The VAT on food in Belgium in 2026 is 6% for almost everything bought in a shop: bread, meat, fish, dairy, fruit, oil, chocolate, sweets, coffee, water, juices and soft drinks. It rises to 12% for food served in a restaurant and margarine. And the 21% rate, the standard rate, applies to alcoholic drinks, luxury seafood —lobster, langoustine, crab and oysters—, caviar and all drinks served in a bar or restaurant, whether they contain alcohol or not.
The legal basis is Royal Decree No. 20 of 20 July 1970, which sets the reduced Belgian VAT rates. Table A lists what goes at 6% and Table B what goes at 12%, in both cases by customs code. Anything not listed in either table pays 21%. The Belgian Government planned in 2026 to raise takeaway food to 12% and lower soft drinks in hospitality to 12%, but dropped both measures in February. The standard rates are in our VAT in Belgium in 2026 guide; here is the item-by-item breakdown.
What VAT applies to each food item in Belgium
| Food or service | VAT | Royal Decree No. 20 |
|---|---|---|
| Meat, ham and cured sausages | 6% | table A |
| Fish, prawns, mussels and squid | 6% | table A, cat. III |
| Milk, cheese, yogurt, butter and eggs | 6% | table A, cat. IV to VII |
| Fruit, vegetables, legumes, nuts and cereals | 6% | table A, cat. IV to VII |
| Flour, bread, pasta, pastries and biscuits | 6% | table A, cat. VIII and X |
| Olive oil and other oils | 6% | table A, cat. IX |
| Sugar, sweets, chocolate, jam and ice cream | 6% | table A, cat. X |
| Coffee, tea and spices | 6% | table A, cat. X |
| Water, juices and soft drinks, with or without sugar | 6% | table A, cat. X |
| Non-alcoholic beer, up to 0.5% | 6% | table A, cat. X |
| Food and non-alcoholic drinks for takeaway or delivery, with no service | 6% | table A |
| Food served in bars, restaurants and catering | 12% | table B, cat. I |
| Margarine | 12% | table B, cat. VI |
| Lobster, crab, crayfish and oysters | 21% | excluded from table A, cat. III |
| Caviar and caviar substitutes | 21% | excluded from table A, cat. III |
| All drinks served in bars and restaurants, including water, coffee and soft drinks | 21% | excluded from table B, cat. I |
| Wine, beer, cider and spirits | 21% | excluded from table A, cat. X |
| Dog, cat and other pet food | 21% | excluded from table A |
Rates verified on 29 September 2026 against the European Commission’s TEDB database, which reproduces Tables A and B of Royal Decree No. 20, and against the Belgian Government’s U-turn of 13 February 2026 published by L’Avenir and the HoReCa Federation of Wallonia.
Three questions to classify a food item in Belgium:
- Is it alcohol, lobster, crab, oysters, caviar or pet food? Then it goes at 21%.
- If not, is it served in a bar or restaurant? Food goes at 12% and drinks at 21%.
- If not, it goes at 6%, except margarine, which is 12%.
Bars and restaurants: food at 12%, drinks at 21%
Food served at the table has been taxed at 12% since 2010. But the reduced hospitality rate expressly excludes drinks, so every drink served —water, coffee, a soft drink, a beer or a wine— is taxed at 21%. Every Belgian restaurant bill has two rates. In Spain, everything served is taxed at 10%, including alcohol.
Takeaway food: still 6%
If the customer takes the food away or it is delivered to their home, with no table service, it is not hospitality but food retail: 6%, as in a supermarket. The same applies to water, coffee or soft drinks to go. Alcohol remains at 21%.
The November 2025 budget agreement had planned two changes from 1 March 2026: raising prepared takeaway meals to 12% and lowering soft drinks served in hospitality to 12%. After a critical opinion from the Council of State, the Government dropped both on 13 February. As of September 2026, takeaway food remains at 6% and drinks served remain at 21%. What did rise from 6 to 12% on 1 March was hotel and campsite accommodation.
The cases that cause the most doubt
Seafood: prawns at 6%, lobster at 21%
Fish, prawns, langoustines, mussels, clams and squid go at 6%. The royal decree removes lobster, crab, crayfish and oysters, fresh, cooked, frozen or canned, from that list: they pay 21%. The same applies to caviar and its substitutes, such as lumpfish roe. In Spain, all that seafood is taxed at 10%.
Chocolate and sweets: 6%, with no exceptions
Unlike France, Belgium does not distinguish between types of chocolate. Bars, chocolates, pralines, caramels, gummies and ice cream all go at 6%, as do sugar and jam.
Butter at 6%, margarine at 12%
Butter, oils and other edible fats go at 6%. Margarine has its own rate, 12%.
Drinks: the same soft drink, 6 or 21%
- Water, juices and soft drinks: 6% in the shop or to go, with or without sugar; 21% when served in a bar.
- Coffee and tea: 6% packaged or in a takeaway cup; 21% in the café.
- Non-alcoholic beer: 6% up to 0.5%; above that, 21%. Other drinks move to 21% above 1.2% alcohol.
- Wine, beer and spirits: 21%, in the shop and in the bar.
Pet food
Products sold as food for dogs, cats, birds, fish or other pets are taxed at 21%, even if they are the same cereals or meat that are taxed at 6% for human consumption. In Spain, pet food is taxed at 10%.
Selling food from Spain to customers in Belgium
A Spanish shop that ships food to Belgian private customers applies Spanish VAT as long as its distance sales to consumers in other EU countries —combined together— do not exceed €10,000 per year. Above that, it applies the Belgian VAT rate that corresponds to each food item and reports it through the one-stop shop (OSS), as explained by the European Commission. We explain this in the €10,000 threshold for distance sales.
A distance sale is a supply of goods, so almost everything goes at 6%. The same product does not belong to the same group in Spain and Belgium:
| Product | VAT in Spain | VAT in Belgium |
|---|---|---|
| Standard bread, milk, cheese and fruit | 4% | 6% |
| Olive oil | 4% | 6% |
| Cured ham, cured sausages and preserves | 10% | 6% |
| Chocolate, nougat and caramels | 10% | 6% |
| Coffee | 10% | 6% |
| Mineral water and juices with no added sugar | 10% | 6% |
| Sugary soft drinks | 21% | 6% |
| Margarine | 10% | 12% |
| Lobster, crab and oysters | 10% | 21% |
| Wine | 21% | 21% |
| Food served in a restaurant | 10% | 12% |
| Drink served in a bar | 10% | 21% |
Spanish rates verified on 17 September 2026 against Article 91 of Law 37/1992 (boe.es) and the Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) document “Tipos impositivos en el IVA 2026”. Details in VAT on food in Spain.
Three more things before sending the first parcel:
- Wine and beer: they count as distance sales for VAT purposes, but excise duties on alcohol are handled separately; the one-stop shop only covers VAT.
- Business customers: if you sell to a Belgian restaurant or shop with a valid VAT number and the goods leave Spain, the intra-EU supply is exempt and the customer self-assesses the VAT in Belgium. Check the number first with the VIES VAT number checker.
- Luxury seafood: if you sell lobster, crab or oysters, separate them from the rest of the seafood in your catalogue. They are the only food group that pays more VAT in Belgium than in Spain.
How to set it up in WooCommerce
Belgium has no super-reduced rate, so products that use Spain’s “super-reduced” 4% class fall into the Belgian 6% rate, which is the correct one. With the “reduced” 10% class, almost everything fits correctly into 6%, but lobster, crab, oysters and caviar, which go at 21%, and margarine, at 12%, would be undercharged. And with the standard class, a sugary soft drink would be taxed at 21% instead of 6%. What works is creating custom classes for the food groups that change rate between countries and assigning them product by product. For a quick check, the EU VAT calculator gives you the rate and amount according to the customer’s country, whether they are a business or an individual and the product type; for a specific food item, cross-check the result with the tables above.
Do you sell food to Belgium from your WooCommerce?
When destination VAT applies, EHERO Woo VAT applies each country’s rate according to the product tax class (standard, reduced or super-reduced) and respects the custom classes you create for foods that change rate between countries. It also monitors the €10,000 threshold, validates the VAT number in VIES at checkout and prepares the OSS report by country.
Frequently asked questions
What VAT do food items have in Belgium in 2026?
6% for almost all food and non-alcoholic drinks bought in a shop or to go; 12% for food served in restaurants and margarine; and 21% for alcohol, luxury seafood, caviar and all drinks served in hospitality venues.
How much VAT is paid in a restaurant in Belgium?
12% on food and 21% on all drinks, with or without alcohol.
Has VAT on takeaway food gone up in Belgium?
No. The Government planned to raise it to 12% in March 2026, but dropped the plan on 13 February. As of September 2026 it remains at 6%.
What VAT applies to chocolate in Belgium?
6%, whether dark, milk, white or in chocolates.
What VAT applies to beer in Belgium?
21%, in the shop and in the bar. Non-alcoholic beer, up to 0.5%, is taxed at 6% in the shop.
Continue here
- VAT in Belgium in 2026: the three rates and when each applies
- VAT on food in Spain in 2026: what goes at 4, 10 and 21%
- VAT on food in France in 2026: the 5.5% rate and its exceptions
- VAT rates by EU country in 2026: the full table
