Belgium extends 6% VAT on demolition and rebuilding to owner-occupied homes nationwide from 1 January 2024
This page records one dated change. For the rules in Belgium as they stand today, see the Belgium guide →
- Jurisdiction
- Belgium
- Tax
- VAT
- Change type
- Rate change
- Status
- In force
- Impact
- FYI
- Announced
- 29 December 2023
- Effective
- 1 January 2024
- Instrument
- BE-LAW-2023048600
- Authority
- SPF Finances (FPS Finance), Belgium
- Verified
- Fetched from official source · high confidence
Private individuals rebuilding their sole, own home of at most 200 m² of habitable area; owners letting a rebuilt dwelling for at least 15 years through a social rental agency or social-housing company; contractors and developers working on those projects.
No action — monitoring only. Obligation in force since January 2024.
Article 58 of the Belgian loi-programme of 22 December 2023 (Moniteur belge 29 December 2023, p. 123984, Numac 2023048600) replaces rubric XXXVII of Table A of Royal Decree No. 20, in force from 1 January 2024 (art. 60). The 6% reduced VAT rate for demolishing a building and jointly rebuilding a dwelling on the same cadastral parcel now applies nationwide and permanently in two cases: (1) a private individual's sole and own principal home with a total habitable area of at most 200 m², and (2) a dwelling let for at least 15 years through a social rental agency or a recognised social-housing company. Each requires an electronic declaration before VAT becomes due. Sales of rebuilt dwellings by developers keep the 6% rate only transitionally: building permit applied for before 1 July 2023 and VAT due by 31 December 2024. The pre-2024 rubric (limited to 32 large cities) continues for projects with a permit applied for before 1 January 2024 and VAT due by 31 December 2024. The temporary nationwide regime of art. 1quater lapsed on 1 January 2024. The rubric was later replaced again from 1 June 2024 (Law of 12 May 2024, Numac 2024004641), the transitional deadlines were pushed to 30 June 2025 (Law of 10 December 2024, Numac 2024011074), and it was replaced again from 29 July 2025 (Law of 18 July 2025, Numac 2025005578).
What changed in detail
Article 58 of the Belgian loi-programme of 22 December 2023 was published in the Moniteur belge on 29 December 2023 (p. 123984, Numac 2023048600). It replaces rubric XXXVII of Table A of Royal Decree No. 20, which sets the 6% rate for demolishing a building and rebuilding a dwelling. Under article 60 the new text applies from 1 January 2024.
The 6% rate now applies nationwide and permanently, for demolition and joint reconstruction on the same cadastral parcel, in two cases:
- owner-occupiers: a private individual building their sole, own principal home, with a total habitable area of at most 200 m²;
- social letting: a dwelling let for at least 15 years through a social rental agency or a recognised social-housing company.
In both cases an electronic declaration must reach the administration before the VAT becomes due.
Sales of rebuilt dwellings by developers keep the 6% rate only transitionally. The building permit must have been applied for before 1 July 2023, and the VAT must become due by 31 December 2024.
The previous rubric, which was limited to 32 large cities, still governs projects whose permit was applied for before 1 January 2024, provided the VAT becomes due by 31 December 2024. The temporary nationwide regime in article 1quater of the Royal Decree lapsed on 1 January 2024.
What it means
This text is no longer current. Three later laws replaced or amended it:
- the Law of 12 May 2024 (Numac 2024004641) replaced the rubric again from 1 June 2024;
- the Law of 10 December 2024 (Numac 2024011074) pushed the transitional deadlines to 30 June 2025;
- the Law of 18 July 2025 (Numac 2025005578) replaced it once more from 29 July 2025.
The version in force since 29 July 2025 makes the sales regime standing for VAT due from 1 July 2025 (175 m² cap for purchasers) and widens the social-letting heading to other recognised social-purpose bodies.
The January 2024 text now matters only for projects where VAT became due while it applied. For anything current, read the rubric as in force on the date the VAT becomes due. The conditions have changed three times since this law.
Proof
(Le texte de l’AR n° 20, Tableau A, rubrique XXXVII, est remplacé (Art. 58, L 22.12.2023, M.B. 29.12.2023, p. 123984, Numac : 2023048600) à partir du 01.01.2024 (Art. 60, alinéa 1er, L 22.12.2023))(The text of RD No. 20, Table A, heading XXXVII, is replaced (Art. 58, Law of 22.12.2023, Belgian Official Gazette 29.12.2023, p. 123984, Numac: 2023048600) from 01.01.2024 (Art. 60, first paragraph, Law of 22.12.2023))
Archived from the official distribution · Fisconetplus 16e01673-d543-44be-86fe-b51a8a41abdf: TVA, AR n° 20, Annexe, Tableau A, Rubrique XXXVII (texte actuel et historique) · www.minfin.fgov.be
No source snapshot. The source is the official consolidated text published by the Belgian Federal Public Service Finance. A copy of that text is kept with this record.