Capital Gains Tax in Belgium: Where Do We Stand at the Beginning of 2026?

Since the beginning of 2026, we at Aeacus have been receiving a striking number of questions about the announced capital gains tax on financial assets. Clients and accountants are primarily seeking clarity on whether the tax is already applicable and what this means in practice for their investments, with particular attention to crypto-assets. These questions are understandable, but for the time being the answer remains nuanced.

Typically Belgian, we still find ourselves in a transitional phase. Although the introduction of a capital gains tax has been politically announced for quite some time and is generally expected to materialise, there is still no definitive law in place at the beginning of 2026. As long as the parliamentary legislative process has not been completed, uncertainty remains as to what the final regime will look like and which policy choices will ultimately prevail. What is clear, however, is that a draft bill was submitted on 17 December 2025. The full text of the draft bill can be consulted via this link.

Is there already a general capital gains tax on crypto in Belgium at the beginning of 2026?

For the time being, the answer remains negative. Belgium does not currently have a general 10% capital gains tax on financial assets for individuals. Capital gains realised within the framework of the normal management of private assets remain, in principle, tax-exempt, subject to the well-known exceptions such as speculation, abnormal management or a professional activity.

This does not mean, however, that the absence of an explicit statutory regime today implies that such capital gains will definitively remain outside the scope of the tax authorities. The draft bill currently on the table expressly provides that capital gains on financial assets would be taxable retroactively as from 1 January 2026. The article below briefly outlines the content and scope of this draft bill.

The draft bill of 17 December 2025 and crypto

On 17 December 2025, the government submitted a draft bill introducing a tax on capital gains on financial assets. This draft amends the Belgian Income Tax Code 1992 and constitutes the first genuine blueprint for a general capital gains tax in Belgium.

The core principles of the draft were already known for some time and have been discussed extensively elsewhere. In short, capital gains realised by individuals outside the exercise of a professional activity would henceforth become taxable. Typically Belgian, the regime would apply retroactively to capital gains realised as from 1 January 2026, while historical capital gains would be neutralised through a valuation reference date set at 31 December 2025. That date serves as the dividing line between the past and future taxable capital gains, insofar as the transactions qualify as normal management of private assets.

Which investments are targeted?

The draft bill deliberately adopts a broad approach. It does not only target shares, bonds and investment funds, but also certain insurance products, currencies, investment gold and crypto-assets.

For crypto investors, this represents a crucial development. Crypto-assets are explicitly included as financial assets, in line with the European MiCA framework. This covers not only traditional cryptocurrencies, but also other types of tokens and, in certain cases, NFTs. The decisive criterion is whether the asset effectively fulfils a payment or investment function in practice. Pure digital art without such a function would fall outside the scope of the regime.

Rates and exemptions under the draft bill

As is probably well known by now, the draft bill confirms that the standard rate would be set at 10%. This is combined with an annual exemption of EUR 10,000 per taxpayer, with a limited possibility to carry forward unused exemptions to subsequent years.

In addition, the draft bill provides for stricter rules in specific situations. Internal capital gains and transactions in which control is retained or acquired would be subject to a separate rate of 33%. For taxpayers holding a significant participation of at least 20% in a company, a separate progressive regime is introduced, including a substantial exemption tranche spread over several years.

What changes from a tax perspective for crypto?

Until 2026, capital gains on crypto-assets in Belgium were only taxed when they resulted from speculation or abnormal management. Taxpayers who invested in a prudent and relatively passive manner, acting as a reasonable private individual, could in many cases rely on a tax exemption.

The draft bill departs from this approach. Capital gains arising from the normal management of private assets would also become taxable at a rate of 10%. The traditional distinction between normal management and speculation does not disappear, but is repositioned. Capital gains qualifying as normal management would fall under the new capital gains tax, while speculative transactions would remain taxable as miscellaneous income at a rate of 33%.

Notably, the explanatory memorandum addresses crypto-assets in a very concrete manner. Factors such as the size of the crypto portfolio in relation to the taxpayer’s total movable assets, the use of trading bots or other software, the number of transactions carried out and the use of borrowed funds are explicitly mentioned as assessment criteria. This confirms that, even under the new regime, the factual circumstances remain decisive. The draft bill states, in our own unofficial translation:

In the context of the realisation of a capital gain on crypto-assets outside the exercise of a professional activity, reference may in particular be made to the percentage of the taxpayer’s movable assets invested in crypto-assets, the taxpayer’s decision whether or not to use financing for the acquisition of crypto-assets, the finding that the taxpayer makes use of an automated process or software to acquire crypto-assets, and the number of transactions carried out by the taxpayer, as criteria to be taken into consideration when assessing the abnormal character of the transaction.

Crypto as a means of payment: paying can also trigger a taxable capital gain

The draft bill leaves little room for doubt that the use of crypto-assets as a means of payment is, for tax purposes, equated with a transfer for consideration. When a taxpayer uses crypto-assets to purchase goods or services, the crypto-assets are deemed to have been realised at their value at the time of payment. The fact that no fiat currency is received is irrelevant in this respect. If the value of the crypto-assets used exceeds their tax acquisition value, the embedded capital gain may, in principle, fall within the scope of the general capital gains tax. In concrete terms, this means that even everyday or routine payments made with crypto may, at least in theory, constitute a taxable event. This follows, from the draft bill, which states that:

The use of crypto-assets for the purchase of goods or services (e.g. a pizza) likewise constitutes a realisation of the relevant financial assets.

Exchanging crypto-assets: realisation without conversion to fiat

The draft bill further clarifies that exchange transactions (swaps) between crypto-assets may also be taxable. The exchange of, for example, bitcoin for ether, or one token for a stablecoin, is regarded as a realisation of the crypto-asset being disposed of. That asset must be valued at its market value at the time of the exchange. If that value exceeds the acquisition value, the resulting capital gain may become immediately taxable, even where the taxpayer remains entirely within the crypto ecosystem and no conversion into fiat currency takes place. The draft bill thus explicitly confirms that the absence of a cash exit does not provide protection against taxation.

It is further confirmed that any disposal of crypto-assets—meaning any conversion into another crypto-asset or into fiat currency—constitutes a transfer for consideration, and not only conversions into fiat currency (Parliamentary Question No. 1338, Maxime Prévot, Bulletin Q&A 55/105, p. 180). This approach is also consistent with the interpretation of the concept of an “exchange transaction” within the meaning of Council Directive (EU) 2023/2226 of 17 October 2023 amending Directive 2011/16/EU on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation, which covers both exchanges between crypto-assets and fiat currencies and exchanges between one or more forms of crypto-assets.

The draft bill also explicitly confirms that where crypto-assets are transferred between different crypto-asset wallets belonging to the same taxpayer, no realisation is deemed to take place.

This mechanism constitutes a particularly important point of attention for investors. By way of example, assume that a taxpayer starts in year X with an initial investment of EUR 10,000 and, at the end of that same year, exchanges it via a swap into another crypto-asset with a value of EUR 200,000. At that moment, a capital gain of EUR 190,000 is realised in year X. At a rate of 10%, this results—disregarding the annual exemption—in a tax liability of EUR 19,000 for year X. Many clients incorrectly assume in such a scenario that this tax burden can later be “neutralised” if the new investment performs poorly. If, in year X+1, the value of the new crypto-asset were to drop to, for example, EUR 15,000, they often believe that tax would only be due on a net gain of EUR 5,000, being the difference between the original investment of EUR 10,000 and the final value of EUR 15,000, again disregarding the exemption.

That assumption is incorrect. The capital gain of EUR 190,000 was definitively realised in year X and remains taxable regardless of subsequent losses. In this scenario, a tax of EUR 19,000 must therefore be paid on crypto-assets that are, at that moment, worth only approximately EUR 15,000. This clearly illustrates why it is essential to carry out timely tax planning around the end of the year or at the beginning of the following year and to calculate potential tax liabilities in advance, in order to avoid unpleasant surprises.

Airdrops and the acquisition value of crypto-assets

Where a taxpayer acquires crypto-assets through an airdrop, whereby tokens are allocated free of charge, the tax acquisition value is not set at zero. The draft bill proceeds from the principle that the acquisition value corresponds to the value of the relevant crypto-assets at the time they are allocated to the taxpayer. Even though no purchase price is paid, that market value serves as the reference point for further tax treatment. Upon a subsequent disposal, payment or exchange, any capital gain will be calculated by comparing that initial value with the value at the time of realisation.

Exit tax and international context

The draft bill also introduces an exit tax. Taxpayers who leave Belgium may, in principle, be taxed on the latent capital gains on their financial assets, including crypto-assets. In certain cases, a temporary deferral of payment is provided for.

For crypto investors with international mobility plans, this is far from a minor detail. The combination of an exit tax with increasing international reporting obligations and information exchange makes tax-driven emigration increasingly complex and risky.

Capital losses and evidence

The draft bill explicitly clarifies that the general capital gains tax will be levied on the net capital gain on an annual basis, meaning capital gains realised during a given year reduced by capital losses realised in that same year. Capital losses may not be carried forward to subsequent years, and costs or taxes are not deductible. Importantly for practice, the draft bill expressly provides that capital losses may be proven by all means of evidence permitted under general law, with the exception of the oath. In a crypto context, this opens the door to the use of reports and exports from trading platforms and specialised crypto tax calculators, provided that the underlying transaction data remain available for verification by the tax authorities.

Criticism by the Council of State regarding the scope of application

In its opinion, the Council of State raises clear concerns regarding the delineation of the scope of the capital gains tax. It questions whether limiting the tax to financial assets, while excluding other types of assets such as certain precious metals, collectibles or digital art, is compatible with the principle of equality. The unequal treatment between assets for which collection via withholding tax is possible and assets for which it is not—such as crypto-assets—is also critically examined. These observations underline that the draft bill is not legally uncontested and that further adjustments during the parliamentary debate or the implementation phase cannot be ruled out.

Conclusion

The situation faced by investors at the beginning of 2026 can hardly be described as anything other than Kafkaesque. Investors are today expected to prepare for a general capital gains tax, to have established a valuation reference date as of 31 December 2025 and to calculate potential tax liabilities, even though no definitive legal basis existed at that time imposing such obligations. Yet in Belgium, there is a real risk that tax will be levied on capital gains deemed to have been realised during a period in which the law introducing that tax did not yet exist. This sits uneasily with fundamental principles of legal certainty and foreseeability, but at the same time reflects a fiscal tradition in which Belgian practice often precedes legislation.

The purpose of this article is therefore primarily to provide insight into the current draft bill and its potential impact, without claiming to offer definitive answers. It remains a draft bill, the final content of which may still differ following parliamentary debate and possible amendments, as we have come to expect in Belgium.

That said, inaction is not an option. In practice, we have observed a noticeable increase in tax audits relating to crypto-assets in recent days and weeks, both in terms of information requests and targeted questions on transactions and valuations. Taxpayers with substantial crypto investments would therefore be well advised to map their tax position in good time, document their transactions and, paradoxical as it may seem, prepare for a regime that does not yet legally exist today, but may very well become a reality tomorrow.

If you have any further questions on crypto taxation, be sure to consult our  Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) or schedule an appointment..

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Christophe Romero Senne Verholle

christophe.romero@aeacus.tax senne.verholle@aeacus.tax