The Belgian banking secrecy no longer exists in the classical sense since the 2011 program law. What remains is the duty of discretion of credit institutions towards their clients, a framework much more porous than some shortcuts suggest. Understanding what is still protected, what is no longer protected, and what will change with the transposition of DAC8 allows for an assessment of the actual confidentiality of your assets in Belgium.
DAC8 and crypto-assets: the scheduled end of tax anonymity in 2026
Belgium has transposed the European directive DAC8 with application from January 1, 2026. This directive extends the obligations for automatic information exchange, already in force for traditional bank accounts via the CRS standard, to crypto-assets held on platforms established in the European Union.
Specifically, banks and digital asset service providers will need to collect and transmit to tax authorities:
- The full identity and tax residence of the client, as well as their tax identification numbers
- The details of purchases, sales, and exchanges between cryptocurrencies conducted on the platform
- Certain transfers of crypto-assets to external wallets
The data will be collected starting in 2026, with the first automatic exchanges between tax authorities scheduled for 2027. For a holder of declared crypto-assets in Belgium, the notion of banking confidentiality regarding these positions becomes residual.
We observe that this evolution goes far beyond just crypto-investors. It illustrates a structural movement: each new European directive reduces the scope of what financial institutions can legitimately keep from the tax authorities. The framework applicable to bank accounts and traditional investment products had already undergone this erosion with CRS. DAC8 constitutes the logical extension to digital assets. The resources available on bankgeheimen.be detail the evolution of the Belgian legal framework regarding banking secrecy.
Access of the Belgian tax authorities to banking data: real conditions and limits
The Belgian tax authorities cannot freely consult your accounts. The lifting of banking secrecy remains subject to specific procedural conditions, even though these have been considerably relaxed.
The tax administration first accesses the Central Contact Point (PCC) of the National Bank of Belgium, which lists the existence of accounts and financial contracts held by each taxpayer. This register does not contain balances or transactions, but it allows for the identification of the relevant institutions.
To obtain the actual account statements, the tax officer must have evidence of fraud or concrete elements suggesting irregularity. The request goes through a formalized procedure, with notification to the taxpayer. In practice, this procedure is regularly used during in-depth tax audits.
The SPF Finances also receives information from other countries through automatic CRS exchanges. If you hold an account abroad, the Belgian administration is informed annually by the country where the account is located. The reciprocity of CRS exchanges covers more than a hundred jurisdictions.
Deposit protection in the event of bank failure: the limit of 100,000 euros
Deposit guarantee constitutes the other aspect of asset protection. Within the European Economic Area, each depositor is covered up to 100,000 euros per person and per institution. This limit applies to the total amounts held in current accounts, savings accounts, and term accounts with the same institution.
In Belgium, there is temporarily increased protection in certain specific cases. The limit can be raised to 500,000 euros for six months when the depositor has received the proceeds from the sale of their primary residence, a capital linked to retirement, death, disability, or dismissal.
Guarantee fund and protection fund: two distinct mechanisms
The Deposit Guarantee Fund covers traditional bank deposits. The Protection Fund intervenes for financial instruments (stocks, bonds, funds) held with a failing institution, with a distinct limit set at 20,000 euros per person and per institution.
Life insurance policies of branch 21 held with a Belgian insurance company also benefit from a guarantee of 100,000 euros per person and per institution. Branch 23 products are not covered by this guarantee.
Inactive accounts and seizures: two blind spots of confidentiality
The Belgian government is working to reduce the period after which an inactive account is classified as dormant. When an account reaches this status, the assets are transferred to the Deposit and Consignment Office. This transfer implies a break in the banking relationship and a loss of direct control over the funds, even if the holder retains a right of claim.
On the side of seizures, a creditor with an enforceable title can carry out a garnishment on bank accounts. The bank is then required to declare the available balances at the time of the seizure. The bank’s duty of discretion yields to a judicial decision.
We recommend regularly checking the activity of your accounts to avoid their reclassification as dormant accounts, and consulting the PCC register at the National Bank to know all the accounts registered in your name.
Banking confidentiality in Belgium now relies on a balance between the duty of discretion of institutions and increasingly extensive tax transparency obligations. With DAC8, crypto-assets join the scope of automatic exchange. The real protection of your assets depends less on secrecy than on the robustness of the deposit guarantee framework and on informed management of your positions with each institution.
