VAT and Sales Tax in Belgium

What VAT rates apply in Belgium?

Belgium levies VAT -- called TVA (taxe sur la valeur ajoutee) in French and BTW (belasting over de toegevoegde waarde) in Dutch -- under the VAT Code (Code de la TVA / Wetboek BTW, CBdTVA). The Federal Public Service Finance (FPS Finance / SPF Finances) administers the tax. Three positive rates plus a zero rate operate simultaneously; the rate applied to any given supply depends on its statutory classification.

The 21% standard rate covers all goods and services that do not fall under a reduced or exempt category -- electronics, software licences, professional consulting, advertising, most clothing, and most construction on new residential buildings.

The 12% reduced rate is narrower than in many EU peers. It covers food and non-alcoholic beverages consumed on the premises of restaurants and catering services (excluding alcoholic drinks, which remain at 21%), construction and renovation of social housing, and certain agricultural supplies including margarine and phytosanitaire preparations (though from 1 March 2026 pesticides moved up to 21% -- see the rate-change section below).

The 6% reduced rate is the broadest reduced band. It covers basic groceries and non-alcoholic beverages for household consumption, water supply to households, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, books and e-books, newspapers and periodicals, passenger transport (bus, train, domestic and intra-EU flights), renovation and repair of private dwellings older than ten years, and demolition-followed-by-reconstruction of residential property under the permanent scheme in force since 1 January 2024 (see the property section below). Prior to 1 March 2026 the 6% rate also covered hotel accommodation, cinema and sports-venue tickets, and takeaway food -- all of which shifted to 12% from that date.

The 0% rate applies to exports of goods outside the EU, intra-EU supplies of goods to VAT-registered customers in other member states (with proof of transport and the customer's VAT number), and supplies to certain international organisations and diplomatic missions. Zero-rated suppliers retain the right to recover input VAT on their costs, distinguishing the zero rate from the exempt categories described below.

For an ordered summary see the rate table in the following section.

Rate structure and the March 2026 changes

The Belgian government's 2026-2029 budget agreement introduced targeted rate shifts effective 1 March 2026. Restaurant dine-in food was already at 12% and did not change. The following table reflects the current position as at the date of this review.

Sources: FPS Finance; EY Belgium VAT alert March 2026; Lexgo.be budget-agreement summary [fps-vat-rates; ey-march-2026; lexgo-2026-changes].

Which supplies are exempt from VAT?

Exempt supplies do not carry any VAT charge, but the supplier also loses the right to recover input VAT on related costs. Article 44 CBdTVA enumerates the principal categories: financial and insurance services (banking, credit, securities, payment processing, insurance underwriting), residential real-estate rental, healthcare and medical services provided by licensed practitioners and hospitals, educational services at qualifying institutions, qualifying social-welfare services, qualifying non-profit cultural and sporting activities, and public postal services provided by bpost.

The distinction between a zero-rated supply and an exempt supply is material for cash flow. An exporter of goods is zero-rated and continues recovering input VAT on production costs. A doctor providing consultations is exempt and absorbs the input VAT embedded in clinic equipment, consumables, and utilities as an unrecoverable cost.

Intrastat and European Sales Listings are required for intra-EU trade. B2B cross-border services are generally outside Belgian VAT scope under the destination-country rule (Article 21 CBdTVA), requiring the foreign customer to self-account via reverse charge in their own jurisdiction [fps-vat-exemptions; fps-vat-code].

Who qualifies for the small-business VAT exemption?

Belgian businesses whose annual turnover does not exceed EUR 25,000 (excluding VAT) may apply the small-enterprise exemption under Article 56bis CBdTVA. Qualifying businesses charge no VAT to customers, submit no periodic VAT returns, and pay no VAT to the treasury. The trade-off is the loss of input-VAT recovery rights.

Administrative obligations that survive the exemption: filing an activity declaration (form e604) when starting or stopping business, maintaining a VAT identification number, and submitting an annual customer list by 31 March each year showing total transaction amounts per customer.

Since 1 January 2025, the exemption extends across EU borders under the EU Small Enterprises Scheme transposed from Directive (EU) 2020/285. A Belgian business meeting the EUR 25,000 domestic threshold may also apply the exemption in other EU member states, provided its total EU-wide annual turnover stays below EUR 100,000. Symmetrically, businesses from other EU member states below their own national threshold can apply the exemption in Belgium without Belgian VAT registration, subject to the EUR 100,000 EU-wide cap.

Businesses that leave the scheme must wait until 1 January of the second following year before re-qualifying. A pending parliamentary measure would raise the Belgian domestic threshold to EUR 30,000; that change had not been gazetted as at the date of this review, so EUR 25,000 remains operative [fps-sme-exemption; deloitte-sme-2025; pkf-sme-2025].

What are the VAT filing deadlines after the 2025 chain reform?

Belgium's 2025 VAT chain reform, in effect from 1 January 2025, changed compliance obligations for periodic filers. The reform is part of a government programme to close the Belgian VAT gap and improve automation between taxpayer filings and the FPS Finance ledger.

Who files monthly versus quarterly? Businesses with annual taxable turnover above EUR 2.5 million file monthly. All others file quarterly. Monthly filing is also available voluntarily for businesses below the threshold who have regular net refund positions.

Revised deadlines. Quarterly filers now have until the 25th day of the month following the quarter end to file their return and pay any VAT due. This is an extension from the former 20th-day deadline. Monthly filers retain the 20th-day deadline with no change. The same 25th-day deadline applies to the European Sales Listing for quarterly filers.

Substitute return procedure. If a taxpayer fails to file a periodic return within three months of the end of the relevant period, FPS Finance issues a proposed substitute return. The proposed amount equals the highest VAT liability declared in any of the twelve preceding periodic returns, subject to a minimum of EUR 2,100. The taxpayer has one month to respond by filing the missing return. Failure to respond makes the proposed substitute return final; the only further recourse is an administrative appeal or court challenge.

Corrective returns. Under the post-2025 rules, corrections to a return already filed can only be made in the next periodic return. Filing a corrective return after the original deadline is no longer permitted.

VAT provision account. From 1 October 2025, FPS Finance replaced the current-account system with a VAT provision account accessible via the MyMinfin portal. Unused credits transfer automatically at the end of each month (monthly filers) or at the end of the third month (quarterly filers), enabling electronic refund requests.

Penalties. Late filing: EUR 100 per month of delay (maximum EUR 500). Non-filing: EUR 500 to EUR 5,000 per return, increasing with the number of prior infractions in a four-year window. Late or non-payment: surcharges of 5%, 10%, or 15% on the unpaid VAT depending on whether the underlying return was filed on time [kpmg-vat-chain-2025; rsm-vat-chain-2025; vatupdate-chain-2025].

How does the EU One Stop Shop apply?

Belgian-resident businesses selling goods or services to private consumers in other EU member states use the EU One Stop Shop (OSS) to avoid registering for VAT separately in each destination country. The OSS consolidated three prior regimes from 1 July 2021 under Directive (EU) 2017/2455.

The EUR 10,000 EU-wide annual threshold determines when destination-country VAT applies. Below EUR 10,000 in combined cross-border B2C sales, Belgian businesses may charge Belgian VAT and need not register for OSS. Above that threshold, the VAT of each destination country applies, and OSS makes compliance manageable through a single Belgian quarterly return.

From 2025, the OSS quarterly return must be submitted within 30 days after the end of the quarter (extended from the prior 20-day deadline). Payment of the EU-wide VAT collected is made to FPS Finance, which distributes amounts to each destination member state.

The Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) covers distance sales of goods imported from outside the EU with a value of EUR 150 or less, charged at the destination country's VAT rate at the point of sale to avoid border delays and unexpected charges for the buyer.

Non-EU businesses (including UK businesses post-Brexit) wishing to use OSS must designate a member state of identification in the EU. They may designate Belgium, though Ireland, Netherlands, and Luxembourg are more common choices for international e-commerce operations [ec-oss; europa-oss].

For detailed guidance on which rate applies to a specific supply, or whether the demolition-and-rebuild scheme covers a planned project, consult a qualified professional with current knowledge of Belgian VAT legislation. FPS Finance publishes binding rulings (decisions anticipees / voorafgaande beslissingen) that provide certainty on novel or complex supply structures before a transaction proceeds. You can explore Belgium country overview for a broader look at the Belgian tax system or review our Belgium property tax overview for the interaction between VAT and transfer duties on real-estate transactions. A qualified professional familiar with Belgian VAT rules is the appropriate source for guidance on your specific circumstances.