Belgium Isn’t Raising Taxes… But It’s Quietly Cutting More and More Ways to Reduce Them
Belgium Freezes Most Tax Breaks Until 2030 Belgium is not increasing taxes, but it is sharply restricting the mechanisms that allow taxpayers to reduce them. The Arizona government has decided to freeze nearly all tax-advantaged ceilings from 2025 to 2030, reversing the brief indexation window introduced under the previous Vivaldi coalition. Key Measures Pension savings, long-term savings, and savings-account exemptions remain fixed at 2024 levels for the next five years. Regional tax advantages (service vouchers, ALE cheques, childcare deductions) continue to diverge significantly between Wallonia, Brussels and Flanders. Donations see their federal tax deduction cut from 45% to 30%. Several deductions are abolished entirely, including: Household employee tax credit Adoption-related tax reduction Legal expenses insurance deduction Incentives for light electric vehicles Reduction for losses in private PRICAF structures.....
Taxation 2026 — What changes, what stays… and what disappears
By Kadir Duran / Bruxelles Korner
8 November 2025
The Arizona government has locked down nearly all tax advantages for the next five years. After a brief period of indexation under the Vivaldi coalition, Finance Minister Jan Jambon has once again frozen fiscal ceilings from 2025 to 2030 and is even scrapping several schemes deemed “inefficient.”
Bottom line:
If you want to lower your 2026 tax bill, you need to act before 31 December 2025, and you need to know which amounts will remain frozen until 2030.
✅ What is frozen until 2030
Most tax ceilings stay locked at their 2024 levels. Key examples:
Pension Savings
Two systems remain:
30% tax reduction up to €1,050 (max €315)
25% tax reduction between €1,050–€1,350 (max €337.50)
The classic trap remains:
A payment between €1,051 and €1,259 gives a smaller tax benefit than staying at €1,050
Smart move:
Stay at €1,050 or go straight to €1,260–€1,350.
From 2026 onwards, the ceilings are frozen. A merger of the two systems is being considered, but nothing is confirmed.
Long-Term Savings (life insurance)
Ceiling frozen at €2,450
Max tax benefit: €735 (30%)
Without the freeze, it would have risen to €2,530
Interest on Savings Accounts
Exemption maintained at €1,020
Beyond that → 15% withholding tax
Service Vouchers (Titres-services)
Highly regional differences:
Wallonia
Price: €10.40 → €11.40 → €12.40
Tax reduction: €0.90 on first 150 vouchers
Max benefit: €135 (or €270 for couples)
Brussels
Price: €10.20
Tax reduction: 15% on 172 vouchers
Max benefit: €263.16 (or €526.32 for couples)
Flanders
Price: €10 / €11
No tax reduction since 2025
ALE / Local Employment Cheques
Ceiling: €1,850
Wallonia: 30% reduction (max €555)
Brussels: 15% (max €277.50)
Flanders: No reduction
Childcare Expenses
Tax reduction: 45% up to €16.90 per day
Net gain: €7.60/day/child
Single parents: up to 75% depending on income
Donations
The Arizona government cuts the deduction:
Before: 45%
Now: 30%
A €40 donation now yields €12 in tax benefit (vs €18 previously).
Roof insulation (Wallonia only)
Reduction: 30%
Ceiling: €4,020
Conditions: building 5+ years old; contractor required; minimum insulation standards
CPTI (Supplementary pension for self-employed individuals)
Reduction: 30% (+ municipal surcharge)
Example: €1,000 contribution → €300 tax benefit
Must respect the 80% rule (combined pension limits)
Renovation of a dwelling rented through an AIS (Wallonia)
Minimum investment: €14,610
Mandatory AIS rental: 9 years
Tax reduction: 5% per year, max €1,510/year
(No advantage in Flanders since 2019; none in Brussels since 2016)
❌ What disappears completely
The federal government is eliminating several tax reductions considered “too costly” or rarely used:
Tax reduction for household employees → abolished
Tax reduction for adoption expenses → removed
Tax reduction for legal expenses insurance → scrapped
Reduction for light electric vehicles (tricycles, quadricycles) → gone
Reduction for capital losses in PRICAF private entities → eliminated
In short: a fiscal system under anesthesia
The federal budget clearly bets on stability — or rather, rigidity.
Taxpayers now face:
✅ multi-year frozen ceilings
✅ widening regional discrepancies
✅ several abolished deductions
✅ and one remaining lever: optimising tax-deductible expenses before 31 December 2025
Belgium is not raising taxes…
But it is quietly reducing almost every way to lower them.
Source: L’Echo — Adaptation & analysis by Bruxelles Korner
Full link: https://www.bruxelleskorner.com/haber/la-belgique-naugmente-pas-limpot-mais-limite-de-plus-en-plus-les-moyens-de-le-reduire-9439
Kadir Duran
Contributing writer at EUReflect.