Answers · current to September 2026

Moving from Belgium, for a high earner.

Ranked on what $1,000,000 of income keeps over 10 years, with what Belgium charges on the way out.

In short, current to September 2026

  • On the Patrician.ch board, the address that leaves a $1,000,000 earner leaving Belgium with the most after 10 years is Gustavia, St Barths, at $10M kept against an effective 0%.
  • Within 5 hours of Belgium, the address that keeps the most is Monaco, at $10M over 10 years.
  • Leaving Belgium itself carries a charge: Exit tax since 2026. Belgium treats all your financial assets as sold when you lose Belgian residence and taxes the gain accrued since 1 January 2026 at 10%. Gains from before 2026 are out of scope.
  • Deferral: Automatic inside the EU or EEA, and to a treaty country with information exchange and collection assistance. It falls due if you sell within 24 months or move on to a country outside that list.
  • Figures are current to September 2026 and modeled on indicative 2026 headline brackets for a single filer. Confirm with counsel before relying on any of them.

Source: the Patrician.ch board, an original ranking of 100 residence addresses across 48 countries and territories. Tax rates, thresholds and routes are sourced. Cost, safety, schools, sun and beauty are Patrician.ch editorial indices. Figures current to September 2026. Updated . Cite as: Patrician.ch, Moving from Belgium 2026: where a high earner keeps most, patrician.ch/answers/moving-from-belgium/, September 2026.

Ranked

Leaving Belgium: where $1,000,000 goes furthest.

Ordered by what a single filer keeps over 10 years after income tax, on Patrician.ch's 2026 model, with the flight time from Belgium. The engine reorders this on your own income, liquidity event, passports and household.

01
Gustavia 🇫🇷 St Barths0% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 9h from Belgium, special regime for arrivals
$10M
02
Abu Dhabi 🇦🇪 UAE0% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 7h from Belgium
$10M
03
Dubai 🇦🇪 UAE0% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 7h from Belgium
$10M
04
Anguilla 🇦🇮 Anguilla0% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 9h from Belgium
$10M
05
Punta del Este 🇺🇾 Uruguay0% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 15h from Belgium, special regime for arrivals
$10M
06
Monaco 🇲🇨 Monaco0% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 2h from Belgium
$10M
07
Christophe Harbour 🇰🇳 St Kitts and Nevis0% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 9h from Belgium
$10M
08
St John's 🇦🇬 Antigua and Barbuda0% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 9h from Belgium
$10M
09
Providenciales 🇹🇨 Turks and Caicos0% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 10h from Belgium
$10M
10
George Town 🇰🇾 Cayman Islands0% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 11h from Belgium
$10M

Within 5 hours of Belgium.

The same ranking, kept to addresses a direct flight of 5 hours or less from Belgium.

01
Monaco 🇲🇨 Monaco0% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 2h from Belgium
$10M
02
Andorra la Vella 🇦🇩 Andorra10% effective on $1M, 10% on gains, 2h from Belgium
$9.0M
03
Vaduz 🇱🇮 Liechtenstein17% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 2h from Belgium
$8.3M
04
Tivat 🇲🇪 Montenegro17% effective on $1M, 17% on gains, 3h from Belgium
$8.3M
05
Zug 🇨🇭 Switzerland20% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 2h from Belgium, special regime for arrivals
$8.0M

Model note. Effective rates use indicative 2026 headline brackets and any special regime for arriving foreigners. Social contributions, deductions and treaty relief are not included. Flight times are great-circle estimates. The exit charge from Belgium is modeled separately and is not netted into the figures above.

Questions

The short answers.

Where should a high earner move from Belgium?

On $1,000,000 of income, Gustavia keeps the most over 10 years, $10M, followed by Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Within 5 hours of Belgium, Monaco keeps the most. The ranking changes with the passports held, the household and a liquidity event, all of which the engine takes as inputs.

Does Belgium charge an exit tax?

Exit tax since 2026.

Belgium treats all your financial assets as sold when you lose Belgian residence and taxes the gain accrued since 1 January 2026 at 10%. Gains from before 2026 are out of scope.

How long does it take to stop being tax resident in Belgium?

Automatic inside the EU or EEA, and to a treaty country with information exchange and collection assistance.

It falls due if you sell within 24 months or move on to a country outside that list.

Which addresses on the board levy no capital gains tax?

36 of the 100 addresses on the board levy no personal capital gains tax, among them Abu Dhabi, Anguilla, Bora Bora, Christophe Harbour, Dubai, Geneva.

The Dossier: your top 3, on your numbers.Your top 3 modeled and compared on your income, exit, passports, and family. 10 chapters, written the moment you pay, usually ready within 2 minutes. The Dossier is $500. The founding price, $250, holds until 30 September. Refunded within 7 days if it does not change how you think.
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Your position, not the average

This page is the general case. Your income and passports rank all 100 differently.

The engine takes what you earn and what you hold, then orders every address on the board against it.

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The general case, ranked: Where should high earners live in 2026 · Best country to live in if you are rich · Best countries for high earners after tax · Europe · United States · Americans moving abroad · Tax calculator · Keep Index 2026

Tax figures use a simplified marginal model with indicative 2026 brackets for a non-US single filer, ignore social contributions, most deductions, wealth taxes, and treaties, and are not advice. Residence rules change often. Verify before acting.

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