The resale right, known in Belgium as the droit de suite or volgrecht, is a royalty payable to the artist or the artist's heirs whenever a graphic or plastic work is resold through an art market professional. For a collector or a company holding artworks, it is an exit cost calculated on the sale price, on top of the gallery or auction house fees and, depending on the seller, tax on any gain.
A declining scale of 4% to 0.25% per price band, excluding VAT, capped at EUR 12,500 per work and due from a resale price of EUR 2,000. The seller bears it, the professionals involved report it, and it runs for the artist's lifetime plus 70 years.
A copyright royalty, not a tax
The right comes from EU Directive 2001/84/EC, transposed in Belgium by the Act of 4 December 2006 and the Royal Decree of 2 August 2007. Since 1 January 2015 the rules sit in Book XI of the Belgian Code of Economic Law, which absorbed the 1994 copyright act. The State collects nothing: the money goes to the artist through the collecting societies SABAM and SOFAM.
That nature sets it apart from a tax. It does not depend on the gain realised or on the seller's tax residence. A work resold at a loss is caught just as a work resold at a profit, because the base is the price, not the profit.
The scale, band by band
Each rate applies only to the slice of the price that falls within its band, on the sale price excluding VAT. The total is capped at EUR 12,500 per work.
| Band of the sale price | Rate | Cumulative royalty at the top of the band |
|---|---|---|
| Up to EUR 50,000 | 4% | EUR 2,000 |
| EUR 50,000.01 to 200,000 | 3% | EUR 6,500 |
| EUR 200,000.01 to 350,000 | 1% | EUR 8,000 |
| EUR 350,000.01 to 500,000 | 0.5% | EUR 8,750 |
| Above EUR 500,000 | 0.25% | EUR 12,500 cap reached at EUR 2,000,000 |
Three quick calculations. A painting sold for EUR 30,000 carries 4% of EUR 30,000, which is EUR 1,200. At EUR 120,000 you add 4% of EUR 50,000 (EUR 2,000) and 3% of EUR 70,000 (EUR 2,100) for EUR 4,100, or 3.4% of the price. At EUR 600,000 the total is 2,000 + 4,500 + 1,500 + 750 + 250, so EUR 9,000, or 1.5% of the price. The more expensive the work, the lighter the relative weight.
When it applies, and when it falls away
The trigger is a resale by or through an art market professional: a gallery, an auction house, a dealer, a broker. A sale between two private individuals with no professional involved falls outside it. The artist's own first sale is not a resale and is not caught.
Three thresholds and exceptions matter. Below a resale price of EUR 2,000 nothing is due. Nothing is due either when the resale happens within three years of buying directly from the artist and the price does not exceed EUR 10,000. And protection ends 70 years after the artist's death, so a work by an author who died longer ago carries no royalty.
The last point helps in a mixed collection. A lot combining an old work and a living artist's work is not treated as a block: the right is computed work by work, each with its own cap.
Who pays and who reports
The economic burden falls on the seller. As to the obligation to pay, the law targets the art market professionals involved in the sale, and their liability is joint. In a public sale the public officer enters the chain as well. Declarations go through the electronic platform e-Resale Right (resaleright.be), set up by SABAM in consultation with SOFAM.
The resale right is settled per work and per sale, and the professional who handles the sale is jointly liable for it. The sale mandate or the auction house's terms should therefore state plainly who advances it and how it is passed on. If the contract is silent, you find out later in the net price you receive.
Whatever the price, the royalty never exceeds EUR 12,500 per work, and that cap is only reached at a sale price of EUR 2,000,000. For most private collections the realistic range runs from a few hundred to a few thousand euros.
What it changes in an exit calculation
When you price the resale of a work, the resale right belongs with the selling costs, next to the intermediary's commission. It is worth setting beside the tax on the gain, which depends on who the seller is (a private individual managing his wealth normally, a company, a professional). The exact accounting and tax treatment of this cost, including its effect on a company's result, should be confirmed with the company's accountant before the sale.
On the buying side the logic is the same in reverse: a work by a living artist, or one who died less than 70 years ago, will carry this cost on the way out. For a long holding period, it belongs in the expected net return.
Frequently asked questions
What is the resale right rate in Belgium?
The rate declines by band: 4% up to EUR 50,000, 3% from EUR 50,000.01 to 200,000, 1% from EUR 200,000.01 to 350,000, 0.5% from EUR 350,000.01 to 500,000 and 0.25% above that. The total is capped at EUR 12,500 per work.
From what price is the resale right due?
It is due from a resale price of EUR 2,000. It also does not apply to a resale made within three years of buying directly from the artist, as long as the price does not exceed EUR 10,000.
Who has to pay the resale right on a resale?
The cost is borne by the seller, but the art market professionals involved in the sale must report and pay it, jointly. A sale between private individuals with no professional involved is not covered.
The first meeting is for placing the resale right inside the full exit calculation for a collection, with the costs and tax that fit your situation. It does not replace the advice of a tax lawyer or certified accountant on a specific sale.