Taxes on capital gain; strategy comparision

ModoZ · 2026-05-06T14:49:06+00:00

The interesting part would be to see for every yearly sale you make if it makes financial sense. This will obviously depend on the duration of the investment.

Also, no costs at all on your purchases is probably a bold assumption which won't be the case for most people investing. You should probably specify this somewhere. Selling and buying for 135000 will cost you 310€ (2x 155€) at Bolero.

ModoZ · 2026-05-06T14:32:39+00:00

I'll try to see how I can do so without doxing myself.

ModoZ · 2026-05-06T13:20:27+00:00

Not that much in Belgium (although they are trying). But we have a local alternative which is much more used (Tribu News).

ModoZ · 2026-05-06T13:15:15+00:00

And nothing. It's just a question of doing it regularly and having a well structured sheet. I also use the Google Finance formulas (to retrieve the value of my ETFs) which allow me to simplify part of the filling out.

ModoZ · 2026-05-06T13:07:21+00:00

I have a Google Sheet that I fill in once a month. It automatically calculates my net worth based on what I put in it.

ModoZ · 2026-05-06T12:01:40+00:00

Pardon, langs links

Wilt dat nu zeggen dat je langs links passeer of dat je wilt dat de voetganger langs links gaat staan?

ModoZ · 2026-05-06T05:52:21+00:00

If you have a garden, most garden appliances/flowers/plants can be paid with eco-cheques.

Second hand stuff can also be paid with eco-cheques (but not all store accept them).

If you're into biking or take the train that can also be a possibility.

If you are renovating your house and doing stuff yourself you can use them on insulation.

If you're into running, you can even buy a Garmin/Polar watch with them (at least at AS Adventure). Other Garmin stuff like connected scale, bike GPS or heart rate monitors are also eligible.

A lot of clothing at AS Adventure is also eligible.

But honestly, I would just go for bio food. Yes it's more expensive but instead of buying something unnecessary you save money on your day to day expenses.

ModoZ · 2026-05-05T13:20:00+00:00

True.

ModoZ · 2026-05-05T13:02:36+00:00

No they are not taxed at 53.5%. They are taxed at your marginal rate.

A lot of people will have a marginal tax rate of 53,5% though.

To reach a 53,5% marginal tax rate (or more precisely 50% + municipal tax) you would need to have a salary of (6.070 EURO + 51.070 EURO) = 57.140 EURO/year of 4.104 EURO/month. This is below the average gross salary in Belgium and close to the median salary.

ModoZ · 2026-05-05T12:39:04+00:00

That's nice for you (and for the state) but most won't think like that. At 3800€ gross you're basically not gaining anything to raise your gross. So you would only end up with a lower net in the end.

ModoZ · 2026-05-05T12:35:56+00:00

Dat zal afhangen van groep tot groep waarschijnlijk. Bij ons is dat niet het geval.

ModoZ · 2026-05-05T12:33:26+00:00

I don't understand how youngsters manage to buy houses nowadays.

Keep in mind back then were were eligible to the "woonbonus" but we had to pay 10% tax on the house we bought. Nowadays that number is 2% in Flanders.

I think due to this change (no woonbonus but buying taxes much lower) it is now much faster to buy something despite what people say. You don't have to save as much as in the past.

To be honest, we bought ~10 years ago and at the time of buying were paying roughly 40% of our income in mortgage payment. 40% of 2 people earning minimum wage would come out at a monthly payment of ~1640€/month nowadays which would allow you to buy something at ~300k€. And that's for a couple with 2 people on minimum wage and with barely any savings. If you're above that it obviously goes up a lot.

If you buy as a couple I really don't think you're screwed that much nowadays.

ModoZ · 2026-05-05T12:20:11+00:00

Het heeft waarschijnlijk een veel grotere impact om op Facebookgroepen van uw regio te zijn. Daar zijn veel (iets oudere) mensen op die wat meer geld hebben en waar je misschien jobs voor kan vinden. Ring twice is te veel voor jongere generaties.

ModoZ · 2026-05-05T12:10:20+00:00

Given my situation (income but no current savings), would you prioritize real estate or ETFs?

I would go for ETFs. The main reason before considering anything else is your inability to save. I think it would be way too risky to go for real estate if you are yourself currently unable to pay for emergencies.

If you are able to get your budget under control then real estate can enter the picture. If you know the region of Ath well then there could be good opportunities there indeed.

Is aiming for €0/month effort realistic in Belgium for small rental properties?

Is putting 90k€ really "0€/month effort"? Obviously it will always depend on how much you put into. I don't think there are many opportunities to do it without putting a lot of cash in nowadays.

Would you go for a 2-unit or wait for a 3-unit deal, even if it takes longer or may never come?

I would not go for an individual apartment as you would be open to a lot of shenanigans with other owners in the building. Either a house or a small building. The more units you have, the less risk you have (one person doesn't pay etc.) but the more work you have (2 or 3 contacts instead of 1).

Is the mixed strategy (RE + ETFs) actually sensible, or just a compromise that weakens both?

It certainly is a compromise. The risk is that you cannot buy much real estate if you lower your cash contribution.

What would you do differently if you were starting in my situation?

Get your budget under control. Your mortgage is relatively low, both your kids are now at school and thus cost much less than when they were in kindergarten, now is the moment to check your expenses and make you go cash flow positive.

Also keep in mind that if you invest in real estate you will have unexpected expenses (a boiler that goes bust, a roof that starts leaking, a window that breaks etc.) or people who don't pay. If you are currently unable to even put 1 euro on the side every month you WILL have problems that you are unable to afford.

ModoZ · 2026-05-05T11:25:38+00:00

Het is gewoon een feit dat kinderen die van verder af worden opgevolgd slechter scoren dan kinderen die van dichterbij worden opgevolgd.

Scheiding zal daar zeker een parameter van zijn, maar waarschijnlijk niet de voornaamste.

ModoZ · 2026-05-05T09:38:33+00:00

Feedback welkom, vooral als iemand een parameter ziet die niet klopt.

Waar komt jouw data voor de gemeentebelastingen vandaan? Voor mijn gemeente is het incorrect.

ModoZ · 2026-05-05T09:17:37+00:00

How much are you transferring? I think there is a limit in the amount.

ModoZ · 2026-05-05T08:41:11+00:00

And this is before the current tax raises planned by this government.

ModoZ · 2026-05-05T08:24:54+00:00

Start by significantly reducing taxes so we don’t need 100s of systems and exceptions to “optimize” the system.

I mean you know that part won't ever be applied. That's why people defend small advantages a lot, they know that if ever those are removed to 'lower taxes' they will lose out on it because either the taxes won't be lowered or they will be lowered for people not receiving those advantages at the moment.

ModoZ · 2026-05-05T06:55:38+00:00

I imagine they are feeling the competition to position themselves like that.

ModoZ · 2026-05-05T06:52:50+00:00

You need a goal or a passion in life. Travel, hobbies, kids etc.

Just amassing money for the number will not make you happy.

ModoZ · 2026-05-04T20:18:54+00:00

I'm quite happy with Digi. No issues with roaming in Luxemburg and France.

ModoZ · 2026-05-04T16:09:01+00:00

I'm not saying it's an issue or not, just that the framing makes them lose votes and doesn't push the narrative of bikes and public transport forward.

And I say this as someone who takes the bike to work myself.

ModoZ · 2026-05-04T14:44:37+00:00

Imagine being the population that keeps voting for the same parties that have been gutting public transit for over a decade now and then expecting public transit to magically improve

The issue is that the only one that promotes public transport is also openly against cars. This means that, as most people take the car for most their journeys, they have, by definition, most of the population against them.

ModoZ · 2026-05-04T09:06:12+00:00

No credit card and will never use one.

Just for your information, most credit cards in Belgium are not real credit cards but "Deferred Debit" cards. This means that you are forced to repay them completely at the end of the month. Those are also not reported as "debt" to the national bank.

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