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Published on 28 October 20267 min read
Cadastral income in Belgium: meaning and tax
The Immolytics editorial team
Property income is what a property earns you: either the rent you collect or the cadastral income, a theoretical amount set by the tax administration. In Belgium it goes into your personal income tax return and it is the base of the property tax, which is a regional tax. The exact rules depend on how you use the property and on the Region.
What does property income cover?
Property income means the money a built or unbuilt property brings to its owner, or the amount the administration assigns to it in theory. Two notions are often mixed up. The first is real income, which is the rent you actually receive. The second is cadastral income, which is a value set by the State.
This difference is the starting point for everything else. An owner who lives in their own home receives no rent, yet the home still has a cadastral income. A landlord receives rent, but the tax office does not always tax that rent. Depending on the case, it uses the cadastral income, the rent, or another base set by law.
In practice, property income comes in a few forms:
- the cadastral income of a home you live in yourself;
- the cadastral income of a home let to a private tenant who lives there;
- the rent of a property let to a company or a professional;
- the income from land, a garage or an outbuilding;
- some miscellaneous income, such as subletting or the transfer of a right of use.
Each situation follows its own rules. Before you calculate anything, you need to know which category your property belongs to.
Cadastral income: what it is and how to find it
Cadastral income is an average, theoretical yearly rental income. It is set by the cadastre administration within the federal tax authority, the FPS Finance. It reflects neither the rent you collect nor the price at which you could sell. It describes what a comparable property would have earned at an old reference date, and it is then indexed.
This explains a point that is often misunderstood. Two houses with the same current value can have very different cadastral incomes, because their location, size or condition were not assessed at the same time. Cadastral income is therefore not a measure of market value.
Where to find your cadastral income
Your cadastral income appears on several documents you may already have:
- the property tax notice sent every year;
- the purchase deed signed at the notary;
- the cadastral record, available in your personal space on MyMinfin;
- the tax return, in the section on real estate.
If you want the cadastral income of a property you have not yet bought, the seller or the notary can give it to you. Do not confuse the non-indexed cadastral income with the indexed one. Tax is based on the indexed amount.
When it can change
Cadastral income is reviewed after major works such as an extension, a new build or a split into apartments. It is also indexed on a regular basis. An owner who extends a home without reporting it risks a correction. If you have doubts about a heavy renovation, ask the cadastre before you file your return.
How property income is taxed in Belgium
In Belgium, property income is generally hit by two different taxes: the property tax, due every year, and personal income tax, calculated on your return. The first is regional and the second is federal. You need to be clear about who collects what.
Property tax
The property tax is a yearly tax calculated from the indexed cadastral income. It is set by the Region where the property is located: Flanders, Wallonia or Brussels-Capital. Rates, possible reductions (for example for dependent children or for certain homes) and procedures differ from one Region to another. A rule that applies in Flanders does not automatically apply in Wallonia or in Brussels. Municipalities and provinces can also add surcharges. This is why the bill for the same type of property varies from one municipality to another.
Income tax
In the federal tax return, the treatment depends on how the property is used:
- If you live in the property, the rule on your own home that applies in your Region is used. It has changed in recent years, so check the current situation in your Region.
- If you let to a private tenant who lives there, tax in principle starts from the indexed cadastral income, increased according to a rule set by law, and not from the real rent.
- If you let to a company or a self-employed person for professional use, the rent received is generally the base, and you may be able to deduct some costs.
For the details on percentages, allowances and ceilings, check the FPS Finance website or ask an accountant. We do not give figures here that we cannot source.
Declaring rental income, step by step
To declare rental income, you fill in the real estate section of the return, through Tax-on-web or the paper form. You state the type of letting, the cadastral income and, where the law requires it, the rent. The right box depends on the tenant and on the use of the property.
Here is a simple method.
- Gather the lease, the property tax notice and the rent receipts or statements.
- Identify the tenant: a private person who lives there, a company, or a self-employed person who works there.
- Take the indexed cadastral income from your property tax notice.
- Enter the data in the right section of the return.
- Keep proof of any deductible costs, such as certain interest or management costs, when the taxable base is the rent.
One point needs care: shared lets, subletting and furnished lets. These cases follow specific rules, sometimes different from an unfurnished let. If your situation is mixed, get help before you fill in the return, because a wrong box changes the taxable base.
The lease must also follow the rules of the Region, notably on the energy performance certificate. In Wallonia, the EPC (PEB) is required when a home is sold and when it is let, with no renovation deadline. Flanders has renovation obligations triggered by a sale, which is not the case in Brussels or in Wallonia. Brussels sets dated performance targets per home, unrelated to a sale. These rules affect the cost of owning a rental property, even though they do not change the definition of property income.
Cadastral income, rent and market value: keep them apart
Cadastral income says almost nothing about the resale value of your property. To know what a house or an apartment is worth today, look at recent sales in the municipality, the size, the condition and the energy performance of the home.
An investor usually compares three figures. Cadastral income is used to calculate tax. The rent actually obtained measures the yield. The purchase price measures the upfront effort. Only the rent and the price let you judge profitability. Cadastral income mainly helps you anticipate the tax burden.
To place the price of a property, start from local official data. The property prices page is the entry point by municipality. You can compare very different markets: Ixelles and Watermael-Boitsfort in Brussels, Wavre and Braine-l'Alleud in Walloon Brabant, or Arlon further south. For an overview, see the Brussels region or Walloon Brabant.
Property types are not equal either. Look for example at houses in Uccle or apartments in Rhode-Saint-Genèse, and at the neighbouring municipality of Linkebeek to see the gap between two close municipalities. Rhode-Saint-Genèse also has its own municipality page.
If you want to value your property, our guide to estimating the value of a property explains the approach, and the article on how to estimate a property's value completes it. For a new build or a construction project, the term property developer is defined in our glossary.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find my cadastral income?
You find it on your property tax notice, in your purchase deed or on your cadastral record through MyMinfin. Check that you read the indexed amount, because that is the one used as the tax base.
How is property income taxed in Belgium?
It is taxed through the property tax, set by the Region, and through personal income tax, depending on how the property is used. The base can be the cadastral income or the rent, and the rules vary by Region and by type of letting.
Is cadastral income the same as my property's value?
No, cadastral income is a theoretical rental income set by the administration. It does not reflect the sale price, which depends on the local market, the condition of the property and its energy performance.
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