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A survey by the market research company Ipsos shows that nearly four in 10 Belgians have received cash as an end-of-year gift. Now the question arises: do you have to inform the tax authorities that you have received cash? And can they collect taxes on it?

We pay less and less with cash, yet some traditions remain. For example, a significant portion of Belgians still give cash as a gift during the end-of-year period.

In the news: 38 percent of our compatriots received cash as a gift over the past year-end period. This is according to an Ipsos survey of 1,600 Belgians.

  • Batopin, the network of bank-neutral ATMs in Belgium, notes that cash continues to play a major role in our society, despite the advance of electronic and digital payments. "We want to continue to give cardholders of all banks easy access to cash. By the end of 2025, we will have opened CASH points at 950 locations in Belgium with a total of 2,500 machines," Jeroen Ghysel, CEO of Batopin responded to Ipsos' survey.

Do you have to pay taxes?

Details: When you gift money for, say, New Year's Eve or a birthday, it is an occasional gift.

  • Belgian law does not immediately describe what rules an occasional gift must comply with. Legally, the value of the gift must always be proportional to the donor's assets. In this regard, the 1% rule is usually used. This means that a person may annually give away 1 percent of his assets, both movable and immovable. That is the budget for all beneficiaries combined.
  • Note: When transferring money, it's a good idea to make it clear that this is an occasional gift. You can do that, for example, by writing "Happy New Year" in the communication. That way, you avoid having to pay a gift tax.

No occasion?

Zoom out: You can also opt for a hand or bank gift. This is especially interesting when you want to give something to someone, but without an occasion.

  • As with an occasional gift, you don't owe the taxman any taxes. However, there is a catch: if the donor dies within three years, the so-called "suspect period," the beneficiary still has to pay inheritance taxes on the gifted amount.
  • Finally, you have the gift. In that case, you do have to pay gift taxes. On the other hand, the beneficiary no longer has to pay inheritance taxes afterwards (if the donor dies within three years).

Attention: Keep in mind that a disinherited heir can ask for the inheritance to be scrutinized afterwards in case of a gift, hand or bank donation. He can demand that the so-called "notional mass" be reconstituted to verify that he did not receive less than what the law provides as his "reserved inheritance.

  • This does not consider occasional gifts because they are considered one-time expenses.(resume)

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