Bëllegen Akt 2026: the complete tax-credit guide

The Bëllegen Akt 2026 is a tax credit that reduces — often to the point of cancelling out entirely — the duties levied on the notarial deed when you buy a home intended for your own occupation. It is not a subsidy in the sense of a grant paid to you: it is a direct offset against the registration and transcription duties you would normally settle at the notary's office.

Since 16 July 2026, the amount in force has been €45,000 per natural person, raised to this level by the "Booster fir de Wunnengsbau" package. One point is worth making straight away: most online guides, and the guichet.public.lu page itself, still show €40,000. That figure is out of date. The current amount, the one your notary applies today, is indeed €45,000.

This gap is not a trivial detail. For a couple, it represents €10,000 of additional offsetting capacity (2 × €5,000). Below we set out the mechanism, the exact conditions, the eligible properties, worked examples and the two-year occupation rule — the most sensitive point, and the one handled least well elsewhere.

What the Bëllegen Akt is

The Bëllegen Akt is a tax credit on notarial deeds. It is offset against the duties levied on the acquisition of a property allocated to your main residence, occupied personally and effectively.

In practical terms, buying a home in Luxembourg attracts two duties, calculated on the price: 6% registration duty and 1% transcription duty, i.e. 7% in total. The credit erases these 7% up to the balance you have available.

A useful clarification: even when the credit covers the duties in full, the Administration de l'enregistrement, des domaines et de la TVA (AED) collects a minimum of €100. So you never sign a deed with zero duty, but the saving remains considerable.

€45,000 per person in 2026: the up-to-date amount

The credit is individual and accumulated over a lifetime. Each natural person has an allowance they can use in a single transaction or across several acquisitions, until it is exhausted.

The history of the amount explains the current confusion:

• €20,000: the permanent base amount, the foundation of the scheme.
• €30,000: a temporary increase for deeds signed between 7 March and 16 May 2023.
• €40,000: an increase, first temporary for deeds between 1 January 2024 and 30 June 2025, then made permanent at this level by the law of 3 July 2025; the amount remained at €40,000 until 15 July 2026.
• €45,000: the amount in force since 16 July 2026, via the "Booster fir de Wunnengsbau" package.

It is this latest step that most online content has not yet taken on board. The official sources remain the reference on the law (guichet.public.lu, the AED, Legilux), but on the precise figure they lag behind: always check the last-updated date.

Because the credit is attached to the person, a couple buying together combines the two allowances: 2 × 45,000 = €90,000. Two buyers, two separate ceilings, added together on the same deed.

Up to what price do you buy without paying duties

Since the duties represent 7% of the price, we can work out the threshold beyond which the credit is no longer enough to absorb everything.

For a single buyer with €45,000: 7% of €640,000 = €44,800. A single buyer therefore covers the duties in full up to around €640,000 in price. Above that, they pay 7% on the portion of the price above roughly €640,000.

For a couple with €90,000 combined: 7% of €1,280,000 = €89,600. The couple covers the duties in full up to around €1,280,000 in price.

Three concrete reference points, keeping in mind the €100 minimum always collected by the AED:

• A studio at €350,000 (single buyer): duties of €24,500, fully absorbed; about €20,500 of credit remains for a future purchase (the AED still levies the €100 minimum).
• A flat at €640,000: duties of €44,800, absorbed; the allowance is almost exhausted.
• A house at €1,000,000 (couple): duties of €70,000, fully absorbed; about €20,000 of combined credit remains (the AED still levies the €100 minimum).

Our reading — these thresholds are orders of magnitude, not guarantees: when you sign, have your notary confirm the exact balance available for each buyer, because an earlier acquisition may have used up part of it.

The conditions for qualifying

The central condition is that the property serves as the main residence, occupied personally and effectively by the buyer. The property is not an investment: you must live in it.

The eligible beneficiaries are broad:

• Luxembourg residents, entered on the population register.
• Non-residents who undertake to move into the property.
• Residents of the European Economic Area (EEA), treated as residents: the benefit is automatic, with no upfront cost, if requested at signing.
• Third-country nationals, on presentation of a certificate of residence.

This point deserves emphasis for cross-border workers from Belgium, France or Germany, who are often poorly informed: as EEA residents, the offset applies automatically, with nothing to pay upfront, provided it is requested in the deed.

Another advantage, rarely highlighted: no condition of wealth, income, property value or cadastral income. The scheme is reserved for natural persons — companies are excluded.

Which properties are eligible (and which are not)

Eligible:

• an existing home used as a main residence;
• a building plot in a residential zone;
• a property under construction, including a purchase off-plan (VEFA);
• outbuildings (garage, garden) attached or nearby.

For a building plot or a property under construction, the occupation deadline is extended to 4 years instead of 2 — logically, to allow time to build.

Excluded:

• second homes and weekend houses;
• properties intended for letting or commercial use;
• acquisitions by gift or inheritance.

How to claim: the notary's role

You have no prior step to take with the administration. The credit is claimed by the notary when the deed is executed.

The deed contains your request and your undertakings: to occupy the property personally within the deadlines, not to change its use, to repay the relief in the event of non-compliance, and to declare to the AED any transfer or change of use within 3 months.

For EEA residents, the offset is automatic once it is requested at signing. The remaining credit balance can be checked online at any time on MyGuichet.lu, via the "Crédit d'impôt sur les actes notariés" service. We recommend checking it before any new acquisition.

Occupation and repayment: the two-year rule

This is the trickiest point, and the one we most often see misunderstood.

You must effectively and personally occupy the property: within 2 years of the deed in the general case, within 4 years for a building plot or a property under construction. And you must occupy it for 2 uninterrupted years as owner.

Before those 2 years are completed, if you let (even partly), transfer or cease to occupy the property, you must repay the relief in full, with statutory interest calculated from the day it was granted. The penalty is heavy and retroactive.

There are safety valves. An extension may be requested, in writing and with reasons, from the Director of the AED. Exemptions from occupation are provided for: force majeure; illness (medical certificate); forced sale; expropriation in the public interest; death of the spouse; divorce or dissolution of the partnership. An exemption from repayment applies in the event of an involuntary work relocation, provided you resume occupation on your return, until you reach a total of 2 years.

After 2 years of occupation, you are free: you can sell, transfer or let with no consequence for the credit granted.

The agency's view — have the occupation undertaking read through carefully, especially with a VEFA purchase, where the 4-year countdown depends on the developer's handover. A construction delay can bring you closer to the deadline without your being in control of it: plan ahead, and document any cause of force majeure. When in doubt, the sound reflex is to check with the notary and the AED before signing.

The Bëllegen Akt and the other 2026 levers

The Bëllegen Akt should not be read in isolation. It works alongside the other measures in the "Booster fir de Wunnengsbau" package: the exemption from duties on VEFA purchases (completion ≤ 80%, with the duties then applying only to the land) and the super-reduced 3% housing VAT.

Combined, these levers substantially reduce the acquisition costs of a new main residence. To understand how they fit together, we refer you to our two dedicated analyses: Booster fir de Wunnengsbau: the 7 housing measures 2026 and Buying off-plan (VEFA) in Luxembourg: the complete guide. Our property taxation guide places the whole picture in the 2026 tax context.

In legal terms, the scheme rests on the amended law of 30 July 2002 (tax measures for building plots and residential properties) and the amended law of 22 October 2008 (housing pact). The competent authority is the AED.

How EIRES supports you

The Bëllegen Akt looks simple on paper — one figure, one rate — but its real value depends on your situation: a balance already partly used, residence status, occupation timetable, type of property. This is where our agency reading comes into its own.

We support first-time buyers, couples and young families in acquiring their main residence, combining the tax credit, the VEFA exemption and the 3% VAT according to the actual project. You can browse our properties for sale or request a confidential valuation if you are selling first in order to buy again.

The starting point is a conversation, not a form. And on every figure-based rule, the final check always rests with your notary and the AED, before signing.