Law Miscellaneous of 11 December 2025 - Tax Measures

On 11 December 2025, the Miscellaneous Provisions Act was definitively approved by the Chamber of Representatives. This second major omnibus act completes and deepens the tax reform framework, with measures relating, inter alia, to family taxation, car taxation, the investment deduction, DBI SICAVs, as well as assessment and investigation time limits. In addition, the Act provides for the abolition of the federal interest deduction, various tax reductions and exemptions, and a further rationalisation of existing preferential tax regimes.

The measures set out below follow the Programme Act of 18 July 2025, which was published on 29 July 2025. For a complete overview of the tax measures contained in that Programme Act, we refer to our earlier Tax Insight.

Personal Income Tax

Abolition of Federal Interest Deduction 

(art. 2 to 14 Law ‘various provisions’)
 

Abolished as of assessment year 2026. This also applies to “current debts”.
Note: the ‘tax reduction for interest on green loans’ and the ‘federal housing bonus’ have also been abolished.

Family Taxation and Personal Life

Maintance Payments 

(art. 34 to 37 Law ‘various provisions’)

• Gradual reduction of deductibility from 80% to 50% over a three-year period. This new rule will also apply without exception to 'existing' maintenance obligations.
• Planned entry into force: maintenance payments made as from 1 January 2025 for tax periods ending after 30 December 2025.
  Payments to countries outside the EEA (except Switzerland) will no longer be deductible (for tax periods ending after the last day of the month in which the law is published).

Dependants

(art. 38 to 41 Law ‘various provisions’)

Net subsistence means

• Uniform amount of “allowed subsistence means” for all children: EUR 12,000 (indexed for assessment year 2026) +
• Scholarships will not count as subsistence means “provided they do not give rise to any (even partial) social security entitlements.” (Doctoral scholarships do count).

Recipients of minimum subsistence income (“leefloon”) no longer qualify as dependants.
 

Exclusion also applies to “persons earning professional income that constitutes a deductible cost for the taxpayer”.

Flexi-Jobs 

(art. 19 to 21 Law ‘various provisions’)

Indexation and increase of the maximum amount (€18,000 for income year 2025).
Planned entry into force: income year 2025.

Meal Vouchers

(art. 111 to 113 Law ‘various provisions’)
 

• Increase of the maximum value of the meal voucher from €8 to €10 per effectively worked day as from 1 January 2026. To that end, the maximum employer’s contribution will rise from €6.91 to €8.91 (tax exemption);
• Corresponding increase of the tax deductibility of the higher employer cost (from €2 to €4 per MV).

Wyninckx Contribution & Solidarity Contribution on Second Pillar Extensions

(art. 146 to 149 Law ‘various provisions’)

Increase of the “Wijninckx” contribution on supplementary pensions (when exceeding the ‘pension objective’) from 3 to 12.5 percent starting from the contribution year 2026.

The withholding at source of the solidarity contribution on supplementary pensions paid in the form of capital will be uniformly set at 2% as from 1 January 2026. An additional solidarity contribution of 2% is due on the part of such pensions above €150.000 paid during life as from 1 July 2027.

 

Tax Credit (TC) for Equity Contributions / Individuals

(art. 51 to 52 Law ‘various provisions’)

• Doubling of the rate from 10% to 20%;
• Ceiling doubled from €3,750 to €7,500.
   

Planned entry into force: assessment year 2026.

Incoming Taxpayers & Researchers        

(art. 15 to 18 Law ‘various provisions’)
 

• Tax-free allowance increased from 30% to 35%, with abolition of the €90,000 ceiling.
• Minimum gross salary reduced from €75,000 to €70,000.

Planned entry into force: income year 2025.
In order to enable taxpayers to benefit from the retroactive entry into force of the less strict conditions of the regime, a request can be filed within 3 months as from the 10th day after publication of the law in the Belgian Official Gazette.

 

Freezing of Indexation (Assessment Years 2026 - 2030)

(art. 42 to 44 Law ‘various provisions’)

Freezing of indexation for certain tax deductions and credits. The freeze applies to the same items already frozen during assessment years 2021 to 2024. The maximum amount of the tax credit for dependent children is permanently frozen.

 

Fewer Tax Reductions

(art. 53 to 90 Law ‘various provisions’)

• Several tax deductions and reductions in personal income tax will be abolished, including those for domestic staff; adoption costs; legal assistance; development funds; electric motorcycles, tricycles and quadricycles; capital losses from the full liquidation of Private Privaks; additional staff in SMEs; heads of export departments and integrated quality management (hires as from 1 September 2025); increased deduction for internship bonus salaries; increased lump-sum deduction for long-distance travel.
• In addition, the following exemptions will disappear: capital gains on company vehicles; “social passive” exemptions; PC-private plan (interventions by the employer as from 1 October 2025).
• Donation deduction: lowered from 45% to 30% as from AY 2026. (art. 67 Law ‘various provis.’)
  
   

Investment Deduction

(art. 30 to 33 Law ‘various provisions’)

• Made indefinitely transferable (no more limitation).
• Thematic investment deduction (for investments in energy efficiency, renewable energy, carbon emission-free transport, environment-friendly investments and supporting digital investments) at 40% also applies to large enterprises.
• The ban on cumulation with regional state aid is abolished.

Planned entry into force: assets acquired or created as from 1 January 2025.
The harmonisation of the enhanced thematic deduction rates will apply as from assessment year 2027.

 

Vehicle Taxation

(art. 22 to 29 Law ‘various provisions’)

New deductibility regime for hybrid vehicles:    

Applicable only to self-employed individuals (sole traders) subject to personal income tax, not to companies or legal entities
 

• Maximum deductibility up to 75% for hybrid vehicles purchased, leased or rented until end of 2027. Higher deductibility for hybrids (CO₂ <= 50g/km) possible until end of 2027; capped at 95% in 2027.
• Deductibility drops to 65% in 2028 and 57.5% in 2029 (deduction excluded for purchase/leasing or renting as from 2030).
• Rates apply throughout usage period for same owner/lessee.
• Simplification: The fuel coefficient (1 or 0.95) in the deductibility formula will be abolished as of 2026.
  Gram formula: 120% - (0.5% x CO₂ emissions)
• Electricity consumption costs will, as from 2026, follow the deductibility of fully electric models.
   

Planned entry into force: from 1 January 2026, and also applies to hybrid company cars purchased/leased/rented since July 2023.
 

Older vehicles: (Personal income tax)
From AY2027, deductibility for vehicles bought before 2018 will be reduced by 5% per year, down to 50% in AY2031.
 

Relaxation of anti-abuse rule for “fake hybrids” – higher emissions threshold 
For cars newly registered as from 2026 (as well as the models newly homologated from 2025 onwards) that are subject to stricter EU emissions standards, the CO₂ threshold under the anti-abuse regime is raised to 75 g/km. For cars that have already been registered and remain subject to the old emissions standards, the CO₂ threshold remains 50 g/km.
This relaxation will also apply to the calculation of Benefits in Kind (BIK).
 

Treatment of fuel costs (as from 2026):
Fossil fuel costs (petrol/diesel/natural gas, etc.) for passenger cars, dual-use vehicles and minibuses purchased/rented/leased as from 1 January 2026 will no longer be deductible as professional expense.  

Corporate Income Tax

DRD-SICAVs (‘DBI Beveks’)        

(art. 46 to 50 Law ‘various provisions’)
 

• New separate tax upon exit:
  A capital gains tax of 5% is introduced upon exit from a DRD-SICAV (excluding Private Privak).
  [Note: the text of the law only seems to cover ‘third-party sales’ (namely an explicit reference to art. 192 CIT92), not fund redemptions.]
• Condition for WHT crediting:
  Crediting of withholding tax on DRD-SICAV dividends is now subject to the minimum remuneration of company directors (€45,000).
  This particularly affects SMEs and management companies that optimise their remuneration via dividends.
   

Planned entry into force: AY 2026, with an anti-abuse provision for financial year-end changes implemented from 3 February 2025.

 

Group Contribution Regime

(art. 45 Law ‘various provisions’)

• Flexibilisation of DRD:
  DRD can now also be applied to group contributions exceeding the fiscal loss, in line with CJEU case law:
• Further reforms not yet included:
  Proposals such as allowing indirect participations or abolishing the 5-year minimum duration for new companies have not yet been adopted.
  
   

Abolition of Exemptions

Capital Gains on Company Vehicles

(art. 54 Law ‘various provisions’)
The existing exemption (Article 44bis ITC 1992) only remains applicable to capital gains realised by 31 August 2025.

Social Passive

(art. 61 Law ‘various provisions’)
 

The exemption will only apply to remuneration granted up to 30 September 2025, along with a cap on the exempt amount. 
The change applies to taxable periods ending after 31 August 2025.
 

Investment Deduction

See above
 

Vehicle Taxation

See above
 
 

Procedure 

(art. 91 to 110 Law ‘various provisions’)

• Reduction of assessment periods (retroactive as from AY 2023):
  • Standard: 3 years
  • Non-filed, late or (semi-)complex returns: 4 years
  • Fraud: reduced from 10 to 7 years
    (same for fraud-related VAT prescription)

Note: The (document) retention period will also be reduced back to 7 years (retroactive as from AY 2023).
 

• Advance notice:
  Previous wording concerning advance notification is restored (retroactively from AY 2023).
• CAP (Central Access Point)    (art. 103 to 110 Law ‘various provisions’)
  • rules on how tax authorities access information for enforcement of the tax on securities accounts (indications of tax fraud are not required), and
  • requirements regarding crypto-assets disclosure;
  • use of the data for the purpose of data mining.
     

Planned entry into force: 1 December 2026.

What else will 2026 bring?

During 2026, Parliament will still vote on other legislative initiatives. Several are already pending before Parliament and, on 12 December this year, the Council of Ministers also approved, on second reading, two draft bills which will be considered by Parliament, namely:

• Draft bill introducing a capital gains tax on financial assets;
• Draft bill reforming personal income tax
  • Increase in the tax-free allowance;
  • Increase in the tax work bonus;
  • Increase (second step) of the maximum employer contribution for meal vouchers by €2;
  • Phasing-out of the marriage quotient;
  • Phasing-out of the tax reduction for pensions and unemployment benefits;
  • Treating the subsistence allowance (living wage) as replacement income;
  • No more advance payments for self-employed persons (only for company directors), fifth advance payment;
    o Entrepreneur’s deduction of 10% for self-employed persons;
  • Copyright regime reinstated for IT;
  • Miscellaneous income – normal management of private assets: ‘de minimis’ of €2,000;
  • Rules on “excessive benefits in kind”;
  • Minimum remuneration for the reduced rate increased from €45,000 to €50,000 + indexation.
     

Further details are also being developed regarding the rate increase under the VVPRbis and liquidation reserves regimes (from 15% to 18% withholding tax). The VAT increase (also announced in the Budget Agreement) for hotels, campsites, sport, entertainment and takeaway is postponed until 1 March 2026.

Within the Cabinet of the Minister of Finance, work is also underway on a draft bill to improve the investment climate (tax shelters for start-ups and scale-ups; tonnage tax; accelerated depreciation in the first year for specific investments; reform of the DBI deduction regime towards an exemption; further expansion of the group contribution regime; temporary (5-year) reintroduction of the 6% VAT rate for heat pumps; easing of the rules governing Private Privaks).
 

We will keep you informed as soon as these legislative initiatives are further debated in Parliament.

If you would like to receive additional information on this matter or require tax assistance, the RSM Belgium Tax team is at your disposal ([email protected]).