Minister of Finance Vincent Van Peteghem puts an end to the VAT certificate for the renovation of houses older than 10 years. By removing this administrative hurdle, homeowners no longer have to worry about the VAT certificate and contractors can immediately invoice at the 6% VAT rate. A win-win situation.

Vincent Van Peteghem: « I am very happy that we are finally removing the VAT certificate and thus removing this thorn from the side of owners and entrepreneurs. But removing administrative barriers is one thing. Faced with the climate crisis, the minister goes even further and also wants to support people financially by reducing VAT for demolition and reconstruction.

Renovating for the climate

There are no less than 2.9 million old houses in our country that are in urgent need of energy renovation by 2050. This is despite increasingly stringent requirements for insulation, building materials and energy forms. These measures are essential, both to meet climate targets and to prevent homeowners and tenants from having to pay too high bills due to insufficient energy efficiency.

But when we make strict demands and ask our families to make an effort, it is also logical that we, as a government, should do our utmost to support them in this task, » emphasises the Finance Minister.

Therefore, at the end of 2020, the government introduced a reduction of the VAT rate from 21% to 6% for demolition and reconstruction as a stimulus measure. This was mainly to support the construction sector in times of crisis, but also to give a boost to the accelerated replacement of energy-inefficient housing and to support the purchasing power of citizens. Normally, this reduced VAT rule expires at the end of this year, but Europe has recently given the green light for a possible extension.

Vincent Van Peteghem: « I remain convinced that we should support as much as possible all those who want to invest in energy-efficient housing. I will therefore put the possible extension on the table of the government.

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