Key takeaways
- The limitation period sets the window beyond which the tax authority can no longer establish or claim VAT.
- Three periods coexist: 3 years as a rule, 4 years with no return or a late one, 7 years in cases of fraud.
- The period runs from the chargeability of the tax, not from the invoice date.
- The fraud period dropped back from 10 to 7 years with the law of 18 December 2025.
The limitation period is one of the taxpayer's few objective protections against the administration: once a certain window has passed, the tax authority can no longer reopen a period to establish or claim VAT. In Belgium these periods are set by article 81bis of the VAT Code, and they have just moved: the law of 18 December 2025 brought the fraud period back from ten to seven years. This article sets out the three audit periods, their starting point and the mechanisms that can extend or restart them, so you know how far back the past stays open.
The limitation period, the line beyond which the tax authority cannot act
The VAT limitation period bounds the administration's right to establish and recover the tax. While the period runs, the authority can audit a given span of time, correct a return and claim the understated VAT, interest and penalties. Once it has elapsed, that period is closed: it can no longer give rise to an adjustment.
The starting point is decisive, and it is often misread. The period does not start from the invoice date or the filing date, but from the chargeability of the tax. It is measured in full calendar years: the standard period expires at the end of the third calendar year following the year in which the VAT became chargeable.
Three, four or seven years: the VAT audit periods
Article 81bis does not set a single period but three, depending on the taxpayer's conduct. They all run from the same point, the year following the chargeability of the tax, and differ by the situation that triggers them.
standard period
the general case
no return or a late one
return not filed or filed late
in cases of fraud
fraudulent intent or intent to harm
The standard three-year period applies to the vast majority of audits: it covers errors, omissions and differences of interpretation without any fraudulent intent. The four-year period targets a filing default: it applies when the periodic VAT return was not filed or was filed late, from 1 January 2023. Filing your returns on time is therefore not only a matter of penalties: it is also what keeps the audit period at three years rather than four.
| Standard period | No return or late | Fraud | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Length | 3 years | 4 years | 7 years |
| Applies when | General case | Return not filed or late | Fraudulent intent or intent to harm |
| Starting point | Year after chargeability | Year after chargeability | Year after chargeability |
| Prior notification required |
The seven-year period in cases of fraud
The longest period targets infringements committed with fraudulent intent or an intent to harm. In that case the administration has seven years to establish and claim the tax, instead of the usual three. This period also covers certain situations where information from another Member State, a legal action or evidence reveals undeclared operations.
This period went on a round trip worth keeping in mind. The law of 20 November 2022 had raised it from seven to ten years, from 1 January 2023, at the same time as it lengthened the document retention period. The law of 18 December 2025 reversed that extension: it brings the fraud period back to seven years, with effect for taxes chargeable since 1 January 2023. The ten-year extension is therefore undone for all the periods concerned. FPS Finance commented on these changes in its circular 2026/C/31.
Interruption: when the clock resets
A limitation period is not fixed in stone: it can be interrupted, which wipes out the time already elapsed and starts a fresh period of the same length. Interruption results from acts of the administration aimed at recovering the tax, or from an acknowledgement by the taxpayer, such as a waiver of the time already run.
In plain terms, a period that looks close to expiry can still be reopened if an interrupting act occurs in time. That is why the chargeability date and the tracking of procedural acts matter as much as the nominal length of the period: a limitation period is calculated, not assumed.
Keeping your records and claiming what you are owed
The limitation period has a practical corollary: record retention. The retention period for VAT documents is seven years (article 60 of the VAT Code). Like the fraud period, it had risen to ten years with the 2022 law before being brought back to seven by the law of 18 December 2025. As long as a period can still be audited, being able to produce your invoices, journals and supporting documents is the best defence.
The limitation period also runs the other way. A taxpayer who has paid VAT that was not due has their own window to claim it back: that action lapses at the end of the third calendar year following the year in which the cause for the refund arose (article 82bis of the VAT Code). Watching that period avoids letting a recoverable VAT credit slip away.
Compliant invoices, kept and ready for an audit
YouInv generates your invoices in the Peppol BIS format, archives them and keeps them accessible for as long as it matters.
Further reading
- How long to keep your invoices in Belgium: retention periods and how they connect to audits.
- The periodic VAT return in Belgium: deadlines and filing, so you do not slip into the four-year period.
- Penalties for non-compliant VAT invoicing: what a business risks during an adjustment.
The authoritative source governs: the VAT Code (article 81bis) in its consolidated version on Justel.
What is the VAT limitation period in Belgium?
The standard period is 3 years. It rises to 4 years when the periodic VAT return was not filed or was filed late, and to 7 years in cases of fraud. Each period expires at the end of the 3rd, 4th or 7th calendar year following the year in which the VAT became chargeable (article 81bis of the VAT Code).
When does the VAT limitation period start to run?
It does not start from the invoice date but from the chargeability of the tax. It expires at the end of the third calendar year following the year in which the VAT became chargeable. For VAT chargeable in 2026, the standard 3-year period therefore expires on 31 December 2029.
Is the fraud limitation period 7 or 10 years?
It is 7 years. The law of 20 November 2022 had raised it to 10 years from 1 January 2023, but the law of 18 December 2025 brought it back to 7 years, with effect for taxes chargeable since 1 January 2023. The 10-year extension is therefore undone for all affected taxes.
Can the tax authority apply the fraud period without warning?
No. Before applying the extended fraud limitation period, the administration must notify the taxpayer in writing, precisely, of the fraud indicators held against them for the period concerned. Failing that, the adjustment is void (article 84ter of the VAT Code).
How long must you keep your VAT records?
The retention period is 7 years. It had been raised to 10 years by the law of 20 November 2022, then brought back to 7 years by the law of 18 December 2025 (article 60 of the VAT Code). Keeping your records for the whole time the administration can still audit remains the prudent rule.
