Taxes in Belgium for new residents: rates, local tax and your first return

Belgium has the reputation of a high-tax country, and for once the reputation is earned. But the system is also readable, with brackets, a basic allowance and a local surcharge, and many employees never fill a complicated return. Here is how taxes in Belgium work for a newcomer, and where people go wrong in the first year.

When do you start paying taxes in Belgium?

You are an inhabitant of the Kingdom for tax purposes when you establish your home, the place where you actually and durably live, or, failing that, the seat of your wealth. Registration at your commune creates a presumption of residence, which you can contest with evidence. The yardstick is not a six-month rule. If you are married or in a legal cohabitation, the tax home is where the household is established: in principle both partners are residents or neither. In a case of double residence, the tax treaty decides.

Once resident, you pay personal income tax (impôt des personnes physiques) on worldwide income.

What are the rates in 2026?

For income earned in 2026 (tax year 2027):

For income earned in 2025 (tax year 2026), the brackets are 25% up to 16,320 euros, 40% up to 28,800 euros, 45% up to 49,840 euros and 50% above.

The basic tax-free allowance is 11,180 euros for income 2026 and 10,910 euros for income 2025, increased for children or other dependants. It does not remove a bracket: the tax is first calculated on your whole taxable income, then reduced by the tax on the tax-free amount, at the lowest rate of 25%. The communal tax comes on top. Flat professional expenses are deducted before arriving at the taxable income.

What is the communal tax?

A percentage of your federal tax, set each year by your commune and collected with it. The FPS Finance publishes the rates of all communes. It is one reason that two otherwise identical households can pay different amounts. Regional taxes also exist: the property levy, registration duties and circulation tax.

How do taxes in Belgium work in your first year?

1. Register at your commune; your national number doubles as your tax identifier. See the Belgian national number.
2. At work, your employer withholds précompte professionnel, an advance.
3. The year after, you file a return on MyMinfin (Tax-on-web) or on paper, covering Belgian and foreign income. If your situation is simple you may receive a pre-filled simplified return proposal: if the data are correct and complete, you do nothing; otherwise you correct it before the deadline.
4. You receive a tax assessment: refund or balance.

For the return on 2025 income, the deadlines were 30 June 2026 on paper and 15 July 2026 on Tax-on-web (extended to 19 July after a technical incident), and 16 October 2026 for online returns with specific income. Dates change each year; check MyMinfin.

The first return in a new country is where small mistakes become costly: income from two countries, a mid-year arrival, a foreign account. Moovy can help you list the documents and questions for your case, and tell you when a tax adviser is worth paying.

What do you need to file?

Annual pay slips (form 281.10), certificates of foreign income, proof of deductible expenses or those giving a tax reduction (pension savings, childcare, gifts), your national number and access to MyMinfin through your eID, itsme or another digital key.

What are the main traps?

• Thinking you are non-resident in the year of arrival. The test is your actual home, not a six-month rule.
• Forgetting foreign income and accounts. All worldwide income is declared, even income taxable abroad under a treaty. Each foreign account is declared once at the National Bank's central contact point, and every year in your return (section XIII). With a foreign account or foreign income that is not pre-filled, ignore the simplified proposal and file a full return.
• Ignoring the region. Buying a home in Brussels, Flanders or Wallonia costs different duties; see buying property in Belgium.
• Missing the expat regime. If you are recruited from abroad, your employer may be able to reimburse part of your costs tax-free. See Belgium's expat tax regime.

What about treaties and cross-border work?

Belgium has a wide network of tax treaties, including with its neighbours, the UK (Scotland included) and Switzerland; the FPS Finance publishes the list, so check that one exists with your country. The general rule for employment pay is that it is taxed in the state where you work. The Franco-Belgian cross-border regime has been closed to new workers since 1 January 2012. With Luxembourg, the 1970 treaty tolerates up to 34 days a year worked outside the state of employment, for example from home, since the amendment applicable from 1 January 2022. Special cases, such as remote work and pensions, are settled with the FPS Finance or the other country's administration.

Brackets and allowances change every year, and two countries' rules can apply to you at once. Before you take a decision that depends on tax, have your situation confirmed by a tax adviser or an accountant in Belgium.

Retirees should read retire in Belgium; freelancers, freelance in Belgium. For the full first-weeks list, see moving to Belgium.

What counts as income?

Your worldwide income: salary, business profits, pensions, rental income and investment income. Each category has its own rules, and some income is taxed separately. Tax-exempt income under a treaty is still declared, because it affects your rate. If you are an employee with only Belgian income, your return is usually simple. If you have foreign income, a foreign account or a business, expect to complete a full return.

What deductions can you claim?

Flat professional expenses are deducted automatically. You can claim reductions for items such as pension savings, childcare costs and gifts to recognised bodies, with proof. Keep the documents: certificates for these items are issued by the providers each year. A taxpayer with dependants has a higher tax-free allowance.

How is the property tax handled?

Owners pay each year the property levy (précompte immobilier), a regional tax calculated on the cadastral income. Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels-Capital each have their rules. Registration duties are paid once, at purchase. See buying property in Belgium.

What if you earn in two countries?

The treaty between Belgium and the other country decides which taxes which part of your income, and the other country may also have a say. Belgium taxes your worldwide income as a resident but gives relief for double taxation in the ways the treaty provides. The general rule is that employment pay is taxed where you work. Cross-border arrangements with France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Germany each have their features. Your employer or a tax adviser can tell you which applies.

What do you do with your first assessment?

You receive a tax assessment (avertissement-extrait de rôle) showing the final calculation. If it is a refund, it is paid to the account the tax office has for you; if you owe a balance, you have a payment deadline. If you disagree, there is a formal objection procedure with a deadline printed on the assessment. Read it as soon as it arrives.

When should you ask for help?

A professional is worth paying if you have foreign income or accounts, own property abroad, run a business, or are recruited from abroad and may qualify for the expat regime. Taxes in Belgium are high, so errors in either direction cost money. See Belgium's expat tax regime.