VAT 6%: Extension of transitional measures for demolition-reconstruction
The Minister of Finance announced yesterday an extension until June 30, 2025, of the transitional measures for the demolition-reconstruction of housing at a VAT rate of 6%. This measure is welcome, considering that many construction projects have been delayed, particularly due to weather conditions, and that the new measures outlined in the De Wever note
Reclaiming immovable withholding tax may reduce the cost of vacant real estate
When increased interest rates and relatively high indexation make the economic outlook uncertain, companies might look to cut unnecessary costs. Although the strong changes in indexation during 2023 seem to be mostly behind us – indexation currently averaging between 2 and 3% in Belgium – indexation still has a big impact on the tax situation
Mixed and partial VAT payers: Extended submission deadline for VAT real use deduction method
Mixed VAT deduction, particularly prevalent among real estate, financial and holding entities, has seen significant changes since last year. For mixed and partial VAT payers employing the real-use deduction method, new specific annual information submission requirements have been introduced, necessitating submissions through the Intervat system. The required information to be submitted in 2024 includes: Full
“Long-lease and lease-back” transactions: a powerful tool to boost your cash position, if tax leakage can be minimised
Introduction (at a glance) Within the domain of corporate finance, the concepts of “sale and lease-back” and “long-lease and lease-back” refer to a transaction whereby the owner sells, alternatively confers a long lease right on a fixed asset and leases it back from the buyer to regain the utilisation of the asset at hand. Such
VAT rate of 6% remains applicable for demolition-reconstruction residential projects for the letting market
In late 2023, the government significantly reduced the ability to apply the reduced VAT rate of 6% to demolition-reconstruction housing projects by limiting the benefit of the reduced rate to projects undertaken by individuals, except when leasing to a social housing agency. This had caused significant concern in the already financially pressured sector. As a
Tax changes for the Belgian real estate market
This Newsflash highlights significant measures that influence the landscape of the Belgian real estate market. Indeed, on 9 October 2023, the Belgian government reached an agreement regarding the Federal Budget for 2024. The current budget round was an important one, as the economic climate is deteriorating and this has an impact on the budget of
Reduced VAT Rate for Home Demolition-Reconstruction Extended, Excludes Developers
The Belgian government has announced an extension of the reduced 6% VAT rate for the demolition and reconstruction of homes. However, this benefit will now exclusively apply to individual homeowners. Developers, who previously enjoyed this rate under certain conditions for the sale of apartments and homes, will revert to the standard VAT rate of 21%
Interest paid to qualifying foreign EEA AIFs may now benefit from the Belgian WHT exemption
On 26 July, a new Royal Decree amending the Royal Decree implementing the Belgian Income tax code (RD/BITC) was published. The Decree includes various amendments, but one of the main updates was the extension of the withholding tax (WHT) exemption to Belgian sourced interest paid to foreign institutional Alternative Investment Funds (AIF). In principle, interest
