Bëllegen Akt: Up to €40,000 Per Person in Tax Credit on Your Luxembourg Home — Still Available in 2026

The Bëllegen Akt — literally "cheap deed" in Luxembourgish — is the country's most-asked-about housing tax aid, and it remains in force in 2026 after the broader package of housing-crisis tax reliefs expired on 30 June 2025. The credit allows buyers of their primary residence to benefit from a tax exemption of up to €40,000 per person, applied against registration duties.

How it works

When you buy a home in Luxembourg, you pay registration duty (the standard rate is 7%) plus transcription duty (1%). The Bëllegen Akt credit is applied against the registration-duty side, reducing or fully cancelling the registration component for primary-residence purchases. The credit is per person — meaning a couple buying jointly can each apply their own €40,000 credit — provided the buyers are the natural persons (not a corporate vehicle) and the property will be their main and habitual residence.

What you actually save

For an apartment priced at €700,000 — close to the median Luxembourg City apartment price — the standard registration duty is €49,000. A single buyer using the full Bëllegen Akt credit reduces that to €9,000. A couple jointly using both credits reduces it to zero, with €31,000 of unused credit on the registration side. For a more expensive property — say €1.2M — a couple's combined €80,000 credit reduces the €84,000 registration duty to €4,000. The savings scale with price, capped at the credit's per-person limit.

Who qualifies

Three conditions matter most. The buyer is a natural person, not a corporate or fund vehicle. The property is a primary, habitual residence — not a second home or rental investment. And the buyer commits to residing in the property for at least two years from acquisition; selling earlier triggers a clawback of the credit unless specific exceptions apply (job relocation, family reasons, etc., subject to administration).

What is unchanged in 2026

The Bëllegen Akt cap of €40,000 per person, the eligibility framework, and the clawback rules. What changed earlier — and is sometimes confused with the Bëllegen Akt — is the temporary investor reliefs (3.5% registration duty for second properties, 6% accelerated depreciation, capital-gains reductions) introduced for 2023-2025 and ended on 30 June 2025.

What else is still on the menu

The home-ownership incentive (€500-€10,000 depending on household composition and income), the State Guarantee mechanism for low-deposit borrowers, and various municipal-level subsidies all remain. The Bëllegen Akt is the headline; the rest is the supporting cast for first-time and primary-residence buyers in 2026.