Belgium

Yes, and this is the big change. From 1 January 2026, Belgium levies a 10% solidarity contribution on capital gains from financial instruments, insurance contracts, crypto-assets and currencies. There is an annual exemption of EUR 10,000, indexed each year. It is not retroactive. Gains accrued up to 31 December 2025 stay protected. This closes a genuine European anomaly. Belgium's lack of a general capital gains tax was the structural reason a certain kind of wealthy family put up with income tax rates above 50% and some of the world's harshest inheritance taxes. At 10%, the new rate is mild by European standards. But it removes the central logic of staying a Belgian resident.

Gains accrued up to that date are excluded from the new 10% capital gains tax. But that exclusion is only as good as the evidence behind it. Establishing and documenting the 31 December 2025 value of every in-scope holding is the single most time-sensitive piece of Belgian planning. For anyone who did not act, the window to do this properly has already closed. Substantial and controlling shareholdings do not get the flat 10% rate. They follow a separate, harsher graduated regime, so founder and family-company stakes need specific advice. A further personal income tax reform bill was also introduced in January 2026, so none of this should be treated as settled.

There is no general wealth tax. But the Securities Account Tax charges 0.15% a year on securities accounts whose average value exceeds EUR 1m, and it taxes the entire balance, not just the excess. An account averaging EUR 1,000,001 is taxed on the full amount. From 2026 it stacks with the new 10% capital gains tax, so the same asset-rich portfolios get hit twice. For a family whose wealth sits in a large securities account, Belgium's reputation for having no wealth tax is misleading.

As of July 2026, the law in force is the regime introduced on 1 January 2022. It exempts 30% of gross remuneration from tax and social security, capped at EUR 90,000 a year, with a minimum gross salary of EUR 75,000. Widely reported changes, raising the exemption to 35%, removing the cap, and cutting the threshold to EUR 70,000, come from a coalition-level agreement. They are not confirmed as enacted. PwC's significant-developments tracker does not record them as law, so treat those figures as proposed, not settled. The current regime differs from the far more generous 1983 circular it replaced in one important way. It leaves the beneficiary a full Belgian tax resident, which means the new capital gains tax and the securities account tax now apply to them in full.

Yes, and it is unforgiving. The employer must apply within three months of the employee starting work. Miss that window and the regime is forfeited entirely, which is the most common way applicants lose it. You must also not have been a Belgian resident, lived within 150km of the Belgian border, or been subject to Belgian non-resident income tax on professional income in the 60 months before arrival. The relief runs for a maximum of five years, plus a single three-year extension, eight years in total. After that, full Belgian taxation applies, with no transition.

Among the world's harshest, and it varies by region. Rates run to roughly 30% in the direct line and up to 55-80% for distant or unrelated beneficiaries, depending on whether you fall under Flanders, Wallonia or Brussels. For a family with unconventional succession plans, this can overwhelm every income-tax consideration. The new inpatriate regime does nothing to shelter it, because beneficiaries remain full Belgian tax residents. This is the tax that most often determines whether Belgium works for a wealthy family.

Belgian nationality is generally available after five years of main residence, subject to integration conditions. It requires A2-level competence in one of the three national languages: Dutch, French or German. Belgium permits dual citizenship, so you do not need to renounce your existing nationality. EU long-term resident status is available on the same five-year residence basis. The passport itself is strong, ranking in the top ten globally with visa-free access to around 189 destinations as of 2026.

One of the highest effective burdens on earned income in the OECD. The federal top rate of 50% bites from roughly EUR 48,000 of taxable income. On top of that come municipal surcharges of typically 6-9% of the tax, plus social security contributions. The inpatriate regime shelters 30% of a qualifying executive's salary, capped at EUR 90,000, for a limited period. It does nothing for investment income, though. From 2026, that investment income faces the new 10% capital gains tax and the securities account tax as well. Belgium taxes people who earn heavily. Its former attraction was that it left the capital they had already built alone.