Do you own an apartment on a foreign sea, receive dividends from abroad or have an account abroad? Then your personal tax return is just that little bit more complex. The tax authorities are increasingly looking across the border, so a correct return is more important than ever.
Foreign real estate? Report it on time!
Do you have a house or apartment abroad? Then you must declare it in your Belgian tax return. Belgium has a double tax treaty, which usually gets you an exemption (with progression proviso). No treaty? Then the foreign tax paid can also be halved under conditions.
Foreign real estate has to be declared in the same way as Belgian real estate. This means that you have to declare cadastral income will have to communicate. Read about this our previous article.
Renting out your vacation home
Are you renting out your foreign vacation home through Airbnb or another platform? Then it often involves furnished rental, which also movable income yields.
Who gets to tax it? That depends on the double tax treaty AND the local law. So, check carefully which country is competent - and know that the Belgian tax authorities will use the DAC7 Directive getting info from rental platforms.
Foreign dividends? Pay attention to the exemption
You may receive up to €833 in dividends tax-free (income year 2024). But how you apply that exemption depends on the situation:
- If Belgian RV has already been withheld, you can use the code 1437/2437 a Reclaim part of the RV paid. You do need to deduct the foreign withholding tax withheld before entering the code!Example: You receive €1,000 gross dividend from Luxembourg. After 15% withholding tax (€ 150) and 30% Belgian withholding tax (€ 255), you are left with € 595 net. You may then reclaim € 212.42 (i.e. [€ 833 - (€ 833 x 15%)] x 30%).
- If Belgian withholding tax has not already been withheld, you may deduct the Apply exemption immediately When declaring your dividend in code 1444/2444. But again, you have to deduct the foreign withholding tax.Example: You receive €1,000 gross dividend from Luxembourg, with 15% withholding tax (€150). So the net dividend is € 850. You then declare € 141.95 (w.e.f. € 850 -[€ 833- (€ 833 x 15%)] in code 1444.
Pro tip: apply for the exemption preferably for Belgian dividends. Then you lose nothing in exemption because of the prior deduction of the foreign withholding tax for calculating your exemption.
French dividends: still advantageous regime for now due to FBB set-off
For years it was a point of discussion, but by now it is clear: you may 15% of Belgian withholding tax on French dividends reclaimed through FBB set-off. This offset must be explicitly requested in your tax return.
Attention, the new double taxation treaty between Belgium and France removes this arrangement. Once the treaty takes effect, the FBB offset will be a thing of the past.
Foreign accounts and life insurance
Do you have a foreign bank account? If so, you need to open it once reporting to the Central Contact Point (CAP). Accounts with foreign crypto platforms must also be reported! In addition, you must also report the account in your tax return each year.
Life Insurance On the other hand, you must indicate in your declaration, but should not report to the CAP.
Legal constructions: STAK, SCI and the Cayman tax
Do you own a Dutch STAK or a French SCI? Then you must declare these in the code 1077 and since fiscal year 2024 also via annex 276CJC. Indeed, the Belgian Administration considers them to be legal structures and pretends that the income from these structures is directly allocated to the underlying holders.
Please note that a number of popular Luxembourg company forms are also targeted here.
Do you have foreign income and are in doubt about your tax return?
Contact your client manager. We'd love to check it out with you!