Filing the new Tax on Securities Accounts

Belgian residents, both individuals and companies, who hold one (or more) securities accounts with an overseas bank must file a tax return to report the tax on securities account(s) unless the bank has taken it on itself to report and pay the tax (via a representative).

The deadline is 15 July 2022.

This deadline cannot be extended even if the accountholder has given a power of attorney to his accountant tax adviser via Tax on Web to file his income tax return or his Tax on Securities Accounts return.

In principle, the accountholder must file online via MyMinfin, but this is not possible yet. You have to load down the form.

He must take the average of his securities account on 31 March, 30 June and 30 September 2021. If that is more than €1 million, the tax on securities accounts will be 0.15% of the average value of the account(s).

The new tax on securities accounts now also applies to securities accounts held by so-called legal arrangements that are liable to the Cayman tax. If a private individual who is a Belgian resident has a Luxembourg family asset management company (SPF), or dedicated SICAV SIF, a Dutch Stichting Administratiekantoor (STAK), a US LLC, a French SCP, etc., he will have to declare the securities accounts worth more than €1 million that these entities hold at overseas banks, also by 15 July 2022.

All the obligations relating to overseas securities accounts, the tax on securities accounts, reporting the dividends and interest in the income tax return and the stock exchange tax when buying or selling securities make things more complex than holding securities on a Belgian account. The Belgian bank withholds tax at source and reports and pays the stock exchange tax and the tax on securities accounts.

Bringing the securities back to Belgium may be tempting but such repatriation can also be delicate, considering the reinforced requirements of Belgian banks on the compliance of investments.