Forgot to pay the Belgian TOB: the fines, and how to fix it
If you invest through a foreign broker such as Interactive Brokers or Trading 212, you must declare and pay the Belgian stock exchange tax (TOB) yourself. Many people in Belgium only discover this months or years later. The good news: it can be fixed, and coming forward on your own initiative is almost always the best move.
How big is the fine?
The statutory fine for a late TOB declaration is EUR 50 per started week of delay, capped at EUR 2,600 per declaration. On top of that, statutory late-payment interest accrues on the tax itself from the day after the deadline (the rate is set yearly). The estimator at the top of this page applies exactly these rules.
Important: the fine applies per late declaration, and since July 2025 you file one declaration per calendar month. Skipping a whole year can therefore mean several fines. In practice the FPS Finance decides whether and how much is actually charged - and regularising spontaneously puts you in a much better position than waiting to be found.
When was your deadline?
The declaration and payment are due by the last working day of the second month after the month of your transactions. If you traded in March, your declaration was due on the last working day of May. Every month with transactions has its own deadline.
Step by step: how to regularise
- Export your full transaction history as CSV from your broker, for every month you need to catch up on.
- Compute the tax per month. The free calculator reads your CSV, determines the correct rate per position (0.35%, 0.12% or 1.32%) and groups everything per declaration month.
- File one declaration per month via MyMinfin > My declaration > Miscellaneous taxes (the DivTax application). Since 14 July 2025, filing by email is no longer accepted. No MyMinfin access? Paper filing by post is possible: FPS Finance, AAFisc, Gaston Crommenlaan 6 box 707, 9050 Ghent.
- Pay to account BE39 6792 0022 9319 (BIC PCHQBEBB) using the structured reference DivTax gives you.
- Keep your computation, filing confirmation and proof of payment. The calculator includes a printable archive for exactly this.
Frequently asked questions
- I am only a few days late. Should I panic?
- No. Formally EUR 50 applies (one started week), but what matters most is declaring and paying as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the higher the fine and interest grow.
- Is the fine per month or in total?
- Per late declaration, and there is one declaration per calendar month with transactions. The estimator adds up the fines across months for you.
- Why do I have to do this myself? My old bank handled it.
- Belgian banks and brokers withhold the TOB automatically. Foreign brokers such as Interactive Brokers, Trading 212 and Trade Republic do not - with them, you are legally the one who owes the tax.
- Can someone else file for me?
- The DivTax application requires logging in with a Belgian eID or itsme, so you file it yourself. This site computes everything; you simply copy the figures into MyMinfin.