When and how should you value
your unlisted shares?

By transferring your financial assets during your lifetime, you may risk bringing your shareholdings below the 20% threshold required to benefit from the exemption of up to €1,000,000. This should therefore be included in your estate and tax planning strategy. It is also possible to reorganise the shareholding structure of one or more companies so that there are no longer any shareholders holding less than 20%. In some cases, transfers between shareholders may be of interest to them, beyond the capital gains tax issue.

Let us first recall that a holding company is a company that owns shareholdings in other companies. If you transfer your shares to a holding company that you own or to a new one to be created, you may risk having your capital gain taxed at 30%, which is not attractive. Another disadvantage is that dividends and capital gains will be received by the holding company and not by you personally, which may result in additional costs and taxation. To extract the money from the holding company, you will have to wait and pay at least 15% withholding tax. A company (holding) may benefit from the RDT regime (definitively taxed income), which avoids double taxation of received dividends. However, it must meet certain holding period and amount (or percentage) conditions. The overall cost and profitability must therefore be assessed globally.

It is commonly believed that the usufructuary collects the income and bears the costs of a property or financial assets, and this is true. However, in the case we are dealing with here, it is the bare owner who must pay the tax of up to 10%. This is quite logical, because when shares are sold, it is not income that is being received, but rather part of the capital that is being disposed of. In this case, the legislator considers that it is the owner of the capital who must pay the tax. That being said, both this and the obligation to provide income to the bare owner can be customised in the splitting agreement. In this respect, you should consult a notary, bank adviser or lawyer.
nous préoccupe ici, c’est le nu-propriétaire qui doit payer la taxe de 10% maximum. C’est assez logique car lorsque l’on vend des actions, ce n’est pas le fruit ou la charge d’entretien que l’on touche mais une partie du capital que l’on entame (un peu comme si on enlève une grosse branche du tronc, on
touche alors à sa productivité). Et dans ce cas, le législateur estime que c’est le propriétaire du capital qui doit payer la taxe. Cependant, tant cela que l’obligation d’assurer un revenu au nu-propriétaire peut être personnalisé lors du démembrement. A ce sujet, consultez un notaire, conseiller bancaire ou avocat.

Publié chez Anthemis en 2023, « Les conflits d’actionnaires – Anticipation, solutions, évaluation des actions »  de Steve Griess et Charles Markowicz traite de trois problématiques : la prévention des conflits entre actionnaires, leur résolution et l’évaluation des actions.

Le livre ne traite pas de la nouvelle taxation des plus-values, puisqu’il a été publié en 2023, mais il couvre cependant l’actualité particulière du nouveau régime fiscal : la détermination de la valeur des actions non cotées au 31 décembre 2025 fait précisément appel à la problématique de l’évaluation des titres.

Cette continuité rejoint directement l’activité de Costmasters story : Charles Markowicz, co-auteur de l’ouvrage, est Expert-comptable certifié. A ce titre, il intervient régulièrement dans l’évaluation de PME et de participations, notamment lorsque leur valeur doit être déterminée de manière indépendante et documentée.

Préfacé par Paul Dhaeyer, alors Président du Tribunal de l’Entreprise francophone de Bruxelles, l’ouvrage est référencé par la KU Leuven dans sa documentation consacrée aux litiges et conflits entre actionnaires.  Il a également fait l’objet d’une recension dans la revue B-Arbitra du CEPANI, ce qui constitue une référence professionnelle indépendante supplémentaire.

You will have the following options:

Prove the value of the shares by means of a document evidencing a transaction carried out in 2025 or a sale promise (option) at a determined price. You must pay attention to the details of the offer and prove its authenticity.
Another possibility is to apply the statutory lump-sum formula: the company’s equity plus four times EBITDA. However, this formula may be to your disadvantage if, for any reason, its result is lower than what a certified accountant or statutory auditor would consider to be the company’s value.
You may also rely on a valuation report from an independent financial professional. As there are several approaches and methods to value a company, it is advisable to use the services of a specialist who understands the company and can provide an appropriate valuation.
During the five years following the entry into force of the law, you may also claim a higher reference value than that of 31/12/2025 if you can prove it. This is notably the case if your shares have lost value since their acquisition.

Non, l’évaluation par un expert-comptable certifié ou un réviseur d’entreprises n’est pas une obligation.

La législation prévoit plusieurs méthodes de détermination de la valeur au 31 décembre 2025, dont le recours à une valorisation réalisée par un réviseur d’entreprises ou un expert-comptable certifié qui n’est pas le professionnel habituel, par dérogation aux trois autres méthodes.

Une telle valorisation doit être réalisée au plus tard le 31 décembre 2027

There are several exceptions or exemptions, the main ones being: Each taxpayer (pay attention to your marriage contract, if applicable) benefits from an exemption of €10,000 per year, which can be increased by €1,000 per year, up to five times. Under community of property: €20,000 per year. Under separation of property: €10,000 per year per person. You may offset capital losses against capital gains, but with two limitations: the offset only applies within the same year and within the same category of financial assets. Significant shareholdings in a company, i.e. at least 20% per individual at the time the capital gain is realised, benefit from an exemption of up to €1,000,000 every five years. 

Transfers of ownership without consideration, such as a donation or inheritance, are not subject to the 10% tax. However, when the capital gain is eventually realised, it will be calculated based on the original acquisition value, not the value agreed upon at the time of the transfer or inheritance.

Once the exemptions described above have been deducted, the following rates apply:
1.25% from €1,000,001 to €2,500,000
2.25% from €2,500,001 to €5,000,000
5% from €5,000,001 to €10,000,000
10% as from €10,000,001

As a general rule, for assets managed by your bank or insurance company, they calculate and withhold the tax at source.
However, you may also choose the “opt-out”, meaning that you calculate it yourself. The advantage is that you do not have to wait one or two years to deduct capital losses actually incurred. Financial institutions must send an informative form to the tax authorities, and based on this and what you declare, the amount due will be calculated in your tax assessment notice.

There is no territorial exception. If you are subject to Belgian tax as a resident, your capital gains generated abroad are also taxable.

The FIFO principle applies (First In, First Out). This means that you are deemed to have sold the first shares you acquired, then the next ones, and so on.

Costmasters story pratique l’évaluation d’actions non cotées, notamment de PME, depuis de nombreuses années.  Notre démarche est adaptée à chaque situation en fonction de la date et de l’objectif de nos travaux. Nous analysons la société sous plusieurs angles et calculons plusieurs valeurs, selon des approches et méthodes reconnues.

Il y a d’abord l’approche patrimoniale ( l’actif net comptable corrigé). Nous pratiquons ensuite l’approche comparative à d’autres sociétés, à l’appui d’autres méthodes. Enfin, nous calculons sa valeur intrinsèque qui actualise les revenus futurs prévus.

Nous différencions bien la valeur de l’entreprise de celle des capitaux propres, suivant ainsi les concepts de la théorie financière, mis en pratique et expliqués.

Cela étant, nous comparons les résultats obtenus pour forger un avis motivé sur la valeur de la société.