The VAT provision account: what changes from 1 May 2026?

What is the VAT provision account?

The VAT provision account is a digital account with the FPS Finance on which:

• VAT credits for which no refund has been requested in the VAT return are placed, and
• advance payments are deposited pending a VAT liability.

VAT credits for which no refund is requested are automatically registered on your provision account before the due date of your next return. For monthly filers, the credits therefore become available the following month and, for quarterly filers, the following quarter.

The administration automatically uses the balance on the VAT provision account to settle VAT due as soon as the VAT return has been processed.

If the FPS Finance prepares a substitute return, the provisions will be used to settle this debt, including late-payment interest.

At the end of each quarter, the FPS Finance will use the available provisions to settle all undisputed VAT debts for which you are still liable.

What should you do in practice?

Adjust your payments from 1 May 2026

As from 1 May, the standard bank account number for VAT payments is:

BE41 6792 0036 4210 (TVABTW)

To be used for advance payments and payment of periodic VAT as long as there is no enforceable title. Until 31 December 2026, all payments still made to the old bank account number will automatically be redirected to the new account.

Please note: a different account number must be used during the recovery phase:

BE42 6792 0000 0054

This account number is used exclusively when the FPS Finance sends a formal payment notice, reminder or enforceable title. In that case, always follow the account number stated on the official document.

VAT returns remain unchanged

Submission must still be made via Intervat.

Deadlines: the 20th (monthly filers) or the 25th (quarterly filers) of the month following the reporting period. Only monthly filers still benefit from an extension to the next working day when the 20th falls on a weekend or public holiday.

How are VAT debts paid?

The FPS Finance automatically uses the balance on the provision account. If the balance is insufficient, you must make an additional payment to the account mentioned above.

If there is an outstanding balance and payment is not made on time, late-payment interest will be due. The FPS Finance first sends a payment notice stating the outstanding VAT amount and the interest due. If this amount is not paid before the 10th day of the month following the payment date, a penalty for non-payment will be imposed. The amount of the penalty is communicated through a second payment notice. The amount of the penalty depends on the date on which the VAT return was submitted:

• If the VAT return is submitted on time, the penalty amounts to 5% of the VAT due.
• If the VAT return is submitted late, the penalty amounts to 10% of the VAT due.

VAT refunds: two options

Via the VAT return

Via the VAT return, only the credit resulting from that return (grid 72) can still be claimed for refund. The request is made as before by ticking the “refund request” box in the VAT return.

You may expect the refund at the end of the second month following the reporting period if you are a monthly filer, or at the end of the third month following the reporting period if you are a quarterly filer.

Via MyMinfin

Via MyMinfin, a request can be made for a full or partial refund of the credit available on the provision account. The date of the effective refund depends on when the request is submitted:

• Request submitted between the 1st and the 15th of the month: you will receive your refund at the end of that month.
• Request submitted between the 16th and the 31st of the month: you will receive your refund on the 15th of the following month.

Outstanding debts are always first offset against the credit on the provision account. Any remaining balance is then refunded to you. An allocation notice will always be sent to inform the VAT taxable person of this allocation.