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Quick sale-purchase of property in Belgium

Question

Hi,
Is quick sale-purchase of property possible in Belgium?
The tax is about 16%. So this will take away any margin.

Any comments?

Thank you.

Emille B.

Do you mean , you buy a property and sell it again quickly ?
There is a capital gains tax on this for a private person , in Flanders it is 33% .
You can always ask advice from a notary in advance .

Aug 2, 2018 12:15
becasse

You will need a notary to do anything in respect of buying and selling a property. The notary's charges are based on the documents that have to be prepared, the sale price and the region in which the property is situated. These charges are fixed by law. Beyond this you can obtain as much advice as you need from the notary and no extra fee is charged for this advice, indeed if the sale doesn't take place, there will be no fees. Notaries always say that the earlier they are involved in the process the better and it is certainly the case that Belgian law contains a number of expensive traps for those who think that they know it all based on their knowledge and experience of other legal systems.

Aug 2, 2018 13:24
PG

I am indeed talking about quick purchase-sale-purchase-sale.
Basically, purchasing to sell.

With regards to Notary charges (+/-16% for a property which is not first property for an individual and which is not new). Is it possible to get it reduced by talking to a Notary? If yes, by how much? Any estimation?

Regarding capital gains, if the proceed is reinvested in a new property probably there is no capital gain. Is it the case?

Any other point to consider?

Aug 2, 2018 14:07
abc123

No idea if this is correct but as others have said, talking to a notaire who actually knows would be a good idea!

Generally, capital gains realized by individuals not engaged in business activities are not taxable. However, specific cases are subject to separate taxation.

For developed immovable property sold within five years of acquisition, a 16.5% capital gains tax is levied. After a holding period of five years, no capital gains tax is payable.

Capital gains tax is levied at 16.5% for undeveloped immovable property sold after five years of acquisition but within eight years of acquisition.

Capital gains tax is levied at 33% for speculative transactions and for undeveloped property sold within five years of acquisition.

However, if the property is sold within 2 years, the seller can claim back around 44% of the taxes and fees paid. All expenses incurred related to the property value are deductible, subject to proper documentation.

www.globalpropertyguide.com/Europe/Belgium/Taxes-and-Costs

Aug 2, 2018 15:59
becasse

I will repeat that the notary's fees are fixed by law. There is no opportunity to reduce them by negotiation. There is, however, plenty of opportunity for you to increase your personal costs by NOT involving a notary at an early stage.

Aug 2, 2018 16:25
CC_R

There is a reason many people rent here and people keep houses not sell houses on like in other countries like say the UK. It’s called up front called purchase TAX. And it’s high.
The upfront taxation you pay, none refundable and high goes straight to the government you. Any avoid it.
. Add to this the high prices charged by good architects and builders and all renovations companies because they all pay lots of personal tax and we are talking stupidly high bills, mean you will struggle to make profit unless you can do most of the work yourself and even then it’s hard.
I’m un lead why you even tho k of doing this if you don’t understand the system. As above seek advice

Aug 7, 2018 23:11
CC_R

Ant avoid should say

Aug 7, 2018 23:12