Are you looking to invest in a rental building? In principle, you are not entitled to tax benefits on registration fees. Unless you are domiciled in the building. Here we explain why.
First-time buyers enjoy certain benefits, including tax relief on the first 175,000 euros of purchases in the Brussels-Capital Region, provided that they are domiciled in the purchased property and that they do not have any other properties.
Do you lose the right to these benefits when you become a multi-owner?
In theory, yes, With some exceptions:
- Split buildings: You buy a building that is – or has been – divided into several accommodation units, registered as such in the planning records and/or land registry. You occupy one of the accommodation units and rent the others. On purchasing the property, you will receive a tax rebate, but only partially.
- House to be split up: You have bought a single dwelling to divide into a rental building while occupying part of it, and received the tax deduction when you purchased it. When you come to split up the property, as long as you always comply with the domiciliation requirement, you do not have to pay back the benefit received.
- Housing cheque (Walloon tax reduction reserved for homeowners who have taken out a mortgage for the purchase of their own single dwelling): The division of a single dwelling into several separate dwellings after 31 December of the year the mortgage was taken out does not affect the issuing of the housing cheque. This division is, however, likely to halve the total tax benefit available.
As a reminder, the domiciliation requirement must be observed during the required periods.
- In the Brussels Region, you must live in the property within two years following your purchase and stay there for at least five years.
- In the Walloon Region, the recipient of the abatement must live in the property within three years and stay there for at least three years.
If this condition is no longer complied with, the recipient of the tax benefit must pay back the benefit received.
Source: L’Echo