Registration fees drop from 12.5% to 3% in Wallonia
From January 1, buyers of their own unique home in Wallonia will only pay 3% registration fees, compared to 12.5% currently. In order to take into account the evolution of life (household, children, profession, etc.), it will even be allowed to benefit from this 3% as the current owner of a home, on the condition of reselling it within three years from the acquisition of the new property.
Registration fees will go from 12.5% to 3% in Wallonia in January 2025, what does that change?
To benefit from the reduction, buyers must stay in the new home for three full years from their installation. If they leave before the expiry of this period, they will have to pay additional registration fees in an amount equal to the difference between the ordinary rate of 12.5% and the reduced rate of 3%.
The measure will apply to authentic acts executed from January 1, 2025.
At the same time, the various regimes which have coexisted until now will be abolished. This is the case for the first-time buyer allowance, the housing voucher and the reduced rate for modest housing.
Modest housing and 3% registration fees: am I still entitled to the reduction in property tax?
Legal retirement age rises to 66
People born after January 1, 1960 will therefore have to work an additional year, while those born before remain in the old regime.
The increase in the legal retirement age was decided in 2015 by the government of Prime Minister Charles Michel (MR). It was then set at 65 years and will increase to 67 years in 2030.
Pension at age 66 in 2025: what changes for me?
Workers aged 65 who have 42 years of career will be able to request an early pension, like those aged 64 and 63.
The pension reform passed in 2024, under the last legislature, also provides for the establishment of an additional condition of effective work for access to the minimum pension. From January 1, 5,000 days of actual work for full-time workers will be necessary to qualify for this minimum pension, which corresponds to a third of their full career. For part-time workers, this condition will be 3,120 days. It also reaches 189 months in the case of a civil servant career and 64 quarters if the worker only has a self-employed career. The calculation in days worked during the career makes it possible to protect those who have a more irregular career, mainly women, according to the resigning Minister of Pensions Karine Lalieux.
Energy distribution prices in Wallonia increase by 14% on average
For electricity, this average increase of 14% concerns the typical residential customer, with a bi-hourly meter and displaying an annual consumption of 3,500 kWh.
Distribution of gas and electricity: price rise in 2025, and this is only the beginning
Distribution costs represent around 20% of the total energy bill for electricity and around 25% for gas.
Furthermore, transport re-invoicing costs increase substantially between 2024 and 2025 for the different voltage levels. This increase is a direct result of the rates of the transmission network manager, Elia, approved by the federal regulator, Creg, which are rising sharply from 2025. Concretely, for a low-voltage residential customer, reference profile 3,500 kWh/ year on a two-hour schedule, transport costs will increase by 51% in 2025, announces Cwape.
Service vouchers: increase of 20 cents in Wallonia and Brussels and one euro in Flanders
The biggest increase concerns the north of the country, with a cost increasing from 9 to 10 euros, by decision of the Flemish government. Users who exchange securities from 2024 to 2025 will also have to pay this surcharge. In addition, its tax deductibility (1.8 euros per check) disappears.
Profits on the rise in the service voucher sector: housekeepers want their share of the money (infographic)
In Wallonia, a biannual indexation of the service voucher, which had already been increased to 10 euros at the start of 2024, is provided for in the law. Thus, from January 1, 2025, service vouchers will increase by 20 cents and will rise to 10.20 euros (for the first 175 checks acquired per calendar year), 11.20 euros (between 176 and 400 checks) and 12.20 euros (between 401 and 500 checks).
Service vouchers purchased in 2024 also remain usable in 2025. The next indexation could be planned for July depending on inflation.
Proximus increases the prices of different TV and mobile packs and options
Concretely, Flex packs, which combine different telecoms services (internet, mobile telephony, fixed telephony and/or television), will be on average three euros more expensive each month. The internet subscription alone will also increase by one to two euros.
The TV options (for sports, cinema or fast forward in the case of replay) will also be more expensive by one to two euros per month.
The increase in prices will be less for mobile subscriptions, while the out-of-bundle prices for certain calls, SMS and mobile data in the European Union will be higher. Finally, the price of the Daily Roaming Pass, allowing you to call and surf outside of Europe, will increase by 1.54 euros per month.
Proximus will increase 233 prices on January 1, 2025: here are the 5 increases that will hurt the most
Products no longer sold at Voo will increase by 3% on average
Concretely, the monthly subscription for the Relax and Max offers (which have been on the market since August 2022) will increase between 2 and 3.50 euros, whether for internet subscriptions or packs with television, mobile and/or landline telephony. The increase will be from 1 to 3.50 euros for the monthly payments of the toudoo, wahoo and tatoo offers, which were marketed until November 2019. The Duo and Trio passionately packs, marketed until June 2015, will increase by 2 .50 to 3 euros.
Orange would consider removing the VOO brand, after closing the first stores in summer 2024
Finally, Voo indicates that the cheapest internet subscription, 1P Net Light, will be one euro more expensive, while the Duo Net Light and Trio Net Light packs will see an increase of 1.50 and 2 euros respectively. Other Voo offers marketed since August 2022 are not affected by these increases.
Still in the Orange group, the Orange TV product will experience, from January 19, 2025, an increase of one euro per month, while Go mobile subscriptions will be more expensive by 40 cents to 1.40 euros per month, depending on the formula. These are subscriptions that Orange has no longer sold since the summer.
Social tariffs for electricity and natural gas increase again by up to 15%
Compared to the last quarter of 2024, the social electricity tariff will increase by 10% and will cross the barrier of 20 euro cents per kilowatt hour, both for the single-hourly tariff (20.815 euro cents including VAT) and for the two-hourly rate (21.263 euro cents during the day and 20.466 at night). The exclusive night rate increases to 17.632 euro cents per kilowatt hour.
The social tariff for natural gas and heat will increase by 15% and rise to 5.894 euro cents per kilowatt hour.
Brussels Airlines flights more expensive due to environmental surcharge
The German airline group Lufthansa will introduce a surcharge for environmental costs from January 1. This decision will apply to all its subsidiaries for all flights departing from Europe. The surcharge will range from 1 to 72 euros per flight, depending on the route and class of travel. Brussels Airlines will apply a surcharge ranging from 1 to 36 euros.
Brussels Airlines “best airline in the world” for its customer service
The supplement will apply to all tickets issued since Wednesday June 26 with departure from January 1, 2025. It concerns all flights sold and operated by the German group departing from the 27 EU countries as well as the Kingdom -United, Norway and Switzerland.
The supplement is intended to cover part of the ever-increasing additional costs due to environmental regulatory requirements. These requirements include the statutory 2% blending quota for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for departures from European Union (EU) countries from January 1, 2025, adjustments to the blending system EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and other national and international requirements such as the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).
Stamp prices for letters and parcels rise by almost 2%
The company justifies this increase by an increase in costs linked to inflation and the reduction in mail volumes.
Thus, from January 1, the Non Prior postage stamp (for distribution within three working days) will increase from 1.46 to 1.53 euros per unit and from 1.43 to 1.46 euros per sheet of 10 units. The Prior postage stamp (for distribution the following working day) will see its price rise from 2.27 to 2.37 euros per piece, and from 2.24 to 2.33 euros for a sheet of five units.
Registration fees reduced to 2% in Flanders
Registration fees for the purchase of a single, own home in Flanders will be reduced from 3% to 2% from January 1, 2025. This measure will apply to purchases for which the notarial deed is signed from this date.
These rights had already fallen in recent years. In 2021, the reduced rate – applied for the purchase of a single, clean home used as family housing – increased from 7 to 6%. A year later, it was lowered again to 3%. The standard rate is set at 12%.
Until the end of 2024, there was also a preferential rate of 1% intended for buyers of houses or apartments with poor energy performance who committed to renovating their property within a period of five years. This rate will be increased to 2% from January 1.
For their part, Flemish renovation credits with interest subsidies will disappear from January 1, 2025.
A reform of the operation of VAT involves several procedural changes
Changes in VAT-related procedures, intended to modernize the tax system, are being implemented from January 1. This reform will mainly concern the obligations of taxable persons.
The VAT declaration, if submitted every three months, can now be filed with the tax administration no later than the 25th day of the month following the end of the quarter, and no longer on the 20th day as before. This 20-day period, however, remains unchanged for those who make a monthly declaration.
The possibility of modifying a declaration after the deadlines is also removed. Any changes must now be included in the following declaration.
