Personal property donations: Flanders will extend the “suspicious period”. And Brussels?

Personal property donations: Flanders will extend the “suspicious period”. And Brussels?
Personal property donations: Flanders will extend the “suspicious period”. And Brussels?

A quick reminder, first of all: all real estate donations must be registered by a notarial deed and give rise to the payment of duties (via progressive rates, from 3% to 40%, per tranche and depending on the degree of kinship).

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Two ways to donate movable property

On the other hand, for movable property, there are two ways to make a donation. Either by making a bank transfer or a hand-to-hand transfer – of a piece of jewelry, a work of art, money in cash, etc. – without paying any tax. This is a “bank donation” or a “manual donation” which is not registered before a notary. Either by making a donation duly registered before a notary. This registration and the accompanying payment of gift taxes have a liberating effect: whether the donor dies the next day, in three years or in twenty years, the beneficiary will no longer have to pay anything and this sum will definitively leave the estate.

In the first scenario – without registration before a notary – there is provided, on the other hand, a “suspicious” period, during which the death of the donor will make it obligatory to pay inheritance tax on the donated movable property. This suspicious period increased from 3 to 5 years in Wallonia on January 1, 2022. And the new Flemish government has therefore planned to do the same thing during the current legislature – without however yet specifying the date of entry into force of the measure.

Registration of a donation ensures a certain peace of mind but is often decided based on the age and health of the donor, the risks of dying unexpectedly at age 50 being less significant than at age 80 or 90.

Note that the previous Flemish government, chaired by Jan Jambon, had already expressed the wish to extend (from 3 to 4 years, or even 5 years) this suspicious period, but without making its project a reality. And that in Brussels, the draft ordinance was also in the pipeline – it was to come into force at the beginning of 2024 – but was ultimately not voted on. We can imagine that the negotiators of the new Brussels government will have this point on the agenda of their discussions but, for the moment, only the Brussels Region is still maintaining the 3-year deadline for the suspect period.

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Please note: registering a donation before a notary ensures a certain (tax) peace of mind, but it is often decided based on the age and health of the donor (the risks of dying unexpectedly at age 50 being less significant than ‘at 80 or 90 years old). Furthermore, the registration before a notary of a “bank” or “manual” donation can always be carried out after the donation itself: a person who has made a bank or manual donation and knows he is condemned can always register it by subsequently by paying gift taxes to prevent his heirs from future inheritance taxes.


(1) Inheritance taxes currently range from 3% to 80% for movable property. In most cases they are higher than gift taxes (from 3% to 7%).

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