Taking your car to Belgium: BPM refunded, BIV to pay — and check the LEZ first

For almost every destination on this site the car story is a gloomy sum. Belgium is the exception that shows how the EU is meant to work: you even get money back — if you know the order and beat the clock.

The refund: remaining BPM, with a thirteen-week clock

Whoever has their car permanently registered in another EU country gets the remaining BPM back. The conditions: the registration dates from after 16 October 2006, the car is not a damaged vehicle, it is on "export" status with the RDW — and the Belgian registration is completed within thirteen weeks of that export status. The refund follows the depreciation table: the younger the car, the larger the amount. So only deregister the car for export once the Belgian side is ready, and keep the Belgian registration certificate — that is your proof towards the Belastingdienst.

The Belgian chain: inspection first, plate in your name

The order that saves time: first the customs formality (the digitised vignette 705, online via MyMinfin — within the EU without duties or VAT), then the second-hand inspection — contrary to what is often thought, an imported car has to pass a Belgian inspection station before registration, and the registration has to follow that inspection within two months. After that the registration runs through your insurer (WebDIV), and the plate and registration certificate arrive by post. One cultural difference to remember: the Belgian number plate is personal — it follows you, not the car. When you sell, you keep the plate and transfer it to your next car.

The BIV: three regions, three calculations

The tax on entry into service (BIV) follows automatically after registration, and your place of residence determines the sum. Flanders calculates on CO2, fuel and age — your Dutch registration years also count as age, which makes a real difference with an older car; use the official simulator before you decide. Wallonia completely rebuilt its system on 1 July 2025 around power (kW), CO2 and mass — almost all Dutch-language sites still calculate with the old fiscal horsepower. Brussels, by contrast, still does use the latter. And electric is no longer free: since 2026 an EV in Flanders also pays a fixed BIV amount and annual road tax.

The LEZ: register your plate — even if the car complies

Three cities have a low-emission zone, and 2026 is the year of confusion. Brussels has banned diesel Euro 5 and older since 1 January 2026 (the announced postponement was suspended by the Constitutional Court); Antwerp and Ghent, by contrast, postponed their tightening — Euro 5 diesel is still allowed in there in 2026, until the next step in 2028. For Dutch number plates the same, often missed, rule applies in all three zones: register in advance, even with a compliant or electric car — the cameras do not recognise foreign plates by themselves, and driving without registration costs € 150 in Brussels. Whoever has an older diesel therefore does the sum before the move: a Euro 5 diesel and an address in Brussels no longer go together.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 3 of 5 of the journey: the same steps, but applied to your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines monitored. See the whole journey to Belgium.