The Belgian capital gains tax and inheritance
Since the Belgian capital gains tax came into force, a new question worries patrimonial families: what happens when investment gold or a portfolio of financial assets is passed on in an inheritance? The question arises with a perceived risk of accumulation between inheritance duties and a future capital gains tax upon a later resale by the heirs.
The Belgian tax resident
The 10% tax applies to capital gains realised on financial assets, including investment gold. For Belgian tax residents, the subject touches on selling, but also on transfer, inheritance and the documentation of wealth.
The client who is not a Belgian tax resident
A client who is a French tax resident, or a German, Luxembourg, Dutch, Swiss or other European resident, does not become subject to the Belgian capital gains tax because he comes to have gold appraised, sold, bought or converted in Belgium.
The house welcomes a European clientele, and the distinction is fundamental: it is not the location of the office that determines taxation, it is the tax residence of the holder.
What the Belgian capital gains tax provides
Since 1 January 2026, Belgium has applied a 10% tax on certain capital gains realised on the sale of financial assets. The FPS Finance notably cites shares, bonds, ETFs, options, derivatives, savings and investment insurance, cryptocurrencies, currencies, liquidities and investment gold among the assets concerned.
The general principle is simple: when a Belgian tax resident sells a financial asset at a profit, the taxable capital gain corresponds as a general rule to the difference between the sale value and the purchase value. For assets acquired before 1 January 2026, the reference value at 31 December 2025 plays the role of purchase value in the calculation of future capital gains.
The FPS Finance also provides a permanent annual exemption: each year, the first bracket of 10,000 euros of realised capital gains is exempt, per person, an indexed amount. This exemption has no expiry date, it renews on 1 January of each year. In years without a disposal, a partial carry-over of 1,000 euros is added to the following year's exemption, cumulative for a maximum of five years, which can raise it to 15,000 euros per person, that is up to 30,000 euros for a couple filing a joint return, each partner having their own exemption. The general framework of the tax, its exemptions and its worked examples are set out on the page capital gains tax and gold.
This framework concerns persons falling within the scope of Belgian taxation. It does not turn non-resident European clients into Belgian taxpayers.
Death does not trigger the tax, but it does not purge the capital gain
An inheritance is not a sale. This is the starting point of the reasoning: the capital gains tax targets a transfer for consideration. Upon a death, the heirs do not pay a price to receive the assets of the deceased. There is therefore, at the moment of the inheritance, no sale immediately triggering the tax.
But that does not settle everything. The subject can reappear later, at the moment when the heirs resell the assets received. In that case, the capital gain is calculated on the basis of the historical purchase value of the asset by the deceased, or according to the reference value applicable under the transitional regime. This is where the feeling of double taxation arises: heirs can pay inheritance duties on a transferred asset, then later encounter a tax on a capital gain part of which built up before the death. Put simply: death does not reset the counter to zero.
The real subject is the latent capital gain. Can a future capital gains tax be taken into account when valuing an estate asset, to prevent an heir from being taxed twice on the same economic wealth, a first time through inheritance duties, a second time upon resale? At this stage, the question is not fully settled. A corrective law is expected and could provide a solution, notably for certain assets whose value must be assessed at the time of death. For Belgian families, this means one simple thing: the documentation of wealth becomes central.
The lifeline of a 500 gram bar passed on as an inheritance
| Stage | Value | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 · acquisition by the deceased | €17,500 | An old purchase: for the calculation of the tax, this price fades behind the reference of 31 December 2025. |
| 31 December 2025 · tax snapshot | €59,010 | 500 g × €118.02: the reference value of fine gold is frozen. The calculation is arithmetical, based on the fine gold weight. |
| 2027 · death and estate declaration | €64,500 | Inheritance duties are calculated on the value at death. No capital gains tax: an inheritance is not a sale. |
| 2028 · resale by the heir | €70,200 | Capital gain measured from the reference: 70,200 − 59,010 = €11,190. After the €10,000 exemption, the taxable base is €1,190 and the 10% tax amounts to €119. |
Illustrative example: excluding costs, sole heir who is a Belgian tax resident, annual exemption not used elsewhere.
In this example, the bracket between the tax snapshot and the value at death, that is €5,490, has already borne inheritance duties and remains included in the base of the capital gain taxable upon resale. This is the perceived double taxation zone, the one the expected corrective law should clarify. In the meantime, every documented value at every stage protects the heir.
Not all gold follows the same logic
Investment gold is cited by the FPS Finance among the financial assets concerned by the tax. For a Belgian tax resident, the question can therefore arise upon the future sale of certain investment bars or coins, notably in an inheritance context. But two mistakes must be avoided.
The first would be to believe that all gold is treated the same way. An investment bar, a modern investment coin, a gold jewel, an old collector's coin or silver metal do not always fall under the same patrimonial, tax or market logic.
The second would be to believe that this Belgian tax concerns clients who are not tax residents. That is not the case: a client who is a French, German, Luxembourg, Dutch or Swiss tax resident is not concerned by this tax merely because he sells, buys or has gold appraised in Belgium.
| What the family holds | Capital gains tax | The logic to know |
|---|---|---|
| Investment gold bar | Within scope | Cited by the FPS Finance among the financial assets concerned, for Belgian tax residents. |
| Modern investment gold coin | Within scope | Follows the definition of investment gold, like the bar. |
| Old collector's coin | Different logic | A coin that does not meet the definition of investment gold falls under a numismatic logic of its own, where premium and rarity command the value. |
| Gold jewellery and objects | Out of scope | They do not meet the definition of investment gold and remain outside the scope of the tax. |
| Silver metal, platinum, palladium | Out of scope | The law targets investment gold. For these metals, the previous regime continues to apply. |
Identifying the exact category of each object is the first step of any patrimonial decision.
Without documentation, a real asset carries an incomplete tax history
For Belgian tax residents, the capital gains tax is not only a question at the moment of selling: it becomes a matter of transfer, inheritance and documentation. When a patrimony contains investment gold or other financial assets, keeping the essential information becomes decisive. Documentation becomes the tax passport of wealth. And in precious metals, this history matters.
The house does not merely announce a price: it identifies, weighs, analyses, explains and documents the precious metals entrusted to it. Each appraisal is drawn up at the date of the day, at the value of the day, and never backdated. For fine gold held before 2026, the reference of 31 December 2025 is public data: it can be reconstituted to the gram, by simple arithmetic, from the fine gold weight observed. This is how the house helps families understand and quantify what a resale would represent under the tax, since 31 December 2025. Trust is not declared, it is documented.
Acquisition date and price
Invoice, purchase slip or original proof, even old: every trace counts.
Reference value at 31 December 2025
For fine gold, it is calculated from the weight: 118.02 euros per gram.
Proof of holding
Certificates, seals, bar numbers, a dated inventory of the metal patrimony.
Dated professional appraisal
Identification, weighing and analysis by asset category, recorded in a document dated the same day.
Transfer documentation
Estate declaration, deeds and values retained at death, kept with the rest of the file.
Informed options
Selling, keeping, converting, splitting or passing on: each option is assessed on evidence, not on impressions.
Four situations, four reflexes
Keep every document
Keep invoices, purchase slips and certificates, and have each asset precisely identified: bar, investment coin, collector's coin, jewel or silver metal.
Refuse the approximate value
A clear, documented appraisal, by asset category, with the reference value of 31 December 2025 for gold predating 2026: that is what protects the heirs.
Do not confuse tax systems
The Belgian tax does not concern persons who are not Belgian tax residents, including for a transaction carried out in Belgium.
Let the material speak
Before any decision, identify, weigh, analyse: understand what you hold, what it is worth and which category it falls into.
Inheritance and capital gains tax: the questions that keep coming back
Does death trigger the capital gains tax?
No. The tax targets a transfer for consideration, that is to say a sale. A transfer by inheritance is not a sale: at the moment of death, no capital gains tax is due on the assets passed on. Only inheritance duties apply at this stage.
How is the capital gain calculated when an heir resells the gold received?
For an heir who is a Belgian tax resident, the capital gain is measured from the historical acquisition value of the deceased or, for an asset held before 2026, from the reference value at 31 December 2025. Death does not reset the counter to zero: the latent capital gain built up before the inheritance remains in the calculation.
Can inheritance duties and the capital gains tax accumulate?
As things stand, yes: an heir can pay inheritance duties on an asset, then encounter the tax upon resale on a capital gain part of which built up before the death. Whether this latent tax can be taken into account in the estate valuation has not yet been settled: a corrective law is expected on this point.
Does a donation make it possible to erase the capital gain?
No. A donation is not a transfer for consideration: it does not trigger the tax. But the beneficiary takes over the acquisition value of the donor, or the reference of 31 December 2025 for an asset predating 2026. The latent capital gain follows the asset, it does not disappear with the donation.
Is the 10,000 euro exemption limited in time?
No. It is a permanent, annual exemption: each year, the first bracket of 10,000 euros of realised capital gains escapes the tax, per person, an indexed amount. It renews on 1 January, with no expiry date. In years without a sale, a fraction of 1,000 euros is carried over to the following year, cumulative for five years, up to a ceiling of 15,000 euros. In a couple filing a joint return, each partner has their own exemption: together, the exemption can thus reach 20,000 euros per year, and up to 30,000 euros with the carry-overs.
Which documents should be gathered for gold received as an inheritance?
The original invoice or purchase slip if they exist, the certificates and bar numbers, the estate declaration with the values retained at death, and a dated professional appraisal, by asset category. Together, these documents form the complete tax history of the asset.
Can an appraisal be drawn up in the context of an inheritance?
Yes. The house draws up appraisals dated the same day, never backdated: identification, weighing, analysis and documentation, by asset category. For fine gold predating 2026, the reference value of 31 December 2025 can be reconstituted by simple arithmetic from the weight observed, which makes it possible to quantify precisely the situation of each heir.
An inheritance is prepared on evidence, not on impressions
Identification, weighing, analysis and documentation by asset category: the house receives in Dottignies (Mouscron) the families who wish to see clearly, before taking a decision.
Contact the houseThe pages that complete this reading
The Gold Guide The gold price The private vault rooms The foundry and refiningSources: FPS Finance, tax on capital gains on financial assets. This page informs, it does not constitute individual tax advice.