When buying a house or land, you will have to pay 12.5 % registration duty for immovable property in the Walloon Region.

The registration duty is calculated on the conventional value (agreed price and charges). The calculation basis should never be lower than the sale value of the immovable property.

If you find that the agreed price is lower than the minimum sale value, you can also state the estimated sale value in the sale agreement. The registration duty is then calculated on that value. In this way, a fine can be avoided.

Please note that the simultaneous sale by the same person, of a house or flat with the adjacent land, involves paying VAT on both the building and the adjacent land. See also the FAQ ‘Selling with VAT’.

When buying a house or land, you will not only have to pay registration duty on the agreed price. Additional charges related to the sale are also part of the calculation basis.

Examples of charges include:

• the costs incurred by the seller to get the property sold, and which are borne by the buyer (publicity, intermediaries, map and measurement costs ...);
• the obligation of the buyer to pay certain taxes relating to the immovable property for a period falling before the date of occupation of the property by the buyer.

The studies relating to the investigation costs of polluted or potentially polluted land and the remediation operations are not included in the charges in the Walloon Region. Those remediation costs of (potentially) polluted land may be deducted from the agreed value (price and charges).

The sale value (also called market value) is the minimum basis for calculating the registration duty. If the agreed price increased by charges is lower than the sale value, you will be taxed on that sale value.

Sale value refers to the price you are expected to be offered in a sale under normal circumstances. That is, with sufficient publicity, a sufficient number of interested parties and taking into account the objective factors that can affect the value of the property. Objective factors that may affect the value of the house include:

• the proximity of a polluting factory or a school
• the dimensions of the parcel

In order to establish the sale value, the administration will consider which property would best serve as a point of reference, taking into account in particular:

• the nature of the property to be valued,
• its legal condition,
• and the orientation of the property,
• among other things.

The condition of the local property market plays a vital role as well.

Where the sale value is higher than the price agreed at the time of sale, you, as the buyer, must mention both the sale value and the agreed price in the deed.

If the administration considers that the mentioned price (or the declared value) is lower than the sale value, it will inform you of its estimate.

Do you want more explanation or do you disagree with the estimate?

You can let us know at that stage. If we cannot come to an agreement, we can demand an expert examination within two years from the registration of the deed. The designation of one or three experts is done by mutual agreement (or by the justice of the peace if we cannot come to an agreement).

Are you found to be in the wrong by the experts upon the control estimate?

You will then pay the additional registration duty and a default interest of 7 per cent. If the underestimate (the difference between the sale value and the price stated or the value declared) is equal to or more than 1/8th of the price stated or the value declared, you will have to pay a fine and the costs of the proceedings will be charged to you.

You can only dispute the sale value determined by the expert by bringing a claim before court.

What if the price does not correspond to the price actually paid?

If part of the price was paid ‘under the table’, both the buyer and the seller will incur a fine which, in principle, is equal to the evaded duty. Moreover, criminal sanctions can also be pronounced.

A purchase deed must be submitted for registration within the prescribed period. We can register the deed only upon payment of the registration duty.

Purchase deed by civil-law notary

When the purchase deed is drawn up by the civil-law notary, it is the civil-law notary who must submit the deed for registration and transfer the registration duty.

The civil-law notary will ask the buyer and/or seller to advance the payable registration duty. In practice, unless otherwise agreed, it is usually the buyer who pays the registration duty.

The civil-law notaries have the deeds registered at the Legal Certainty office of their practice location.

Purchase by private deed

If the purchase is recorded by private deed (compromise), the obligation to register and pay duty rests on both the buyer and the seller.

You have a period of four months to register the deed at the Legal Certainty office competent for the place where the purchased immovable property is located.

It is important to respect that period. Failure to do so will result in a fine. The fine will be indivisibly payable by the parties. This means we can appeal to both the buyer and the seller for payment of the entire sum.

If the compromise (private purchase deed) is followed by an authentic deed, you do not need to have the private deed registered provided the authentic deed (usually a notarial deed) is drawn up within four months from the date the compromise was signed. If the deed is executed before a civil-law notary, the civil-law notary still has fifteen days to register it.

If you buy social housing (house or flat) in the Walloon Region from a legal entity governed by public law, the registration duty is reduced to 0%. In practice, this means that you pay the general fixed duty of €50.

Conditions

• You must be a natural person eligible for the purchase premium as referred to in the Walloon Housing Code.
  Please note, in case of any withdrawal of the premium, you will be obliged to pay the difference between the fixed general duty levied and the standard registration duty of 12.5%.
• It must involve the purchase of a social housing property (house or flat) from a body governed by public law (social housing company, intermunicipal cooperative society, municipality, public centres for social welfare ...).

If you purchase a modest home, under certain conditions you enjoy a reduced registration duty of 6% on part of the taxable base when you buy a home in the Walloon Region.

If for the purchase you have a credit with certain credit institutions with social purpose, the registration duty is reduced to 5% and the registration of the mortgage deed in the form of 'Eco-Prêts' (Eco Loans) is exempted from the 1% duty.

The benefit of the reduced registration duty is limited to a certain amount that is different between municipalities. This amount is indexed annually. The standard registration duty (in principle 12.5%) continues to apply to the part of the taxable base exceeding the maximum amount.

For the sale of residential properties, the maximum amount varies depending on whether the immovable property is in an area with real estate pressure or outside such an area:

These are the municipalities that are listed in an area with real estate pressure for the period from 01.01.2022 to 31.12.2022 (updated on 1 January 2022): Arlon, Attert, Aubel, Beauvechain, Braine-l'Alleud, Braine-le-Château, Chastre, Chaumont-Gistoux, Court-Saint-Etienne, Genappe, Grez-Doiceau, Incourt, Ittre, Jalhay, Jodoigne, La Bruyère, La Hulpe, Lasne, Messancy, Mont-Saint-Guibert, Neupré, Nivelles, Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Perwez, Rixensart, Silly, Verlaine, Villers-la-Ville, Walhain, Waterloo and Wavre.

For the part of the purchase price exceeding those amounts, you will pay 12.5% registration duty.

Conditions

• It must involve the purchase of full ownership or bare ownership of a property.
• The purchased property may only have a limited cadastral income depending on the number of dependent children of the buyer or his/her spouse or legal cohabitant:

  Dependent children	Maximum cadastral income
  0 to 2	745.00 euro
  3 or 4	845.00 euro
  5 or 6	945.00 euro
  7 and more	1,045.00 euro

  The non-indexed cadastral income is taken into account.
• The total cadastral income of the property acquired and of the property already owned in full or bare ownership by the buyer and his/her spouse or legal cohabitant at that time may not exceed the aforementioned maximum amounts.
• The reduced duty shall also not apply if the buyer, his/her spouse or legal cohabitant is/are the owner(s) of an undivided part, even minimal, in another immovable property intended for residential purposes.
• For the calculation of the total cadastral income, immovable property owned only in bare ownership by the acquirer or his/her spouse or legal cohabitant and acquired from the estate of their respective ascendants is never taken into account.
• In certain cases, immovable property that cannot be occupied due to legal or contractual obstacles is also not taken into account. It must be an actual obstacle due to the building itself (for example: a decree of uninhabitability issued by the mayor).
• Moreover, immovable property sold within the year following the deed of acquisition - insofar as the intention to sell is mentioned in the deed - or in the year in which the immovable property is occupied for the first time - if it is built on land eligible for the reduced registration duty - is not taken into account.
• The acquirer or his/her spouse or legal cohabitant must register in the population register or in the register of foreign nationals at the address of the property purchased. This registration must be done within a period of three years from the date of the authentic purchase deed and must be maintained without interruption for at least three years.

Formalities

There are some form requirements in order to qualify for the reduced registration duty. Your adviser can assist you in this regard (e.g. your civil-law notary).

In the deed or in a statement certified true and signed at the bottom of the deed, you must:

• include the legal notices
• state that the conditions to enjoy the reduced registration duty have been met (maximum cadastral income and immovable property)
• state that the obligations to maintain the reduced registration duty will be fulfilled.

When you buy a building lot that will serve as the construction site of a modest home, you benefit, under certain conditions, from the reduced registration duty of 5% or 6% for building lots in the Walloon Region.

The conditions and formalities to be fulfilled are the same as those for the purchase of a modest home.

Please note that the reduced registration duty will not be applied immediately. The purchase deed of the building lot is registered at the standard registration duty (12.5%). The amount paid in excess of the reduced registration duty will be refunded if, subsequently,

• the cadastral income of the house built does not exceed a certain ceiling (in principle, EUR 745)
• the other conditions for immovable property have been met.

In order to receive the refund, you will need to submit a cadastral extract. You can submit an application once the cadastral income of the house is determined.

In the Walloon Region, you are entitled, under certain conditions, to a tax-free allowance for the purchase in full ownership of a house that will serve as your main residence (= a reduction of the taxable base for registration duty).

The tax-free allowance amounts to EUR 40,000 (= you pay no registration duty on a bracket up to EUR 40,000 of your purchase). That means a tax advantage of up to EUR 5,000 for an immovable property subject to the normal registration duty of 12.5%.

The tax-free allowance is also applicable to purchases of:

• off-plan houses or houses under construction
• building lots

The amount of the tax-free allowance depends on the purchase value of the immovable property.

House

Taxable base	Tax-free allowance
< EUR 350,000	EUR 40,000
Between EUR 350,000 and EUR 500,000	EUR 40,000 – (20,000 x (taxable base – 350,000) / (500,000 – 350,000))
> EUR 500,000	EUR 20,000

Off-plan house or house under construction, or building lot

Taxable base	Tax-free allowance
< EUR 175,000	EUR 40,000
Between EUR 175,000 and EUR 250,000	EUR 40,000 – (20,000 x (taxable base – 175,000) / (250,000 – 175,000))
> EUR 250,000	EUR 20,000

Please note that, if the reduced registration duty of 5% (social mortgage loan) or 6% (modest home) applies to you, the tax advantage may be less than the amount calculated above, which varies between EUR 2,500 and EUR 5,000 depending on the taxable base (= purchase price), in certain cases.

Conditions for the tax-free allowance

• You must be a natural person. This means that companies, associations or other legal entities are not eligible.
• The immovable property must be located in the Walloon Region.
• The immovable property must be used or intended for residential purposes (i.e. a house or flat, including houses purchased off-plan or under construction, and building lots).
• You must establish your main residence in that immovable property (i.e. be registered there in the population register or the register of foreign nationals):
  • within three years if it is an existing house
  • within five years if it is a building lot, or an off-plan house or flat, or a house or flat under construction
• You must maintain your main residence in the immovable property for a continuous period of at least three years from the time you established your main residence in that immovable property.
• You must purchase the immovable property in its entirety in full ownership (this may be done by several people together). Therefore, purchases of a part, the usufruct or the bare ownership of the property are excluded.
• On the date of the acquisition agreement, you may not be the full owner, in its entirety, of another immovable property intended, in whole or in part, for residential use. In case of acquisition by several persons together, this condition applies to each of them separately.

Formalities

There are some form requirements in order to qualify for the tax-free allowance. Your adviser can assist you in this regard (e.g. your civil-law notary).

You must apply for the tax-free allowance in the deed (or in a signed document attached to the deed) and declare that:

• you are not already the owner of a house which results in the exclusion of the tax-free allowance;
• you undertake to establish your main residence in the property purchased:
  • within three years if it is an existing house
  • within five years if it is a building lot, an off-plan house or flat, or a house or flat under construction
• you undertake to maintain your main residence in the purchased immovable property for a continuous period of three years from the date you established your main residence in that immovable property.