applies to sales on or before 31 December 2030; you must state this higher purchase price in your tax return.
However, using a historically higher acquisition value can never result in realising a capital loss. The taxable capital gain will then be reduced to 0 euros.

Example
You bought a share in 2023 for a price of 150 euros. The price on 31 December 2025 (‘snapshot value’) is 120 euros. You sell the share on 15 September 2026 for 125 euros. So you would have to pay 10% on a gain of 5 euros (the difference between the selling price and the snapshot value on 31 December 2025). However, you didn’t realise a real capital gain as you bought the share for more than you sold it for. Until 31 December 2030, you can apply the historical purchase price that you actually paid.

4. What about purchases at different times?

If the same product was purchased at different times, the calculation of the capital gain is based on the securities purchased first (FIFO principle: first in, first out). This means that, for the calculation of the capital gains tax, the product purchased first is also the first product to be sold.

Example

• 2026: purchase of 10 shares for a price of 100 euros
• 2027: purchase of 20 shares for a price of 120 euros
• 2028: sale of 15 shares for a price of 150 euros

Capital gain on the sale in 2028:

• Sale of 10 shares purchased in 2026 (150 euros – 100 euros) × 10 = capital gain of 500 euros
• Sale of 5 shares purchased in 2027 (150 euros – 120 euros) x 5 = capital gain of 150 euros
• Total taxable capital gain = 650 euros
• Tax payable: 65 euros (10% of 650 euros)
  

1. How is the capital gains tax applied to securities in foreign currencies?

For financial products in foreign currencies, the law provides that both the purchase price and the sale price must be converted into euros using the exchange rate on the day of purchase and sale to calculate the taxable base. This ensures that not only the capital gain on the security itself but also the capital gain on the exchange rate is taken into account for the capital gains tax.

Example

• You buy 100 US shares for a price of 50 dollars each. At the time of purchase, 1 euro is equal to 1.10 US dollars. This means that the price in euros is 4 545 euros (5 000 dollars = worth 4 545 euros at that time).
• You later sell the shares at a price of 60 dollars each. At that time, 1 euro is equal to 1 US dollar, which means that you receive 6 000 euros.
• The exchange rate difference results in a total gain of 1 455 euros (sale price of 6 000 euros minus the purchase price of 4 545 euros). This is more than your gain per share in dollars (1 000 dollars).
• Consequently, the taxable capital gain is 1 455 euros, with an effective tax of 145.50 euros (10% on 1 455 euros).

2. What about securities transferred from other banks?

If you’ve transferred securities from another bank, we need to know the price you purchased your securities at and the date you purchased them on in order to calculate the capital gains tax correctly. You will find this information in a portfolio statement, a MiFID report or your purchase statement. If you don’t provide us with this information, we will calculate the capital gain on the full sale price.

Some banks have committed themselves to forwarding this information upon a transfer of securities. If your bank is in the list, you don’t have to provide this information yourself. As soon as the list is available, you can consult it here.

3. What about the Reynders tax?

The Reynders tax is a tax of 30% on the ‘capital gain’ on certain investment funds that invest fully or partially in bonds.
The law provides for a specific method of calculating the new capital gains tax for funds that are subject to the Reynders tax.

So, when selling an investment fund subject to this tax, you are liable to two taxes:

• 30% withholding tax on the return on the bond portion
• 10% capital gains tax on the return of the share portion

Example
You buy a fund in 2026 for a price of 2 000 euros. You sell this fund in 2028 for 2 500 euros. The capital gain is then 500 euros.

Say that the TIS (i.e. the part of the gain derived from the interest component) was 120 euros at the time of purchase and 160 euros at the time of sale, the difference (160 - 120 = 40 euros) is subject to the Reynders tax of 30%.

So, when selling this fund, you pay the following total amount:

• Reynders tax: 40 x 30% = 12 euros
• Capital gains tax: 500 – 40 = 460. 460 x 10% = 46 euros
• Total tax: 58 euros
  

Every taxpayer is entitled to an annual exemption. No capital gains tax is payable on the first 10 000 euros of capital gains realised. This amount is indexed annually. You need to arrange this exemption in your personal tax return.

In addition, you can carry forward a limited proportion of the exemption you don’t use to the following year. For each year that you don’t make use of this exemption, you can carry forward up to 1 000 euros to a subsequent year, up to a maximum of five years. This makes it possible for each taxpayer to claim a maximum exemption of 15 000. A married couple could therefore end up with a joint basic exemption of 30 000 if they carry forward the full exemption amount (assuming their investments form part of their joint assets).

Example 1

You don’t realise any capital gains in the first two years. As a result, you can carry forward an exemption amount of 1 000 euros twice, and by 2028 your exemption has increased from 10 000 to 12 000 euros.

In 2028, you realise a capital gain of 20 000 euros. Your exemption is 12 000 euros, which reduces your taxable capital gain to 8 000 euros. Since you have now used the full exemption, no exemption amount can be carried forward to the next year.

Example 2

You didn’t realise any capital gains in the first year and you can carry forward the exemption of 1 000 euros to the next year.

In 2027, you realise a capital gain of 7 500 euros. You first use the exemption amount of 2026 that was carried forward and then 6 500 euros of your basic exemption. Since you have now used the first tranche of 1 000 euros of your exemption, no exemption amount can be carried forward to the next year.

In 2028, you realise a capital gain of 12 500 euros and your exemption is 10 000 euros (your basic exemption), which means that your taxable capital gain is reduced to 2 500 euros. Since you have now used the full exemption, no exemption amount can be carried forward to the next year.

1. How will you pay after the law has been passed?

As soon as the law has been passed, you have two options:

Option 1: Declare everything yourself (opt-out)

• You opt for KBC not to deduct any capital gains tax
• We report your choice to the tax authorities and provide you and the tax authorities with a statement detailing your realised capital gains
• You are personally responsible for declaring these amounts in your tax return

How do you make this choice?

• Asking Kate about the ‘Capital gains tax opt-out’ in KBC Mobile
• Going to ‘Investments’ in KBC Mobile or KBC Touch and selecting ‘What are you after?’ > ‘Capital gains tax opt-out’
• Contacting your KBC branch  

Option 2: Automatic deduction (withholding tax)

• If you don’t opt out, KBC will automatically deduct 10% capital gains tax when you realise a gain on selling an investment
• We will transfer that amount anonymously to the tax authorities
• If you decide to use the exemption, you can claim back the amount paid on your tax return (we’ll provide you with a statement for this purpose)

How do you make this choice?
You don’t have to do anything for this option.

Tax cannot be deducted at source for certain financial products (such as capital gains on crypto assets, foreign currency and gold). For these products, you are responsible for declaring any capital gains on your personal tax return.

For securities that you hold outside Belgium, you will also have to declare the realised capital gains yourself on your personal tax return.

For non-profit organisations and foundations, the system of deducting the tax at source does not apply; instead, payment of the capital gains tax is arranged directly through the legal entities withholding tax return.

Hold an account jointly with other people?
Every account holder has to make the same choice (declare everything yourself or opt for automatic deduction).

2. How do you pay from 1 January 2026 until the law is voted on (transitional arrangement)?

The tax applies as from 1 January 2026, but the law will not be voted on and published until later. In the meantime, a transitional arrangement applies.

The legislature provides the option to pay the 10% capital gains tax built up during the transitional period through your bank. As soon as the law has been passed, we will let you know how you can arrange payment of the capital gains tax. Until then, you don’t have to do anything.

• If you’ve opted for the tax to be deducted automatically, KBC will start KBCwithholding it as soon as the law enters into force. You don’t need to do anything.
• If you choose to opt out, your decision will also apply during the transition period from 1 January 2026 until the new law has been passed.
  

The capital gains tax applies from 1 January 2026; we use the snapshot value of 31 December 2025 to calculate the capital gain.

You can easily find the snapshot value in your documents in the overview of your custody accounts. For your investment-type insurance policies, you will find the value in the annual report of your policies as from March 2026.

How would you like to pay the capital gains tax?

Want tax to be deducted at source? You don’t need to do anything.

Want to opt out? You can submit your choice here:

• Asking Kate about the ‘Capital gains tax opt-out’ in KBC Mobile
• Going to ‘Investments’ in KBC Mobile or KBC Touch and selecting ‘What are you after?’ > ‘Capital gains tax opt-out’
• Contacting your KBC branch  

In 2027, we will provide you with a personalised statement specifying the capital gains and losses you realised in 2026. You can use that document to fill in your tax return.

We are monitoring the situation closely. Information about the subsequent support we will provide will be published on this website. 

Where a private individual realises a capital gain when selling shares, the first question that arises is whether the transactions fall within the definition of ‘normal management of private assets’. ‘Normal management’ is traditionally defined as ‘acts performed by a prudent and reasonable person for the purpose of day-to-day management, but also with a view to the profitability, realisation and reinvestment of elements of their assets’.

Criteria used in the case law to assess whether the realisation of a capital gain is part of the normal management of private assets include the amount of the capital gain, the short period within which the shares were purchased and sold, the intention to make considerable profits in the short term (speculation), the means of financing and any guarantees, the presence of economic motives, the reasons for selling, the financial strength of the buying company, etc.

If transactions do not fall within the framework of ‘normal management’ (and are therefore classed as ‘abnormal management’), realised capital gains are deemed to be ‘miscellaneous income’ and subject to a tax rate of 33% (+ supplementary local tax). In that case, the taxable capital gain is calculated as the positive difference between the price received and the price at which the shareholder (or the shareholder’s legal predecessor) has obtained these shares for valuable consideration (revalorised, where appropriate). The question of whether or not a transaction falls within the definition of ‘normal management’ is obviously a question of fact, on which only a court can provide a definitive ruling.

In the past, the tax authorities generally disputed capital gains realised by a natural person when selling shares to another company (holding company) incorporated or controlled directly or indirectly by this natural person, since this type of ‘internal capital gain’ was not deemed to fall within the definition of ‘normal management’ of private assets. However, the judgement regarding ‘normal management’ can only be made by a court with jurisdiction over the substance of the matter, and the case law is more ambiguous on this point.

The term ‘abnormal management’ and the possible requalification of a capital gain as miscellaneous income continue to exist after the introduction of the current capital gains tax on financial assets, which means that this capital gain may still be taxed as miscellaneous income.
The capital gains tax that is now introduced only applies where transactions are part of the normal management of private assets and are not carried out as part of a professional activity.

Where a shareholder realises a capital gain when selling shares, it should always be checked first whether this is an ‘internal capital gain’. An internal capital gain is realised when shares are sold to a company that is controlled by the seller, alone or together with their family (spouse, legally cohabiting partner, and relatives and collateral relatives to the second degree of the transferor and of their spouse or legally cohabiting partner).

Internal capital gains will be taxed at a separate rate of 33%. A capital gain is defined as the difference between the sale price received and the snapshot value.

We stress that this refers only to internal capital gains that are deemed to fall within the framework of the normal management of private assets. As indicated in the ‘abnormal management’ section, a requalification as miscellaneous income may still be made on the basis of all relevant facts in an individual file. In the latter case, supplementary local tax will also be due on the capital gain and the historical capital gain will be subject to taxation as well (it is highly likely that, under the new regime, the historical capital gain will also be exempt where internal capital gains have been realised).

Please note: in principal, capital gains realised when contributing shares to a holding company will however still be tax-exempt. In fact, a specific regime applies for the contribution of shares, whereby the capital for tax purposes of the company which receives the contribution is limited to the acquisition value of the contributed shares. From a tax perspective, the net contribution is deemed to be a ‘taxed reserve’, which is subject to 30% withholding tax upon subsequent distribution.

Where a shareholder has a substantial interest in a company whose shares they sell (and there are no ‘internal capital gains’, see above), the capital gains tax rules will differ from the standard regime. This deviating rule aims to treat ‘owners’ of (family) businesses (which were often founded by themselves or by relatives from a previous generation) less harshly and is designed not to frustrate the entrepreneurial spirit of these ‘shareholder-entrepreneurs’.

For the purpose of this rule, a ‘substantial interest’ is defined as a participating interest of at least 20%. Only the shareholding held by the shareholder themselves and in their personal name is taken into account. The assessment of whether the holding size condition has been met is made at the time of the transaction. There is no ‘transitional regime’ for shareholders who do not reach the minimum threshold of 20%, but only own, say, 19% of a company’s shares; they will therefore fall under the ‘standard regime’ of 10% tax and a 10 000 euro basic exemption. Shareholders who own at least 20% of the shares will benefit from an exemption on a first tranche of 1 000 000 euros when realising a capital gain. This exemption will apply once per five-year period.

Higher capital gains will be taxed at a progressive rate (1.25% up to 2 500 000 euros; 2.5% up to 5 000 000 euros; 5% up to 10 000 000 euros; 10% for 10 000 000 euros and above). The capital gains tax applies to capital gains on shares of both listed and unlisted companies. For unlisted companies, the question naturally arises as to the ‘initial value’ of the shares (the ‘snapshot value’ on 31 December 2025). A number of options are given for determining this value. If a transaction (between independent parties) took place in 2025 (e.g., a sale of shares), the value used in that transaction can be used as the reference value (‘snapshot value’). In other cases, a flat-rate valuation method (four times EBITDA plus shareholders’ equity) can be used. You may also have a detailed valuation carried out by an auditor (other than your own auditor) or certified accountant (other than your own accountant). This valuation must be made no later than 31 December 2027. Taxpayers may choose the method that yields the highest valuation. However, in exceptional cases, the tax authorities have the option to dispute the value determined by the auditor or accountant.

For the sake of clarity, the scheme is not limited to shares of operating companies. It therefore also applies in principle to capital gains realised on the sale of shares of, for example, a family holding company, a management company or a holding company.