EU/UK VAT · BE · EU member · Euro area
Belgium VAT
Belgium VAT rates, number format and cross-border validation, from the European Commission VAT rates database and the EU VIES service.
- Standard rate
- 21%
- Reduced rate
- 12% / 6%
- Number format
- BE + 10 digits
- Validation
- VIES
How Belgium's 21% rate compares
Belgium's 21% standard VAT rate is sitting almost exactly at the median we track (21%). It also applies a reduced rate of 12% on restaurant services, social housing, certain coal, furnished short-term accommodation (scope expanded 2026-03-01), a second reduced rate of 6% on food, water, books, passenger transport, and a zero rate on daily and weekly newspapers, recyclables. That is 3 non-standard tiers spanning 10 distinct goods-and-services categories in our rate table, more tier structure than most of the jurisdictions we track, which typically run one or two. The most recently revised of these non-standard tiers is the reduced rate, in effect since 2024-01-01. The current rate has been in effect since 1996-01-01, unchanged for several years.
By standard-rate proximity, Belgium matches Czech Republic's standard rate almost exactly. VAT numbers in this country can be validated via the VIES (VAT Information Exchange System) cross-border validation service.
Derived from PlainVAT per-country rate table sourced from the European Commission's official VAT rates database. See methodology for the EU-wide rate range, refresh cadence, and source-linking policy.
All VAT rates
Standard rate
21%Most goods and services
In effect since 1996-01-01
Reduced rate
12%Restaurant services, social housing, certain coal, furnished short-term accommodation (scope expanded 2026-03-01)
In effect since 2024-01-01 | Furnished short-term accommodation moved up from the 6% reduced rate effective 2026-03-01
Reduced rate
6%Food, water, books, passenger transport
In effect since 2024-01-01 | Furnished short-term accommodation moved to the 12% reduced rate effective 2026-03-01
Zero rate
0%Daily and weekly newspapers, recyclables
In effect since 1996-01-01
VAT number format
- Prefix
- BE
- Format
- BE + 10 digits
- Example
- BE0123456789
- Validation service
- VIES (European Commission)
Tax authority
Service Public Federal Finances
Official guidance: https://finance.belgium.be/
Source: European Commission Taxation and Customs Union EU VAT Rate Registry · 2026
Countries with similar standard rates
Related references
Disclaimer: This information is for general reference only and should not be considered legal, tax, or financial advice. Confirm with your accountant or the relevant tax authority for your transaction.
PlainVAT renders country-rate figures from the European Commission's Taxation and Customs Union VAT-rate registry; explanatory guidance links to its relevant authority sources. Country rates are computed directly from the European Commission's VAT-rate registry, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.