Interest on a Belgian regulated savings account is tax-exempt up to €1,020 per person in 2026, then taxed at 15%. The trap fits in one line: the law counts per person, the bank counts per account. As soon as your savings are spread across two institutions, checking the total is your job, not theirs.
A note for readers new to Belgium: the précompte mobilier is the withholding tax that banks deduct at source on interest and dividends. A regulated savings account (compte d'épargne réglementé) is one that meets legal conditions set by royal decree and gets the reduced tax treatment described below.
What withholding tax applies to a savings account in 2026?
It depends on the type of account far more than on the amount. The FPS Finance (SPF Finances) sets the standard rate on interest at 30%, with a reduced regime for regulated savings.
| Product | Exemption | Rate above it | Withheld by a Belgian bank? | Must be declared? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regulated savings account | €1,020 per person per year | 15% | yes, on the excess recorded on that account | only if the excess was not taxed |
| Regulated account held by a married couple or legal cohabitants | €2,040 | 15% | yes | same rule |
| Non-regulated savings account | none | 30% from the first euro | yes | no |
| Interest-bearing current account | none | 30% | yes | no |
| Term deposit | none | 30% | yes | no |
| Account at a foreign bank with no Belgian withholding | none | 30% | no | yes, section VII |
Amounts applicable to 2026 interest, according to Wikifin (pages updated on 5 and 8 January 2026), KBC and Crelan.
Withholding tax deducted by a Belgian bank is final (libératoire): it settles the tax. You have nothing to add to your return for that interest.
An exemption per person, applied account by account
Wikifin's page on regulated account interest, updated on 8 January 2026, is unambiguous: the €1,020 applies per taxpayer, and interest from all your regulated accounts is added together. KBC and Crelan state the other half of the rule on their tax pages: the bank only looks at the account it holds.
No bank knows about your savings at a competitor.
Take a saver with €40,000 on a Keytrade High Fidelity (0.50% base rate, 1.50% loyalty bonus, 2.00% in total, no deposit cap, Test-Achats survey of 21 September 2026; Keypack current account at €0 a year) and €30,000 on a Belfius Fidelity (0.15% plus 1.50%, so 1.65%, no cap, rates unchanged on 18 September 2026; Belfius basic current account at €19.80 a year). Over a full year, Keytrade pays them €800 and Belfius €495. Each stays below €1,020, so neither withholds a cent, while the total reaches €1,295, leaving €275 of taxable interest that went through no withholding at all and has to be declared, for roughly €41 of tax at 15%. The amount is small. Leaving it out still makes the return incomplete.
How much capital before you pay withholding tax?
More than most people think, and sometimes never. Here is the capital you would need to leave on a single account for a full year to reach €1,020 of interest, base rate and loyalty bonus included.
| Savings account (rates on 3 October 2026) | Base rate + loyalty bonus | Deposit cap | Annual cost of the bank's current account | Capital needed to reach €1,020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MeDirect Essential | 1.40% + 0.80% = 2.20% | €25,000 in total | not surveyed | never: €550 of interest at most |
| Keytrade High Fidelity | 0.50% + 1.50% = 2.00% | none | €0 (Keypack) | €51,000 |
| Belfius Fidelity | 0.15% + 1.50% = 1.65% | none | €19.80 (basic account) | €61,800 |
| Argenta Fidélité | 0.10% + 1.40% = 1.50% | none | €0 (Green) | €68,000 |
| KBC Start2Save | 1.65% + 1.50% = 3.15% | €500 per month | €30 (Basic Account) | €32,400, i.e. more than five years of deposits |
Our own calculation. Assumption: capital deposited more than twelve months ago, loyalty bonus earned on all of it, rates unchanged over the year. Current accounts: fees checked on 26 July 2026.
For a married couple with a joint account, the threshold doubles: they need €102,000 on a Keytrade High Fidelity before the first euro of withholding tax. Most Belgian savers therefore pay none on their regulated account, and those who do almost always owe it to the sum of several accounts, not to a single one.
Do you have to declare your savings account interest?
In most cases, no. Three situations, one obligation.
- Total regulated interest, minor children included, below €1,020 (or €2,040 for a couple's joint account): nothing to declare, nothing to pay.
- Total above the threshold, and the bank withheld 15% on the excess: nothing to declare, the withholding is final. This is the case for a large sum held at a single bank.
- Total above the threshold, but the excess was not taxed: declaring is mandatory. This is the typical case of savings spread across several banks, as in the example above.
For the 2026 return, which covers 2025 income, one point remains unclear. An increase to €1,050 had been announced at the end of 2024 by Business AM; after the indexation freeze decided in summer 2025, bank pages and a Wikifin page use €1,020, and BNP Paribas Fortis's page on the 2026 return quotes both amounts. Check the figure in the official notes before working out your excess.
How do you declare the excess in Tax-on-web?
In five steps, and in a quarter of an hour if your statements are at hand.
- Gather the annual statements for each savings account in your name, your spouse's name and your minor children's names.
- Add up the gross interest on regulated accounts only. Non-regulated accounts, already taxed at 30%, stay out.
- Subtract the exemption: €1,020 per person, or half of the joint interest per spouse if you are married under the statutory regime, since FPS Finance splits it equally even when only one of you holds the account.
- Remove the part already taxed: if a bank withheld 15% on part of the excess, that part is settled.
- Enter the balance in section VII (cadre VII), under income that must be declared, at code 1151 (filer) or 2151 (partner), according to KBC, Crelan and BNP Paribas Fortis.
Documents worth keeping in the file:
- the annual interest statements, bank by bank;
- the double-exemption certificate, if you hold a joint account with someone who is neither your spouse nor your legal cohabitant (KBC has it signed in branch);
- your minor children's account statements;
- for an account abroad, proof that it was reported in section XIII.
The MyMinfin simulator lets you check the effect before you submit. It does not fill in these codes for you.
Is the withholding tax on current account interest different?
Yes: 30%, with no exemption. An interest-bearing current account, a non-regulated savings account or a term deposit are taxed like any ordinary interest. Out of 1% gross, 0.70% is left net, Wikifin points out.
This is where the gap between regulated and non-regulated shows most clearly. Left for a year on a term deposit at 2.00% gross, €10,000 earns €140 net. The same €10,000 on a Keytrade High Fidelity at 2.00% earns €200, with no withholding as long as you stay under the threshold, provided you leave it untouched for twelve months to earn the loyalty bonus. The trade-off is detailed in our article term deposit or savings account.
Tax withheld by mistake: asking for a refund
A bank sometimes withholds tax you did not owe, for instance on a joint account whose double exemption was never recorded. The return has no box to recover it. KBC points to a written request to FPS Finance, to be sent soon after the interest is paid. If the bank refuses to correct its own mistake, Ombudsfin, the Belgian financial services ombudsman, handles the complaint free of charge once the bank's internal complaints service has been contacted.
The savings rate is only one line in the total cost of a bank: our ranking of Belgian banks sets it against the annual cost of the current account, and the bank comparison tool lets you sort institutions on both. How the base rate and the loyalty bonus work is explained in why the advertised rate is not your return, and the cost of moving savings in transferring a savings account to another bank.
This site compares fees, rates and conditions. It does not recommend any investment and gives no personalised tax or financial advice.
Sources
- FPS Finance, Income from savings and investments: 30% standard rate, 15% above the exemption, section VII, splitting of interest between spouses, dividend exemption. Accessed on 13 October 2026.
- Wikifin (FSMA), Interest on the regulated savings account: €1,020 per taxpayer, €2,040 for a couple's account, when to declare. Page updated on 8 January 2026.
- Wikifin (FSMA), How is interest taxed?: 30% on non-regulated savings, minor children's interest attributed to the parents. Page updated on 5 January 2026.
- Test-Achats, The government freezes savings and pension savings tax benefits: 26 August 2025, end of automatic indexation until 2030.
- Test-Achats, Rising rates: 5 ways to earn more on your short-term savings: 21 September 2026, Keytrade High Fidelity at 0.50% + 1.50%, MeDirect Essential at 1.40% + 0.80% capped at €25,000.
- Test-Achats, Argenta raises its savings rate again: Fidélité account at 0.10% + 1.40% on 1 August 2026.
- Business AM, The tax exemption on savings books will rise to €1,050: 27 December 2024, amount announced before the indexation freeze.
- Forum for the Future, 2026 tax return: the investor at the heart of the Arizona agreement: 9 June 2026, 10% capital gains tax, law of 6 April 2026 in force on 1 January 2026.
- KBC, Tax on savings income: threshold applied account by account, codes 1151 and 2151, double-exemption certificate, refund of tax withheld by mistake. Accessed on 13 October 2026.
- Crelan, Is the interest on your savings taxed?: €1,020 for 2026 interest, 30% on non-regulated accounts. Accessed on 13 October 2026.
- BNP Paribas Fortis, 2026 tax return: key points: codes 1151/2151 and 1437/2437, €833 dividend ceiling. Accessed on 13 October 2026.
- Ombudsfin, Filing a complaint: free mediation in banking disputes. Accessed on 13 October 2026.
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Marion a travaillé six ans en agence, à Namur puis à Bruxelles, avant de passer côté rédaction en 2020. Elle a ouvert, fermé et transféré assez de comptes à vue pour savoir où se cachent les frais : le forfait « tout compris » qui exclut justement le virement instantané, la carte de crédit offerte la première année, le compte d’épargne dont la prime de fidélité s’évapore au premier retrait. Depuis, elle relit chaque janvier et chaque juillet les documents d’information tarifaire des banques belges, recalcule le coût annuel réel par profil, et vérifie ce que rapporte vraiment un taux affiché quand le plafond est de 500 € par mois. Ce qui l’agace : les comparatifs qui classent une banque première sur la qualité de son application alors que le client, lui, paie ses frais en euros.