Renovation

Renovatie van uw woning of bedrijf | Pleisterwerken

The current government has decided to make the reduced VAT rate of 6% for renovations of homes older than 5 years permanent. The Construction Confederation is pleased that this measure, which provides a significant boost to the construction sector, can now become permanent. A reduced VAT rate stimulates activity and employment, combats illegal employment, and thus increases government revenue.

For many years, it has been permitted to charge a reduced VAT rate of 6% for renovation or conversion work on homes older than 15 years. Since 2000, Belgium has also applied a 6% rate to work on homes between 5 and 15 years old. It was originally a temporary measure, implemented based on a European directive that allowed an additional reduced rate for labor-intensive services such as construction.

The measure was extended until the end of 2010, and the Belgian caretaker government decided in September to extend it until the end of June 2011, while the European Union explicitly allowed it to become permanent. The major advantage of this now happening is that uncertainty is eliminated and contractors can also factor the measure into their long-term planning, according to the Construction Confederation.