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Car taxation
2026 change
Car taxes in Belgium 2026: registration tax and road tax by Region
2026 is a turning point: Flanders ends the full exemption for electric cars on new registrations, and Wallonia applies its reformed formula, far more sensitive to weight and emissions. Two taxes, three Regions, radically different logics — here is how to work out what you will actually pay.
📖 8 min read
🕐 Updated August 2026
🇧🇪 All 3 Regions
Two regional taxes hit vehicle ownership in Belgium. Registration tax (TMC in Wallonia and Brussels, BIV in Flanders), due once at registration — including for a second-hand car. And road tax, annual, due as long as the plate is active.
The rule that surprises most: your Region of residence determines the tax, not the Region where you buy. Buying in Flanders while living in Namur changes nothing: you pay the Walloon tax.
The 2026 change: Flanders taxes electric cars
This is the news that made the most noise in the sector, and the motive is openly budgetary: the exemption worked so well that the revenue funding the Flemish road network was collapsing.
Until 31 December 2025
Full exemption
Fully electric and hydrogen cars registered in the Flemish Region were exempt from registration tax and annual road tax.
From 1 January 2026
BIV €61.50 + annual tax €69.72 to €87.24
For new registrations: a flat registration tax of €61.50 and an annual tax of €69.72 (1 fiscal hp) to €87.24 (5 fiscal hp).
Acquired rights
Registered before 2026 = exemption kept
Transitional regime: a car bought before 6 October 2025 and registered before 15 January 2026 stays under the old rules.
💡 What it really means for a buyer
Less than you might think. An annual tax of €70 to €90 remains far below that of a comparable combustion car, and the flat €61.50 registration tax is the floor of the scale. Electric stays tax-favoured in Flanders — it is simply no longer free. For the impact on total cost of ownership, our page on whether an electric car is worth it in 2026 does the full sum.
The three regional logics
🌳 Wallonia
CO₂ × mass
Tax = base amount × (CO₂/X) × (MAM/1,838) × energy coefficient. Floor €50, cap €9,000.
The most heavily modulated system of the three. A small low-emission city car lands on the floor; a heavy combustion SUV can approach the cap. Indexation of +4.08% applying from 1 July 2026.
🌾 Flanders
BIV + annual tax
Registration tax calculated on emissions, euro standard and energy; the annual road tax largely on fiscal horsepower.
Since 2026, newly registered electric and hydrogen cars pay a flat BIV of €61.50 and an annual tax of €69.72 to €87.24.
🏙️ Brussels
Fiscal horsepower
Registration tax and road tax calculated on fiscal horsepower and kW, under the scale inherited from the federal regime.
Amounts are indexed on 1 July each year. Electric and hydrogen vehicles fall in the lowest band of the scale. The MyTax simulator gives the exact amount.
The Walloon formula in detail
Wallonia is the only Region to have written the vehicle's mass explicitly into the calculation, which changes the picture radically for SUVs and large saloons — including electric ones.
Official Walloon registration tax formula
Tax = base amount × (CO₂ ÷ X) × (MAM ÷ 1,838) × energy coefficient
| Engine power |
Base amount |
| 0 – 70 kW | €64.01 |
| 71 – 85 kW | €128.02 |
| 86 – 100 kW | €515.20 |
| 101 – 110 kW | €902.37 |
| 111 – 120 kW | €1,289.55 |
| 121 – 155 kW | €2,579.10 |
| more than 155 kW | €5,159.25 |
🌬️
Factor X depends on the homologation cycle
136 for a CO₂ value measured under WLTP, 115 under NEDC. For an electric vehicle, the CO₂/X ratio is simply 1.
⚖️
Maximum authorised mass is divided by 1,838
A MAM of 1,838 kg gives a neutral coefficient of 1. Below that, the coefficient lowers the tax; above it, raises it proportionally. That factor is what penalises heavy vehicles — batteries included.
🔌
The energy coefficient makes all the difference
1 for petrol, diesel, LPG and CNG. 0.8 for a hybrid. 0.01 for an electric or hydrogen vehicle up to 120 kW — a factor of one hundred, which almost always brings the tax down to the €50 floor.
📉
An age coefficient for second-hand vehicles
The base amount tapers with age: 100% in the first year, then progressively down to 20% at twelve years, 10% at fourteen years, and a minimum of €61.50 from fifteen years on.
✅ Family reduction. A flat reduction of up to €250 applies, under conditions, to large families and, for registrations from 1 July 2026, to single-parent families — with a MAM below 2,750 kg and an income ceiling. It is not automatic: check with SPW Finances before registering.
When and how you pay
1
Registration tax arrives after registration
You do not pay it at the dealership. The regional administration sends the payment request in the weeks after registration with the DIV. It is also due for a second-hand car bought from a private seller.
2
Road tax follows an annual cycle
It covers twelve months from the month of registration, not the calendar year. That is why it "lands" on different dates for different vehicles.
3
Deregistering the plate stops the clock
As long as the plate is active with the DIV, the tax runs — even if the vehicle is off the road, sold or scrapped. Returning the plate is the only act that stops it, and it entitles you to a refund for the remaining months.
4
Moving Region changes everything
Your residence determines the competent Region. Moving from Brussels to Flanders therefore changes the applicable regime from your next due date.
The other tax costs of a car
🚫
Low emission zones
Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent operate LEZs whose criteria keep tightening. A vehicle that is entirely in order tax-wise can still be barred from a city. Our page on LEZs in Belgium sets out the timetables.
🏢
Company car taxation: a world apart
Benefit in kind, deductibility, employer CO₂ contribution: nothing to do with the regional taxes described here. See our dedicated page on company cars and the benefit in kind.
🔋
The home charging point
Installation cost and electricity tariff often weigh more than the annual tax. That is the subject of our page on the home charging point.
🚲
The tax-favoured alternatives
The mobility budget and bike leasing largely escape this taxation — and are often the most economical option for short journeys.
The pitfalls that cost money
❌ Common mistakes
What hurts
•
Buying a powerful second-hand car without simulating the registration tax: on a recent big engine it can exceed €4,000 in Wallonia.
•
Keeping a plate active "just in case": the tax runs, no exceptions.
•
Assuming a plug-in hybrid is treated like an electric car: the Walloon energy coefficient is 0.8, not 0.01.
•
Confusing the seller's Region with your Region of residence.
✅ Good habits
Before you sign
•
Simulate registration and annual tax on your Region's website, using the chassis number or the exact data from the certificate of conformity.
•
Check the MAM on the registration document: in Wallonia it feeds straight into the bill.
•
Check the CO₂ figure used and its homologation cycle (WLTP or NEDC): they change the result by a factor of two.
•
Check LEZ compatibility before buying, not after.
🕐 Last verified: August 2026 — Walloon formula and base amounts taken from the official scale tables of SPW Finances. Flemish 2026 amounts for electric cars taken from the road tax reform that entered into force on 1 January 2026. For Brussels, the exact scale is simulated via MyTax: we do not publish a figure we could not verify at source.