01
Start the process
Tell us where you are moving, when you are leaving and the basic facts of your Belgian departure.
Belgian departure, without the full-service bill
Save €10,000s
in professional fees.
Get clarity for €447.
Stop paying accountants and lawyers premium hourly rates to organise paperwork you can prepare efficiently. ExitBelgium walks you through the facts FPS Finance actually looks at, organises your evidence, compiles a residency position file, and puts it in front of an experienced reviewer before you file your departure-year special return.
Guided preparation / Residency file compiled / Human legal review
Your next chapter, organisedExample
🇧🇪 Belgium🇦🇪 Dubai
One move. One organised file.
Your documents, without the guesswork.
Example checklist3 of 4 added
🏠
New-country leaseA home for your next chapter
✓🪪
Residence documentYour status abroad
✓🏦
Bank statementYour everyday financial ties
✓🚗
Driver's licenceAdd it when available
PENDINGKnow what you have. See what's next.Less scattered paperwork. More room for what's next.
Built around your move
Where are you headed?
🇦🇪 Dubai (UAE)🇲🇹 Malta🇨🇾 Cyprus🇬🇧 UK (non-dom / FIG)🇵🇦 Panama🇵🇾 Paraguay
Need a new residence too?
Leaving Belgium is one step.
Establishing somewhere new is the next.
Exit Global can help evaluate practical residency pathways in Dubai, Malta, Cyprus and UK and beyond. Some routes can be completed relatively quickly depending on your circumstances. Each destination has its own site — click through.
🇦🇪
Dubai (UAE)
Explore residency pathways ↗
🇲🇹
Malta
Explore residency pathways ↗
🇨🇾
Cyprus
Explore residency pathways ↗
🇬🇧
UK (non-dom / FIG)
Explore residency pathways
🇵🇦
Panama
Explore residency pathways ↗
🇵🇾
Paraguay
Explore residency pathways ↗
Immigration eligibility, processing times and government requirements vary by route and applicant.
The €447 guided departure package
Do the simple work once.
Pay experts for judgment — not administration.
Traditional full-service departure engagements get expensive when accountants, lawyers and valuers each bill hourly for gathering the same facts. Software handles the organisation and drafting; experts handle the parts that require judgment.
€447Prepared residency file + written review
Start the process →02
Upload your documents
Add evidence of your new life abroad and the Belgian ties you have changed, ended or retained.
03
Answer the questionnaire
Work through structured questions covering your home, household, work, banking, financial assets, pension, mutuality and the other connections FPS Finance weighs.
04
We compile your residency file
The software organises your answers and evidence into a structured departure file: your position under the domicile and seat-of-wealth test, your departure-year special return, and your exposure under the 2026 capital gains exit rule.
05
Expert review + written evaluation
Our team reviews the file and evidence, provides a written evaluation of your residency position and flags what to fix before you file.
06
You decide how to proceed
You receive the prepared file and review. You decide whether to file on that basis, apply to the ruling service, or obtain specialist advice first.
No open-ended hourly meter.
The core guided preparation and review is €447. Complex tax, valuation or specialist work is scoped and quoted separately, only if your situation requires it.
Your information is sensitive. We treat it that way.
Documents are stored privately when you explicitly save them. We use restricted access and do not sell or share your information.
01 / Understand the rules
There is no NR73 in Belgium.
Here is what replaces it.
Belgium has no residency-opinion request. Residency is a question of fact — domicile or seat of wealth — backed by a legal presumption tied to the National Register. You deregister at your commune, file a special return for the departure year within three months, and carry the evidence in case FPS Finance asks. Getting the file right before you leave is what protects you later.
The test
Domicile, or seat of wealth, in Belgium.
You are a Belgian resident for personal income tax if you have established your domicile in Belgium or, failing that, the primary location of your assets (the seat of your wealth) in Belgium. Domicile is where you effectively and permanently reside; the seat of wealth is the centre of your economic activities or financial interests. Both are assessed on the facts, not on a day count.
Anyone entered in the National Register is presumed resident unless the contrary is proved — which is why deregistration at the commune matters, and why it is not on its own enough.
FPS Finance: leaving Belgium — tax return ↗The household rule
Couples are resident where the household is.
For married couples and legal cohabitants the tax domicile is where the household is established. FPS Finance's own guidance puts it plainly: both spouses are either both liable to personal income tax, or both liable to non-resident income tax if the household is established abroad. A spouse or partner who stays in the family home in Belgium keeps you resident, whatever your own travel pattern looks like.
FPS Finance: leaving Belgium — tax return ↗If you want certainty
An advance ruling is the closest thing to an opinion.
The Service for Advance Decisions (Service des Décisions Anticipées / Dienst Voorafgaande Beslissingen) can issue a binding advance ruling on how the tax law applies to a specific planned situation, generally valid for five years and preceded by a prefiling. It is used for structured questions — the 2026 exit rule on financial assets, a company or a trust — rather than as a general 'am I still resident' opinion. FPS Finance issues no residency certificate for leavers; your new country's authority issues the certificate of residence you will rely on under a treaty.
Service for Advance Decisions (ruling.be) ↗Separate from your return
The departure year has its own special return.
A resident who leaves Belgium during the year files a special return (déclaration spéciale / aangifte speciaal) covering 1 January to the date of departure, within three months of leaving — you ask your tax office for it rather than waiting for the normal form. From the following year you file the non-resident income tax return only if you still have Belgian-source income: for income year 2025 the filing window is 3 September to 20 November 2026, on MyMinfin or on paper.
FPS Finance: non-resident income tax return ↗Why this matters
A flight changes
your location.
The facts tell the rest.
Belgian tax obligations depend on residency. Residents declare worldwide income, whether exempt under a treaty or not; non-residents declare Belgian-source income only — property, Belgian pensions and Belgian professional income. FPS Finance decides which you are by looking at where your domicile and your household actually are, not at your departure date.
Read FPS Finance's guidance on leaving Belgium ↗Where is your home?
Domicile means the place where you effectively and permanently reside. Whether you sold, let out or kept your Belgian home available is the heaviest fact.
Where is your household?
For married couples and legal cohabitants the tax domicile is where the household is established. A partner staying in Belgium needs an explanation, not silence.
Where is the seat of your wealth?
Bank accounts, portfolios, a company you manage, rental property and where you are registered tell the story the test is asking about.
02 / A simple way forward
From scattered documents
to a clear next step.
You don't need everything on day one. Start with what you know and keep track of the gaps.
01
Tell the story of your move
Choose your destination and record the key facts, dates and Belgian ties.
02
Build your document file
Keep new-country evidence and changes to Belgian ties in separate, labelled sections.
03
Get reviewed before you file
Our team reviews your residency file and evidence, provides an advisory opinion and recommends revisions before you file your special return or approach the ruling service.
Guided preparation. Human review.
You do the groundwork.
Our team reviews the final file.
You should not have to start from a blank page, or pay a professional to chase every document. Build the file yourself; have it reviewed before you rely on it.
A reviewed residency file
Our team reviews your position under the domicile and seat-of-wealth test, your supporting documents and departure narrative, provides an advisory opinion and recommends revisions.
A human review of the facts and evidence, not just a completed checklist.
Less administration. Lower preparation costs.
You gather documents and answer the guided questions. We focus professional time on reviewing your prepared file rather than assembling it from scratch.
Designed to cost less than having a firm manage every preparation task.
Specialists for the complex parts
Have a Belgian company, a substantial shareholding, crypto or a portfolio caught by the 2026 exit rule, or a rental property? We can connect you with tax advisers and valuers for the pieces that need them.
The right specialist for the work your situation actually requires.
A more focused way to get there
Do not pay full-service rates
for paperwork you can organise.
Complex, full-service Belgian departures can run into tens of thousands of euros in combined accounting, legal and valuation fees once the 2026 exit rule on financial assets, a company, a substantial shareholding and a rental property are in play.
This refers to broader, multi-specialist engagements, not residency preparation alone. Actual fees and savings vary.
Beyond the residency question
The 2026 exit rule,
without the guesswork.
Until 2025 Belgium taxed no individual on leaving. That changed with the Law of 6 April 2026 introducing the tax on capital gains on financial assets, applicable to gains realised from 1 January 2026: a flat 10% on shares, bonds, funds, crypto and similar assets above a €10,000 annual exemption, with a separate regime for holdings of at least 20%. The law contains an exit rule: when you cease to be a Belgian resident, your financial assets are treated as disposed of, on the gain accrued since 1 January 2026 (or since acquisition, if later). Moving to an EEA state or a treaty country with exchange of information and recovery assistance gives an automatic deferral; elsewhere you ask for deferral and provide a guarantee. If you do not sell within 24 months, the exit tax is definitively cancelled; sell inside that window and it falls due. Each of these is a number, and a decision, that belongs in your file before you leave.
FPS Finance: tax on capital gains on financial assets ↗ITAA ADVISER
Tax analysis and filings
A certified tax adviser or accountant (ITAA) can model your 2026 exit-rule exposure, prepare the special return and the non-resident return, and handle the deferral formalities.
VALUER
Share and business valuations
A qualified valuer can support the 31 December 2025 reference value and the value at departure of private-company shares and other unlisted financial assets.
Prepare it yourself. Get it reviewed. Bring in specialists when needed.
Start my guided departure →Team review is a separate, agreed professional engagement. Our advisory opinion is not a determination by FPS Finance.
03 / Know what to gather
Two sides of the move.
One practical checklist.
These are suggested evidence categories, not a universal FPS Finance document requirement. Include what's relevant to your situation.
Your new country
Establishing your life abroad
- Lease or proof of housingNames, address, dates and the living arrangement.
- New driver's licenceIf issued and applicable to your situation.
- Residence or immigration documentThe visa or permit that applies to your status — and whether it is permanent.
- Local bank statementEvidence of an account in your new country.
Other useful context: employment, utilities, health coverage and travel records.
Belgium
Documenting what changed
- Departure declaration at your commune (Model 8)Declare your move abroad in person at the latest the day before you leave; keep the 'Model 8' proof of removal from the population registers.
- Registration at the Belgian consulateOnce you have proof of residence abroad, register with the Belgian consulate for your area so you are in the consular population register.
- Mutuality and social securityTell your mutuality; check whether EU coordination, a bilateral agreement or Overseas Social Security applies to your destination, and keep the letters.
- Self-employed: your social insurance fundIf you were self-employed, notify your social insurance fund and INASTI/RSVZ so contributions stop at the right date.
- Pension, bank and portfolio updatesNotify the Federal Pensions Service in writing if you draw a pension, move your accounts to non-resident status, and fix the value of your financial assets on the day you leave.
Keeping a Belgian bank account does not by itself make you a resident — but a house your household still lives in does. See how FPS Finance frames it ↗
Still waiting on a document? Mark it pending and keep going.
Start my departure file — €447 →Your file grows as your move does.
04 / When you're ready
You prepare here.
You file with FPS Finance.
There is no departure form to lodge with FPS Finance — but there are four things it expects you to do, and they have deadlines. This app does not connect to MyMinfin.
FPS Finance: leaving Belgium — tax return ↗01
Deregister at your communeDeclare your departure abroad in person at the latest the day before you leave. The commune removes you from the population registers and issues the Model 8 proof; this is what rebuts the National Register presumption.
02
Ask your tax office for the special returnContact the tax office for your last Belgian address. The special return covers 1 January to your departure date and must be filed within three months of leaving.
03
Deal with the 2026 exit ruleRecord the value of your financial assets on the day you leave. If you are moving inside the EEA or to a qualifying treaty country the deferral is automatic; otherwise request it and provide a guarantee. Keep the certification obligations in view during the 24-month window.
04
File as a non-resident if income stays behindFrom the following year, file the non-resident income tax return if you still have Belgian-source income — for income year 2025 between 3 September and 20 November 2026 — and keep the file in case FPS Finance revisits your residency.
Good questions. Clear answers.
Before you
get started.
You can organise your evidence before deciding how far to take it.
Will your team review my final file?
Yes. Under an agreed review engagement, our team reviews your residency file and supporting package, provides a written advisory opinion and recommends revisions. That is our opinion — not an FPS Finance determination or an advance ruling.
Is there a Belgian equivalent of Canada's NR73?
No. Belgium has no residency-opinion request and no residency certificate for leavers. Residency is decided on the facts — domicile, or seat of wealth — with a rebuttable presumption for anyone in the National Register. If you want binding certainty on a specific structured question, the Service for Advance Decisions can issue a ruling. FPS Finance guidance ↗
Is there an exit tax?
There is no general exit tax on a person leaving Belgium, and none on real estate. But since 1 January 2026 the tax on capital gains on financial assets (Law of 6 April 2026) treats your financial assets as disposed of when you cease to be resident. Moving to an EEA state or a treaty country with exchange of information gives an automatic deferral; elsewhere you request deferral and give a guarantee. If you do not sell within 24 months the tax is cancelled definitively. Separately, since 29 July 2025 a Belgian company that emigrates triggers a deemed dividend for its shareholders. FPS Finance on the capital gains tax ↗
I deregistered at the commune. Am I now a non-resident?
Not automatically. Deregistration removes the National Register presumption, but the test is still where your domicile or the seat of your wealth actually is. For married couples and legal cohabitants the domicile is where the household is established — if your partner stays in the family home in Belgium, FPS Finance treats both of you as resident. FPS Finance guidance ↗
What happens to my Belgian house or flat?
You keep paying the regional property tax (précompte immobilier / onroerende voorheffing) as before. If you let it out and your total income from Belgian immovable property is 2,500 euro or more, you must also file the non-resident income tax return; below that, with no other Belgian income, there is nothing to file. A home you keep available to yourself is also a residency fact and needs to be explained in the file. Non-resident return ↗
What happens to my pension and health cover?
Belgian pensions for employees, civil servants and the self-employed are paid abroad by the Federal Pensions Service; you must notify it of your new address in writing and return a certificate of life each year. Your mutuality cover follows Belgian social security status — within the EU/EEA the coordination rules apply, in some countries a bilateral agreement, and outside Europe you can join Overseas Social Security. Belgian pensions and Belgian professional income remain reportable in the non-resident return. Your Belgian pension abroad ↗
Do I have to close every Belgian account?
No blanket rule requires it. Accounts are one element of the seat-of-wealth analysis, alongside your home, your household and where your economic life runs. Keep what you need, put it on non-resident status, disclose it, and be able to explain it.
What if I come back?
Re-registering in a Belgian commune restores the presumption of residency, so a short absence followed by a return invites the question whether you ever left. Under the 2026 capital gains rule, returning within the 24-month window without having sold cancels the deferred exit tax. Keep the departure file: it is the same evidence you will need to show the gap was real.
The next chapter starts with a plan
Get clarity before you spend
thousands more on professional fees.
Start my departure file — €447 →Dubai (UAE) / Malta / Cyprus / UK (non-dom / FIG) / Panama / Paraguay
The Exit network
One process. Every country.
Each site covers one departure, in that country's own rules. The destination sites cover where you're going. All reviewed by the same team at Exit Global.
Leaving
🌐Exit GlobalPortfolio home🇨🇦Exit CanadaNR73 + departure file🇺🇸Exit USAExpatriation + Form 8854🐻Exit CaliforniaFTB residency🗽Exit New YorkDomicile + statutory residency🇬🇧Exit the UKStatutory Residence Test🇮🇪Exit IrelandOrdinary residence tail🇫🇷Exit FranceArt. 167 bis exit tax🇧🇪Exit BelgiumSpecial departure return🇳🇱Exit NetherlandsM-form + conserverende aanslag🇪🇸Exit SpainArt. 95 bis + quarantine rule🇮🇹Exit ItalyAIRE + black-list presumption🇩🇰Exit DenmarkFraflytterskat🇳🇴Exit NorwayUtflyttingsskatt🇸🇪Exit SwedenTen-year share rule🇦🇺Exit AustraliaCGT event I1🇿🇦Exit South AfricaSection 9H exit charge🇩🇪Exit Germany§ 6 AStG Wegzugsbesteuerung🇦🇹Exit Austria§ 27 (6) Wegzugsbesteuerung🇫🇮Exit FinlandThree-year rule🇧🇷Exit BrazilSaída definitiva🇯🇵Exit JapanExit tax on ¥100m+ assets🇮🇱Exit IsraelCentre of life + s.100A🇳🇿Exit New Zealand325-day rule + IR886🇵🇹Exit PortugalArt. 16 CIRS residency🇰🇷Exit South KoreaExit tax on large shareholders🇦🇷Exit ArgentinaPérdida de residencia + baja🇮🇳Exit IndiaSection 6 residency + RNOR🇨🇭Exit SwitzerlandWegzug + pension withholding
Arriving
🇵🇦Move to PanamaTerritorial tax, Friendly Nations🇦🇪Move to DubaiNo personal income tax🇲🇹Move to MaltaRemittance basis, EU🇨🇾Move to Cyprus60-day rule, non-dom🇵🇾Move to ParaguayTerritorial tax, fast residency🇺🇾Move to UruguayTax holiday for new residents🇨🇷Move to Costa RicaTerritorial tax🇧🇸Move to BahamasNo income tax🇵🇹Move to PortugalD7, D8, Golden Visa, IFICI🇹🇭Move to ThailandLTR visa, remittance basis🇲🇾Move to MalaysiaMM2H, territorial tax🇮🇩Move to IndonesiaSecond Home visa, Bali🇬🇪Move to GeorgiaForeign income exempt, 1% SBS🇵🇷Move to Puerto RicoAct 60 for US citizens🇮🇹Move to ItalyFlat tax, 7% pensioner regime🇬🇷Move to GreeceGolden Visa, non-dom flat tax🇭🇰Move to Hong KongTerritorial, no CGT🇸🇬Move to SingaporeForeign income exempt, no CGT