The Bëllegen Akt in 2026: how the tax credit actually works

Ask three real estate sites what the Bëllegen Akt ceiling is right now and you may get three different numbers, not because anyone is wrong but because the figure genuinely changed twice in two years and is proposed to change again. Here is what is actually confirmed as of today, and what is still working its way through the Chamber of Deputies.

What the credit is

The Crédit d'impôt sur les actes notariés, universally known by its Luxembourgish name, is a credit applied against the registration and transcription duties owed when you buy a property to live in as your primary residence. Those duties run at 7 per cent of the price, 6 per cent registration plus 1 per cent transcription. The Bëllegen Akt is not a rebate you claim afterward: the notary applies it directly at signature, deducting it from what you owe before you pay anything.

The confirmed, current figure

Since 1 July 2025, following a law adopted on 3 July 2025 and published in the Journal officiel on 4 July 2025, the credit stands permanently at 40,000 EUR per buyer, meaning 80,000 EUR for a couple purchasing jointly in indivision. This replaced the previous permanent ceiling of 30,000 EUR and made permanent what had originally been introduced as a temporary measure in January 2024. This is the figure that applies to a deed signed today, and it is the one to use in any budget you are building right now.

A worked example at the confirmed rate

On a purchase price of 800,000 EUR, duties of 7 per cent come to 56,000 EUR. A single buyer using the full 40,000 EUR credit pays 16,000 EUR in duties. A couple buying jointly, with 80,000 EUR available between them, has the entire duty bill eliminated, since 80,000 EUR exceeds the 56,000 EUR owed. A floor of around 100 EUR in duties generally still applies regardless of the credit, a nominal administrative minimum rather than a meaningful cost.

The proposed rise to 45,000 EUR, and why it is not yet law

On 16 July 2026, the Luxembourg government presented a package of housing measures called the Booster fir de Wunnengsbau, one element of which would raise the Bëllegen Akt ceiling to 45,000 EUR per buyer, 90,000 EUR for a couple. The package also includes a temporary exemption of registration duties on the construction portion of off-plan purchases, and several other measures aimed at housing supply and affordability. As of the most recent government updates, these measures had been presented to a joint parliamentary committee and were following the ordinary legislative path through the Chamber of Deputies; they had not yet been voted into law.

The government's own communications describe the enhanced credit as applying retroactively once the law is adopted, covering deeds signed from 16 July 2026 onward even though the text was still a bill at that date. That retroactivity is a real feature of how this package is designed to work, but it is not a substitute for the law actually passing. A buyer signing a deed today should budget on the confirmed 40,000 EUR figure and treat the 45,000 EUR figure as a probable but not yet certain improvement, worth raising with your notary rather than assuming.

Who can claim it

The credit is available to individuals, whether Luxembourg residents or people committing to relocate, purchasing a property intended as their primary residence. There is no income or property value ceiling attached to eligibility. The one condition that matters in practice is occupation: you must genuinely live in the property as your primary residence, from possession or within two years of it. A buyer who claims the credit and then rents the property out instead, or who does not occupy it within the two-year window, is required to repay the credit, with interest.

Unused credit is not lost

The credit is personal and attaches to the buyer rather than to a single transaction. If you used 25,000 EUR of your ceiling on an earlier primary-residence purchase, the remaining balance stays available for a future one. What is not permitted is using the same credit twice for two simultaneous acquisitions, and the credit cannot be claimed by two people buying separate properties from the same pooled allowance; each individual buyer has their own ceiling.

What it combines with, and what it does not replace

The Bëllegen Akt sits alongside, rather than instead of, other Luxembourg housing measures: the reduced 3 per cent VAT rate available on the construction or renovation of a primary residence, the state interest subsidy on qualifying mortgages, savings premiums, and the state guarantee scheme that helps first-time buyers without a large deposit access financing. It does not touch the notary's own fee, which is a separate cost charged on top of the duties and is not covered by any credit.

The practical takeaway

If you are signing a deed in the near term, use 40,000 EUR per buyer as your working figure and ask the notary, in writing, whether the enhanced ceiling applies by the time you actually sign. If you can afford to wait a few months for the law to be finalised and the retroactivity confirmed, that patience could be worth 5,000 EUR per buyer. If your timeline is driven by other factors, a compromis or a mortgage offer expiring, do not delay a purchase on the strength of a bill that has not yet passed; treat any additional credit as a pleasant surprise rather than a plan.

Where the credit makes the biggest practical difference

The effect of the credit is most dramatic on lower and mid-range purchases, where 40,000 or 80,000 EUR can eliminate the entire duty bill outright. On a 570,000 EUR purchase by a single buyer, for instance, duties of 7 per cent come to just under 40,000 EUR, meaning the current credit already covers close to the full amount; the proposed rise to 45,000 EUR mainly benefits purchases above that threshold, or single buyers on higher-value properties who are not pooling a couple's combined allowance. Above roughly a million euros, even the enhanced ceiling covers a shrinking share of the total duty bill, which is worth knowing before assuming the credit will neutralise duties on a larger family home.

A word on how the notary actually applies it

In practice, the mechanics are simple from the buyer's side: the notary calculates the duties owed, applies whichever credit ceiling is confirmed as in force on the date of the deed, and states the applied amount explicitly in the deed itself. There is no separate form to file with the tax administration and no waiting period for reimbursement, since the credit reduces what you pay at signature rather than something claimed afterward. If your remaining balance after a previous purchase is relevant, mention it to the notary in advance so it can be checked against your record on MyGuichet.lu before the deed is finalised, rather than discovering a discrepancy on the day of signing.

A stronger reading of what the credit is starts by asking what would change for the resident on an ordinary weekday.