Requesting an exemption from road and registration tax

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Article in reference language (fr)

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Summary

Registration tax is a one-off tax that is due at the time of first using the vehicle on public roads in Belgium, while road tax is an annual tax that is due for vehicles that are used to transport passengers or goods by road.

There are various exemptions:

An exemption from registration and road tax is granted for:

- vehicles that are used exclusively to transport sick or injured individuals, which are registered as ambulances with the DIV;

- vehicles that are used as a means of personal transport by disabled or infirm individuals.

An exemption from road tax is granted for:

- vehicles that are used exclusively to provide a public service (army, fire brigade, municipal services);

- vehicles that are used for the shared transport of individuals;

- test vehicles (special test plate);

- boats and barges;

- agricultural vehicles;

- mopeds and motorcycles with a maximum cylinder of 250 cm³;

- taxis and for-hire cars with a driver;

- vehicles that are provided to a Belgian resident by a foreign employer;

- vehicles that only use the public roads in Belgium occasionally (fairground vehicles, driving school vehicles, medical vans, etc.);

- vehicles belonging to individuals involved in diplomatic or consular missions and vehicles belonging to international organisations;

- vehicles that are registered abroad or temporarily registered in Belgium by individuals who reside, or who have their residence, abroad;

- vehicles belonging to organisations or institutions that are exempt from all taxes under an Organic Law (intermunicipal).

Key points

Vehicles that are registered by a public service are automatically exempt from road tax.

However, only vehicles that are assigned exclusively to a public service may benefit from an exemption. If the vehicle is also used for private purposes (a company car, for example), it must be declared with SPW Taxation in order to be subject to road tax. A form is available for this purpose.

In detail

Target audience - details

All owners of motor vehicles.

Procedure

In the event of an exemption application based on the type of vehicle

The “vehicle” exemption is normally granted a priori, based on an identification code sent by the DIV. However, if you receive a tax payment notice, we ask you to file your exemption application as soon as possible, by means of the exemption-application form below. This may be completed directly online or downloaded and sent:

by email to fiscalite.wallonie@spw.wallonie.be
by post to the following address: SPW Finances – Exonération véhicule – Avenue Gouverneur Bovesse, 29 – 5100 Jambes

The form must be accompanied by the following documents and certificates:

Exemption category	Documents to provide
Public service	Vehicles that are registered by a public service are automatically exempt from road tax. Nothing is needed on your part.
Taxi service	- Operating permit - Identification badge or copy of the public enquiry
For-hire vehicle with driver	- Copy of the registration certificate - Authorisation from Service public de Wallonie - Photo of the vehicle - Copy of any document that attests to the duration and scope of the rental
Ambulance and urgent medical-care service	Copy of the registration certificate
Service that specialises in the transport of individuals using a wheelchair or with reduced mobility	- Copy of the registration certificate - Authorisation from the AViQ or any other competent authority

2. In the event of an exemption application for disabled or infirm persons

The “individual” exemption is granted a posteriori, based on an exemption application after receipt of the tax-payment notice.

The exemption-application form below must be completed directly online or downloaded and sent:

by email to fiscalite.wallonie@spw.wallonie.be
by post to the following address: SPW Fiscalité – Exonération véhicule – Avenue Gouverneur Bovesse, 29 – 5100 Jambes

It must be accompanied by documents and certificates that demonstrate the status of disabled war veteran or disabled individual from the competent authorities:

Disabled individual category	Address of the competent authority
Disabled war veterans	Service des Pensions du Secteur public Place Victor Horta, 40 – boite 30 1060 Brussels or SPF Sécurité Sociale Service des Victimes de la Guerre Square de l’Aviation, 31 1070 Brussels
Individuals receiving a reparation pension or military pension for invalidity contracted during peacetime	Service des Pensions du Secteur public Place Victor Horta, 40 – boite 30 1060 Brussels
Other disabled individuals	SPF Sécurité Sociale Direction générale Personnes handicapées Centre Administratif Botanique Boulevard du jardin Botanique, 50 – bte 150 1000 Brussels

3. In the event of exemption for occasional use

To benefit from the road-tax exemption, the taxpayer must go to our one-stop shops or a tax office in Wallonia to complete the ad-hoc form and receive the document. The initial application must be submitted in the month the vehicle is registered, or the month it is first used (e.g. if the vehicle is registered or first used in September, the application must be submitted to the one-stop shop no later than 30/09). Renewal must be requested each year in the first month of the tax period. When visiting the one-stop shop, you must present the vehicle-registration certificate or, failing this, a copy of this document.

This document must be filled out in a legible manner, without erasure, every time the exempt vehicle is used on public roads in Belgium.

Exemption for occasional use is valid for a maximum period of 12 months. The document must be returned to a one-stop shop (see above) within 30 days of the end of the validity period. Failing this, tax will be charged for the tax period that has just ended and for the new tax period.

If the document's conditions of use are met, a new document will be issued by the Walloon tax administration and the exemption will be renewed for a maximum period of 12 months.

If the document’s conditions of use are not met, a tax-payment notice will be sent to the taxpayer for the previous tax period and the new tax period.

Conditions

Exemption for vehicles used by disabled or infirm individuals

This covers the following:

disabled war veterans, military personnel or civilians, who receive a disability pension of at least 60%;
individuals that suffer from complete blindness, complete paralysis of the upper limbs or who have undergone amputation of these limbs and individuals with a permanent disability that directly affects the lower limbs and incurs a rate of at least 50%.

The granting of the exemption is limited to one motor vehicle per beneficiary and is subject to the following conditions:

be registered with the DIV in the name of the disabled person, or in the name of the spouse/legal cohabitant or in the name of their legal representative (father, mother, guardian, etc.), in the event that this person is placed under prolonged minor status or has not reached the age of 18 or has been declared "incapable" by the justice of the peace;
be used for the free transport of individuals;
be allocated to the exclusive use of the recipient.

Exemption for occasional use

This covers the following:

owners of mobile homes, motor homes;
owners of vehicles with a maximum authorised mass of over 3.5 T under certain specific conditions.

This exemption is subject to the following conditions:

the vehicle is used by individuals or legal entities whose primary activity is not the transport of goods;
the vehicle is only used on public roads for a maximum of thirty days during the tax period of 12 consecutive months;
transport carried out with these vehicles does not lead to disruptions to competition.

Legal references