Initially, the buyer must pay transfer tax (also known as registration duties) on every purchase of real estate, unless the property is sold under the VAT system. These registration duties amount to 12% (general) or 3% (in case of a single primary residence and if there is also a promise of energy renovation 1%) of the sales price in the Flemish region.
This amount is paid to the notary at the signing of the authentic deed, who will then transfer it to the competent government authority.
Notary's fee
In addition to the aforementioned registration duties, you must also pay the notary's fee. When calculating this fee, no account is taken of the number of hours the notary and/or his staff spend on a specific file. The prevailing rates for drawing up an authentic deed are set in a Royal Decree according to a degressive scale of percentages. This means that the percentage will decrease with a higher purchase price.
The calculation brackets are as follows:
first bracket up to 7,500 EUR: 4.56%
bracket from 7,500 EUR to 17,500 EUR: 2.85%
bracket from 17,500 EUR to 30,000 EUR: 2.28%
bracket from 30,000 EUR to 45,495 EUR: 1.71%
bracket from 45,495 EUR to 64,095 EUR: 1.14%
bracket from 64,095 EUR to 250,095 EUR: 0.57%
bracket higher than 250,095 EUR: 0.057%
You can make the calculation at https://www.notaris.be/rekenmodules/aankoop.
In addition to this amount, the notary must withhold 21% VAT, which he must transfer directly to the federal government. The notary is ethically obliged to comply with these legal scales, so he is not allowed to offer certain discounts or charge a higher fee.
Deed costs
For each purchase deed, the notary must incur some necessary costs, which he will pass on to the buyer. These include costs for conducting certain searches and obtaining the necessary certificates and documents (e.g. soil certificate, mortgage certificate, tax searches, etc.)
Unlike the notary's fee, this amount is not legally fixed and therefore depends on the notary. In addition, the complexity of the file and the rates in your region will also play a role.
Transfer costs: Next, you must also take into account the costs of the transfer. After the authentic deed is drawn up, it is transferred to the mortgage office. This transfer makes the deed opposable to third parties. For this transfer, you can expect to pay around €15 per page.
Credit costs
If you take out a mortgage loan for the purchase of your home, you will incur additional costs. A registration fee must be paid, amounting to 1% of the total amount for which a mortgage is taken, and the mortgage duties must be settled. There is also a fee for documents of €50. For the execution of the deed, the notary will charge a fee that is legally established and varies depending on the loan amount, as is the case with the sales deed. Additionally, he will also charge deed costs, which are costs he had to incur to gather various information.