Starting in 2024 across the Brussels region, friends and de facto cohabitants could have the right to similar inheritance taxes as the legal cohabitants and spouses of a deceased person. A new measure lowers the current inheritance taxes for friends and cohabitants, aiming to modernise the inheritance system.
The draft ordinance was approved by the Brussels-Capital Region Government on Thursday and will be sent to the State Council, social partners and FPS Finance for approval.
"[The changes] respond to social developments in terms of forms of cohabitation", explained Brussels Finance Minister Sven Gatz. "The goal of this reform is to adapt inheritance rights to the needs of contemporary life in our region. These adjustments do not impose any additional burden on the budget."
In order to benefit from lower tax rates, friends and cohabitants will have to fulfil certain conditions. To be eligible to receive the lowest rate, they will have to prove that they formed a common household with the deceased for at least a year.
Friends and de facto cohabitants can also benefit from the tax exemption for the family home if they provide proof of a common household with the deceased for at least three years.
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The ordinance also establishes a reduced rate of 3% for the first €15,000 euros inherited (of the entire succession) for people taxed under the quotas for siblings, uncles/aunts, nieces/nephews or all other persons who have been specifically named in the deceased's will.
This measure helps people who are isolated, without family, or those have received support from someone they are not related to. In this context, they will able to receive something without an exorbitant inheritance tax, L'Echo reports.
