Wallonia Inheritance Tax: Droits de Succession Rates and the 2028 Reform

Belgium's regions, not the federal state, set inheritance tax, and the three regional regimes differ enough that a single Belgian rate table would misstate at least two of the three. This page covers only the Walloon Region: the levy known in French as droits de succession and, in the federal state's other language, as erfbelasting, set out in Wallonia's own Code des droits de succession. If the estate involved was not taxed in Wallonia, its rates, abatements and family-home treatment are different; see the separate pages for Flanders and Brussels.

Which region actually taxes a given estate is not decided by where the heirs live or where any property sits. It is decided by the deceased's own fiscal domicile in the years before death, and that single rule surprises more families than the rate tables themselves.

Information last verified on 21 July 2026. This page provides general legal information and does not constitute legal advice in an individual case.

Which estate Wallonia actually taxes

Belgian inheritance tax is assigned to a region under the special law of 16 January 1989 on the financing of the Communities and Regions. Article 5 of that law points, for inheritance tax, to the deceased's fiscal domicile: real, habitual residence, together with the family and the centre of economic activity, not merely a registered address. Where domicile moved between regions during the 5 years before death, the applicable region is whichever one held that domicile the longest during that specific 5-year window, not wherever the deceased lived for most of their life.

That rule surprises families more often than any rate table. Consider someone who lived in Wallonia for twenty-five years and then moved to Flanders for the final three years before death, perhaps to be closer to a child's family. Because the test looks only at the 5 years immediately before death, and Flanders held the deceased's fiscal domicile for three of those five years against Wallonia's two, Flanders taxes the estate, not Wallonia, even though the deceased spent most of an adult working life in Wallonia. Where the estate includes property, the location of that property plays no part in the decision either; only the deceased's own fiscal domicile does.

The direct-line scale: spouse, legal cohabitant and children

In Wallonia, a surviving spouse, legal cohabitant and children (and other descendants inheriting in their place) fall into the direct-line scale under article 48, Tableau I of the Code des droits de succession. Like every scale in Wallonia, it is applied to each heir's own net share individually; the Code's own wording taxes "la part nette de chacun des ayants droit", the net share of each of the persons entitled, never the estate as one combined block.

This is the current Walloon table. A decree passed in December 2024 will cut these rates substantially, but only for deaths from 1 January 2028; see the section on that reform below before assuming a lower figure already applies.

Siblings, uncle-aunt-nephew-niece and others: three scales, all per heir

Wallonia does not fold siblings together with more distant relatives, and it does not tax any collateral or unrelated heir on a combined class total the way Flanders does for its "others" category. Every Walloon scale below applies to each heir's own net share.

An earlier version of the "all other heirs" scale in Wallonia included a 90 percent top band. The Cour d'Arbitrage, the court now known as the Cour constitutionnelle, annulled that band in its arrêt n° 107/2005, and it was never restored, which is why the current top rate for that category in Wallonia is 80 percent, not 90.

The tool below applies the Walloon scales above to a net share you enter and returns an indicative figure only, not a filed return.

Abatements: a doubled amount for smaller shares

A direct-line heir, a surviving spouse or a legal cohabitant in Wallonia can subtract 12,500 euro from their own net share before the scale above applies, under article 54 of the Code des droits de succession. Where that heir's net share is 125,000 euro or less, the abatement doubles to 25,000 euro. A minor child also receives an additional 2,500 euro for each remaining full year until turning 21. None of this is available to adult siblings, an uncle, aunt, nephew or niece, or any other heir in Wallonia, who instead escape tax entirely only if their own net share is 620 euro or less, and are taxed on the full amount from the first euro above that.

The family home: an exemption only with 5 years behind it

A surviving spouse or legal cohabitant inherits the family home in Wallonia entirely free of inheritance tax under article 55quinquies, but only where the home served as the couple's principal residence for at least 5 years before the death, subject to limited force-majeure exceptions for circumstances that prevented that residence. Other direct-line heirs, typically children, never receive that exemption on the same home in Wallonia; instead article 60ter gives them a separate reduced-rate scale, roughly 1 percent up to 25,000 euro, 2 percent up to 50,000 euro, 5 percent up to somewhere around 160,000 to 175,000 euro, 12 percent up to 250,000 euro, 24 percent up to 500,000 euro and 30 percent above that, again conditioned on the same 5-year occupancy requirement. The 2028 reform described below is the only change on the horizon that removes that 5-year condition.

The Wallonia 2028 reform: adopted, not yet in force

A decree adopted on 4 December 2024 and promulgated the following day, published in the Moniteur belge of 13 December 2024 under NUMAC 2024011274, will substantially cut Walloon inheritance tax rates. But article 30 of that decree defers its own rate articles: they apply, in its own words, "à tous les décès survenus à compter du 1er janvier 2028", to all deaths occurring from 1 January 2028. Until then, the tables published elsewhere on this page are the only applicable Walloon law.

From that date, Wallonia's direct-line top rate falls from 30 to 15 percent, the siblings top rate from 65 to 33 percent, the uncle or aunt to nephew or niece top rate from 70 to 35 percent, and the top rate for all other heirs from 80 to 40 percent. None of these lower figures can be relied on for a death occurring before 1 January 2028, however far off that date might feel; an estate settled under current Walloon law in 2026 or 2027 is taxed under the tables above, not the 2028 ones.

Filing and paying: the deadline is federal, the tax is Walloon

The deadline to file the déclaration de succession (estate return) is the same federal rule that applies in every Belgian region: 4 months after a death in Belgium, 5 months after a death elsewhere in the European Economic Area and 6 months after a death outside Europe, rolling to the next business day where it lands on a weekend or public holiday. Filing late in Wallonia costs 25 euro per month per heir. Payment itself is due 2 months after that filing deadline expires, not 2 months from the date the return was actually filed and not from any later assessment. Hardship extensions of up to 5 years exist in Wallonia where an heir genuinely cannot pay on time.

A worked example: what Walloon inheritance tax actually costs

Take a Walloon estate worth 300,000 euro net, left entirely to a single adult child with no surviving spouse or partner. That child's own share of 300,000 euro is far above the 125,000 euro ceiling for the doubled abatement, so only the standard 12,500 euro abatement applies in Wallonia, leaving a taxable base of 287,500 euro. Applying the direct-line scale above band by band: 375 euro on the first 12,500 euro, 500 euro on the next 12,500 euro, 1,250 euro on the next 25,000 euro, 3,500 euro on the next 50,000 euro, 5,000 euro on the next 50,000 euro, 7,000 euro on the next 50,000 euro, 9,000 euro on the next 50,000 euro up to 250,000 euro, and 9,000 euro on the remaining 37,500 euro at the 24 percent band above 250,000 euro. That totals 35,625 euro owed on a 300,000 euro share, an effective rate of just under 12 percent, even though the table's top marginal rate reaches 30 percent.

Flanders and Brussels tax the same kind of estate differently

None of the figures on this page apply outside Wallonia. An estate taxed in Flanders follows a three-band direct-line scale and taxes its "others" category on a combined class total rather than per heir; see Flanders' inheritance tax page. An estate taxed in the Brussels-Capital Region follows its own six-band direct-line scale and three separate collateral scales; see Brussels' inheritance tax page. For who inherits under Belgian civil law before any tax is calculated, see who inherits in Belgium; for how a gift made years before death can still affect an estate, see lifetime gifts in Belgium.

This page describes Walloon inheritance tax law in general terms and does not constitute legal or tax advice for an individual estate. Rates, exemptions and deadlines described here can change, particularly given the reform already adopted for 2028, and an estate's own facts, prior gifts and family arrangements among them, can shift the result. Confirm current figures with the Service Public de Wallonie or a notary before filing a déclaration de succession or making a decision based on this page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which region's inheritance tax applies if someone lived in more than one region before death?

The region that held the deceased's fiscal domicile for the longest period during the 5 years immediately before death, not the region where the deceased spent most of their life or where the heirs themselves live.

Does Wallonia tax siblings and more distant relatives on their combined share like Flanders does?

No. Every scale in Wallonia, direct line, siblings, uncle or aunt to nephew or niece, and all other heirs, applies to each heir's own net share individually. Taxing a whole class on its combined total is a Flemish mechanic that does not exist in Walloon law.

How much can a Walloon direct-line heir subtract before the scale applies?

12,500 euro under article 54 of the Code des droits de succession, doubled to 25,000 euro where that heir's own net share is 125,000 euro or less. Minor children also receive 2,500 euro for each remaining year until they turn 21.

Does every direct-line heir inherit the family home free of tax in Wallonia?

No. Only a surviving spouse or legal cohabitant gets the full exemption, and only where the couple lived in the home as their principal residence for at least 5 years before the death. Other direct-line heirs, such as children, pay a separate reduced-rate scale on the same home instead of an exemption.

Is the lower 15 percent top rate for direct-line heirs already in force in Wallonia?

No. The decree that will cut Walloon rates was adopted in December 2024, but its rate articles apply only to deaths occurring from 1 January 2028. Any death before that date is taxed under the current tables described on this page, regardless of when the decree was adopted.

When is Walloon inheritance tax actually due?

The estate return is due 4 months after a death in Belgium, 5 months for a death elsewhere in the EEA or 6 months outside Europe, and payment is due 2 months after that filing deadline expires, regardless of when the return was actually filed.

Is it true that Wallonia once taxed unrelated heirs at 90 percent?

An earlier version of the scale for other heirs did include a 90 percent top band, but the Cour d’Arbitrage annulled it in 2005 and it was never restored. The current top rate for that category in Wallonia is 80 percent.