Brussels (Brussels Morning) – In the 2023 tax year, 378,652 Belgians declared foreign accounts, up from 350,258 the previous year. Foreign insurance policies and legal structures abroad also saw slight increases.
How Many Belgians Declared Foreign Accounts in 2023?
In the personal income tax return for the assessment year 2023, about income earned in 2022, 378,652 Belgians and families declared having a foreign account. This marks an increase from the previous year, where 350,258 returns included foreign accounts, according to figures released by the Federal Public Service Finance on Thursday and reported by De Tijd.
What Is the Trend in Foreign Insurance Policy Declarations?
Foreign insurance policies must also be declared: in tax year 2023, this involved 64,165 declarations, compared to 63,861 the previous year. And last year there were 2,923 declarations with a legal structure abroad, an increase of almost 200. The tax authorities collect the so-called Cayman tax on this.
What Changes Are Seen in Savings Interest Declarations?
Furthermore, in the 2023 tax year, the number of Belgians who exceeded the tax-free threshold on savings accounts amounted to 2,615. They declared approximately 3.064 million euros in interest. A year earlier, this involved 2,613 Belgians for approximately 2.33 million euros. In 2021 and 2022, savings interest rates were still low, and the banks only started increasing them at the end of 2022.
Savings account interest is exempt from the 15 per cent withholding tax up to an amount of 980 euros (per person) – for income in 2024, the threshold will increase to 1,020 euros. The bank itself withholds the withholding tax on interest above the threshold, but anyone who has an account with several banks and exceeds the threshold must declare this themselves.
How Much Withholding Tax on Dividends Was Recovered?
Furthermore, there were 586,187 Belgians who recovered withholding tax on dividends in their tax return from a year ago, recovering 75.51 million euros. In tax year 2022, there were 551,304 for approximately 68 million euros. The investor can recover the 30 per cent withholding tax on a maximum of 800 euros in dividends received via the personal income tax return. The figures for assessment year 2023 reflect the situation on 30 June of this year. The 2024 tax return, with the income from last year, must be filed online by 15 July at the latest. The deadline for paper returns expired at the end of June.
