The “jubelton” will be abolished on 1 January 2024. What do you need to do to still be able to make use of it?
Jubelton
“Jubelton” is the popular name for the one-off increased gift tax exemption for gifts used for the benefit of the donee’s own home. In its first year, this exemption amounted to exactly €100,000; hence the popular name ‘jubelton’. Since then, the exemption amount has been increased slightly as a result of indexation. For gifts received in 2022, the exemption amounts to €106,671.
In addition to the condition that the amount of the gift must actually be used for the recipient’s own home for tax purposes, the recipient must be aged 18 or over, but under 40, at the time of the gift. The exemption is not limited to gifts from parents to children. The exemption may also be applied where the gift comes from a grandparent, an uncle or aunt, or even a random third party.
Abolished
The ‘jubelton’ will be abolished with effect from 1 January 2024. The intention was to abolish it on 1 January 2023, but this proved impossible within the Tax and Customs Administration’s computer systems. However, the amount of the exemption will be significantly reduced in 2023, to €28,947.
A logical question that now arises is: how can I ensure that the exemption can still be applied? The answer is, of course, obvious: make the gift in 2022. That is to say: actually pay the amount of the gift to the beneficiary in 2022 as a gift (and claim the exemption in the gift tax return). The beneficiary must then have actually used the amount received for the purpose of their own home by 31 December 2024 at the latest. If this is not possible, the gift must be repaid (or gift tax will be levied at the end of 2024).
It is also possible to make a gift in 2022 for an amount lower than the maximum of €106,671 (PLEASE NOTE: the gift in 2022 must, however, exceed the standard exemption, which amounts to €5,677 for children and €2,274 for other beneficiaries). In that case, if the beneficiary has not yet reached the age of 40, the gift may be topped up to this maximum in 2023. The total amount of the gifts made in 2022 and 2023 must then actually have been spent on the tax-deductible owner-occupied home by 31 December 2024 at the latest.
If no gift is made under the owner-occupied home exemption in 2022, a maximum of €28,947 may be gifted under the ‘jubelton’ exemption in 2023, provided the beneficiary has not yet reached the age of 40 by then. This amount must then actually be spent on the recipient’s own home by 31 December 2025 at the latest.