Heat pump grants in Belgium 2026: what's changed
The essentials:
In Wallonia, the heat pump grant can cover up to 70% of the bill (up to €6,000 via the Rénopack), but the current scheme closes on 30 September 2026. A home audit is compulsory before work starts.
In Brussels, Rénolution grants have been suspended since 1 January 2025 and won't return in their current form. The government is replacing them with loans. What's left: the ECORENO credit and 6% VAT.
In Flanders, the heat pump grant stays open to all income levels, but amounts dropped on 1 March 2026 for categories 1 and 2 (highest incomes): €1,500 instead of €2,250 for an air-to-water unit.
Across Belgium, VAT on heat pumps has been 6% since 1 January 2026, including for homes under 10 years old, until 31 December 2030.
Why 2026 is a turning point for heat pump grants
Compare today's support with what was available in 2023, and you won't recognise the landscape. Three shifts happened at once.
The first is Brussels stepping back. The Region had a very generous scheme, Rénolution, which could reach up to €50,000 in combined grants for a major renovation. Uptake was so fast that by August 2024 the annual budget was already used up. Applications were frozen, reopened, then blocked again. The result: no new grants are possible in Brussels for a bill dated 2025 or later.
The second shift is Flanders tightening its rules. Flanders keeps its heat pump grant open to everyone, but it cut the amounts for higher-income households on 1 March 2026.
The third is VAT returning to 6% at federal level, which changes things for new or recently built homes. That's the good news of the year, and it applies everywhere.
The practical outcome: your real budget depends as much on your postcode as on the heat pump model you choose. Before comparing quotes on equipment, you need to understand what you're entitled to where you live.
Belgian benchmark The cost of an air-to-water heat pump in Belgium runs between €8,000 and €18,000, installation included, depending on power and emitter type. Grants and reduced VAT can bring that figure down by several thousand euros.
Wallonia: a generous scheme, but a deadline on 30 September 2026
Wallonia remains the Region with the strongest heat pump support. The heating grant covers between 50% and 70% of the VAT-inclusive amount, with support ranging from €160 to €4,320 depending on the unit and income bracket. Combined with the Rénopack, aid can reach €6,000, alongside a 0% loan.
The Walloon system works with four income categories, from R1 (highest earners) to R4 (most modest). The lower your income, the higher the coverage rate: 70% of the VAT-inclusive amount for categories R1 and R2, 50% for R3 and R4 — the logic runs opposite to what you'd expect, since the percentage cap is actually higher for lower incomes through top-ups.
Three conditions are non-negotiable. First, the home audit, which is compulsory and must be registered before work starts. This audit itself comes with a grant, from €76 to €456 depending on income category. Second, the unit must appear on the official list published on logement.wallonie.be. Third, the installer must be registered with the Banque-Carrefour des Entreprises.
An important point for choosing equipment: air-to-water, ground-to-water (geothermal), and water-to-water heat pumps are eligible, but air-to-air units are not. If you're aiming for the grant, you need a heat pump that heats water, not a reversible air conditioner.
The real warning concerns timing. The current temporary scheme, in place since February 2025, ends on 30 September 2026. Every step of the application, audit, works, and final invoice, must be submitted by that date at the latest. After that, a new scheme takes over, and its conditions haven't been set yet. If you have a project in Wallonia, starting the audit now locks you into the scheme you already know.
Brussels: Rénolution grants suspended, what's left
In practice, anyone installing a heat pump in Brussels in 2026 can't apply for a regional grant. If you have a final invoice dated 2024 and meet the conditions, applying through IRISbox was possible for a while, but that window is now closed.
Two options remain. The first is Bruxelles Environnement's ECORENO credit, a loan for energy renovation work at a rate of 1.5% to 2.5%, better than a standard bank loan without being interest-free. The second is municipal grants: some Brussels municipalities offer their own support for heat pumps, separate from Rénolution. It's worth checking with your local municipality.
And of course, 6% VAT also applies in Brussels, which already cuts the bill noticeably.
Belgian benchmark In Brussels, keep all your project paperwork (quotes, invoices, certificates) even though no grant can currently be claimed. Since the new funding system hasn't been defined yet, these documents could come in useful once the details are published.
Flanders: the grant stays for everyone, but amounts are dropping
Flanders took a different path from Brussels: it's keeping its heat pump grant, the Mijn VerbouwPremie, open to all income categories. In fact, it's now one of the few renovation grants that categories 1 and 2 (highest incomes) can still apply for, since insulation grants were withdrawn from them on 1 March 2026.
That said, amounts dropped on that same date for these higher-income categories. Here are the new base rates for categories 1 and 2.
Heat pump type | Grant before 1 March 2026 | Grant since 1 March 2026 |
Air-to-water | €2,250 | €1,500 |
Hybrid | €1 500 | €800 |
Geothermal | €4,000 | €4,000 (unchanged) |
Thermodynamic water heater | €900 | €450 |
Air-to-air | €300 | €300 (unchanged) |
Source of rates: Vlaanderen.be, decree of 19 December 2025.
Two things stand out from this table. Geothermal is protected: its amount hasn't moved, a sign that Flanders wants to keep pushing this technology. And the top-up that used to exist for homes without a gas connection or replacing electric heating disappears for all heat pump types in these categories.
For categories 3 and 4 (more modest incomes), nothing changes: the higher amounts stay in place. The reform targets higher earners specifically.
On process, Flanders is more flexible than Wallonia: no compulsory audit. You need to pick a RESCert-certified installer, keep the certificates, and submit the application online with invoices no older than 24 months. The application goes through the Mijn VerbouwPremie online portal. One detail that matters: it's the date of the application that sets which rate applies, not the date of the quote. An application submitted after 1 March 2026 falls under the new amounts.
Federal level: 6% VAT is back, and it changes the maths
Here's the short version. Homes over 10 years old have long benefited from 6% VAT on heat pumps, under the renovation scheme. Homes under 10 years old and new builds had to go back to 21% throughout 2025. Since 1 January 2026, the 6% rate has been restored for these newer homes, for at least five years, until 31 December 2030.
The gap isn't small. On a €15,000 heat pump excluding VAT, dropping from 21% to 6% saves around €2,250. For a new build, that's a strong reason not to keep delaying the project.
Two conditions to know. The measure covers supply with installation by a professional: if you only buy the unit without installation, the full 21% rate applies. And a home's age is calculated from the date of first occupancy, not the construction date.
On the flip side, the federal trend is moving away from fossil fuels. Since 1 July 2025, VAT on gas and oil boilers has risen to 21%, even for homes over 10 years old. And since 1 January 2026, installing an oil boiler is banned in new builds. The State is clearly steering toward heat pumps, both through grants and through tax policy.
That's exactly the logic covered in our heating systems comparison: before talking about grants, you need to know whether a heat pump is the right generator for your home, which is covered in the article heat pump, boiler, or underfloor heating: which one to choose? And if you're leaning toward air-to-water, how it works and its real limits are explained in air-to-water heat pump: how it works and is it the right choice for my home?
How to combine grants without getting it wrong
These levers can be combined, but they follow different logic depending on the Region. Here's how it works in 2026.
In Wallonia, you combine the heating grant (or the Rénopack), the audit grant, any electrical and gas compliance grants, and 6% VAT. For a €15,000 installation excluding VAT, 6% VAT instead of 21% already saves €2,250, on top of the grant itself.
In Brussels, with no regional grant available, combining options is limited to the ECORENO credit, a possible municipal grant, and 6% VAT. In Flanders, you combine the Mijn VerbouwPremie with 6% VAT. No compulsory audit makes the process simpler.
The right move in all three cases: get a detailed quote that clearly separates equipment, installation, and amounts excluding and including VAT. That document is what the grant application and the correct VAT rate are based on. An advisor can check that your project meets the technical criteria (heat pump type, performance level) before you sign anything.
On equipment, FACQ works with brands featured on the eligible unit lists, such as Daikin, Viessmann, Vaillant, and Bosch. You can check the full list on our brands page. Choosing a listed unit avoids the bad surprise of a grant being refused for a model that isn't on the list.
Frequently asked questions
Q1. What grant applies to a heat pump in Wallonia in 2026?
The heating grant covers 50 to 70% of the VAT-inclusive amount, with support from €160 to €4,320 depending on the unit and your income. Through the Rénopack, aid can reach €6,000 with a 0% loan. The home audit is compulsory before work starts and must be registered beforehand. Note: every step of the application, including the final invoice, must be submitted before 30 September 2026, when the current scheme ends.Q2. Can you still get a heat pump grant in Brussels in 2026?
No, there's no regional Rénolution grant. The scheme has been suspended since 1 January 2025, and the Brussels government confirmed it won't restore it in its current form, replacing it with loans whose launch date isn't known yet. What's left: the ECORENO credit (1.5 to 2.5% rate), possible municipal grants, and 6% VAT. Keep your project paperwork in case the future system takes it into account.Q3. How much did the Flemish grant drop in 2026?
For income categories 1 and 2 (the highest), the base grant for an air-to-water heat pump dropped from €2,250 to €1,500 on 1 March 2026. Hybrid units fell from €1,500 to €800, and thermodynamic water heaters from €900 to €450. Geothermal (€4,000) and air-to-air (€300) haven't changed. Nothing changes for categories 3 and 4. It's the date of the application that sets the rate, not the date of the quote.Q4. Does 6% VAT apply to my new build?
Yes, since 1 January 2026. The reduced rate, which only applied to homes over 10 years old in 2025, now extends to homes under 10 years old and new builds, until 31 December 2030. Condition: the heat pump must be supplied and installed by a professional as part of the same job. Buying the unit alone stays at 21%.Q5. Does an air-to-air heat pump qualify for a grant?
It depends on the Region. In Wallonia, no: only heat pumps that heat water (air-to-water, geothermal, water-to-water) are eligible. In Brussels, air-to-air is excluded from the scheme. In Flanders, a €300 air-to-air grant exists, under strict conditions (it must be the only heating system, and the home must run entirely without fossil fuel). If you're after a grant, air-to-water is the safest choice everywhere.Q6. Should you hurry to take advantage of current support?
In Wallonia, yes: the current scheme closes on 30 September 2026 and what comes next isn't defined. Starting the audit early secures your file. In Flanders, categories 1 and 2 have already seen the March 2026 cut, but the grant stays available until the end of 2027 for these profiles. In Brussels, the question doesn't really apply until a new system is announced.