Buying your parents' home after their death in Belgium: buying out your siblings

When your parents die, the family home does not automatically pass to one child. All the heirs become owners together. If you want to keep the house, you buy out your brothers and sisters. This article explains who owns the house after the death, how its value is set, which inheritance tax and partition duty you pay, and when selling is the better choice.

Two different rules decide which region applies. Inheritance tax depends on the tax residence of the parent who died: the region where they lived longest in the five years before death. The partition duty you pay when you buy out your siblings depends on where the house is located. Usually that is the same region, but not always.

Who owns the house after the death?

If there is no will, the children inherit first. They receive the house together, in joint ownership (onverdeeldheid, indivision): each has a share in the whole property, but nobody can claim a specific part of the house as their own until the joint ownership has been divided. In the examples below, three children each inherit one third.

If one of your parents is still alive, the picture changes. According to notaris.be, a surviving married spouse inherits the usufruct of the whole estate and the children the bare ownership, which automatically becomes full ownership when that parent dies. A legal cohabitant inherits the usufruct of the family home and its contents, while a de facto cohabitant inherits nothing without a will. The usufruct of the family home can never be converted without the surviving spouse's consent. For more, read whether the mother can sell the house after the father's death.

Nobody can be forced to remain in joint ownership. Every heir can claim their share. If you cannot agree, an heir can ask the court to end the joint ownership, which can lead to a public sale. That route takes longer and costs more than an agreement, so a settlement between brothers and sisters is almost always the better option.

Setting the value of the house

The same value comes back three times: in the price you pay your siblings, in the inheritance tax return and in the calculation of the partition duty. The starting point is the market value: the price the house would fetch in a normal sale with enough publicity. In Flanders, a value that is too low in the return can lead to a fine for undervaluation, and a value that is too high means you pay too much tax.

In Flanders you can remove that uncertainty with a free request for a binding valuation from the Flemish Tax Administration, or with a valuation by a recognised valuation expert. Elsewhere, too, an independent valuation report is the best basis for a fair buy-out price. See also when you need a sworn property valuer.

Inheritance tax by region

Each child pays inheritance tax on their own net share. In Flanders the movable and the immovable part are taxed separately. In Brussels and Wallonia one scale applies to the whole share, after an exempt amount has been deducted. The Flemish government has announced a reform of inheritance tax, but nothing has been decided yet: the current rates still apply.

In Brussels and Wallonia, children also get a reduced rate on their share in the home where the deceased parent had their main residence for at least five years. In Brussels the benefit applies up to €250,000; in Wallonia it must be expressly requested in the return. Children under 21 get additional reductions in every region. Your notary works out which rules apply to your share.

Example 1: three children inherit a €300,000 house (death in 2026)

The deceased parent leaves only a house with a market value of €300,000. Debts and funeral costs are left out. Three adult children each inherit an immovable share of €100,000. The reduced rate for the family home does not apply, for instance because the parent had lived there for less than five years.

• Flanders: €50,000 x 3% = €1,500, plus €50,000 x 9% = €4,500. Total €6,000 per child.
• Brussels: the first €15,000 is exempt. €35,000 x 3% = €1,050, plus €50,000 x 8% = €4,000. Total €5,050 per child.
• Wallonia: the share is no more than €125,000, so €25,000 is exempt. €25,000 x 5% = €1,250, plus €50,000 x 7% = €3,500. Total €4,750 per child.

Each of the three children pays this amount on their own share. Whether one of them later buys out the others makes no difference to the inheritance tax: partition duty is a separate tax.

Buying out your siblings: partition duty

When you buy out your co-heirs, you pay partition duty rather than sales duty. In Flanders it is 2.5%. The reduced 1% rate there applies only to former spouses and former legal cohabitants after their separation, not to heirs. In Brussels and Wallonia, partition duty is 1%.

If you become the sole owner after the buy-out, the partition duty is calculated on the value of the whole house, not only on the shares you take over. If the joint ownership continues, for example because one brother transfers his share to the other two, it is calculated only on the transferred share. In Flanders, the value stated in the deed may not be lower than the market value. According to notaire.be, in Brussels and Wallonia the duty is calculated on the real value if that turns out to be higher.

Example 2: you take over the €300,000 house

You take over the house from example 1 and pay your brother and your sister €100,000 each, €200,000 in total. Because you then become the sole owner, you pay partition duty on €300,000: in Flanders €300,000 x 2.5% = €7,500, in Brussels or Wallonia €300,000 x 1% = €3,000. On top of that come the notary's costs for the deed and your own inheritance tax from example 1. Ask your notary for a cost estimate in advance.

For comparison, if you buy a home from a third party, you pay sales duty. In Flanders that is 12%, or 2% for your only own home under conditions. In Wallonia it is 12.5%, or 3% for your only own home. In Brussels it is 12.5%, with an exempt first €200,000 under conditions if the taxable base is no more than €600,000.

What if there is still a loan on the house?

Notaire.be describes the usual method: start from the value of the house, deduct charges such as the outstanding mortgage, and divide the balance according to each person's rights. Whoever takes over the house pays the others their part of that balance and takes over the loan. If €60,000 is still outstanding on the €300,000 house, the balance is €240,000, or €80,000 per child. You pay your brother and sister €160,000 together and take over the €60,000 loan. The bank does have to agree to release your brother and sister from the loan.

Financing the buy-out

If you do not have the amount yourself, you can finance the buy-out with a mortgage. The bank looks at your income, your existing debts, your own contribution and the house as security. Ask for an agreement in principle before you commit to anything with your siblings, and allow for the costs of the mortgage deed. How much you can borrow and at what rate varies by bank and by situation, so compare several offers.

When selling makes more sense

If the buy-out does not fit your budget, or nobody wants to keep the house, selling is often the simplest solution. To sell, all heirs must agree and sign, see do all heirs have to sign when selling an inherited house. Inheritance tax remains due on each share, even if the house is sold shortly after the death. For more worked figures for a child, read how much inheritance tax a child pays in Belgium.

A good estate agent helps you set a realistic asking price, so that the split between brothers and sisters rests on a fair basis. To find out who would sell the house best in your area, compare up to three local estate agents. The official rules on ending joint ownership are on notaire.be, and the rules on usufruct on notaris.be.