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Property tax
Property tax (PI) is a tax on any property located in Belgium. It falls due annually for a tax year running from 1st January to 31st December. The property tax cannot be passed on to a tenant unless there is a commercial agreement with him. |
The PI is equal to a percentage of the indexed cadastral income of the property, applicable on the first of January. To calculate it you need to know the regional tax rate plus the provincial and district additions. There is no harmonization at national level for the percentage of cadastral income that will be charged as property tax. Each district defines its own percentages in addition to the property tax.
To download the Property Tax declaration form (PDF format) from the Federal Public Finances Department, click here.
There are three headings under which you can ask the administration to reduce your property tax:
- For a "small" dwelling. Where the cadastral income does not exceed 745 euros before indexing, a 25% reduction in property tax can be obtained provided that the applicant is also the occupier. The reduction is 50% for the first 5 years of occupation of a small dwelling built or purchased when new without the benefit of an allowance for building or on purchase.
- A disabled person can obtain a reduction of 10%.
- The head of a family with at least two dependent children can obtain a reduction of 10% per child and 20% per dependent disabled person in Brussels and in Flanders. In Wallonia the reduction is a lump sum, namely 125 euros for each child (250 euros for a disabled person).
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To download the application form for a reduction in property tax (PDF format) from the Federal Public Finances Department, click here.
Pay less property tax for an energy-saving new build
New builds for which a building energy efficiency certificate is issued as from 2008 are granted relief on property tax as from the tax assessment year 2009. The reduction is allocated automatically, and the owner does not need to submit an application in respect of this. The government decided this on 23 May 2008.
For homes that obtain an 'E-peil' energy analysis rating of 60, the owner is given a discount of 20 per cent for ten years on its annual property tax. If the premises are so energy-efficient that the property has the 'E-peil' energy analysis rating of 40, then the family itself is granted a reduction of 40 per cent.
For non-residential buildings tax relief of 20 per cent will be granted if the new build achieves an E-peil energy analysis rating of up to a maximum of E70. It is also the case that if the building achieves the 'E-peil' energy analysis rating of 40, the owner is given a reduction of 40 per cent.
The discount only applies in respect of a complete new build. For an extension on an existing property that satisfies the 'E-peil' energy analysis ratings, no reduction in property tax is granted.
If a private individual sells his/her new build property within ten years, then the purchaser will take advantage of the reduction and will do so for the remaining number of tax assessment years of the term of ten years originally awarded.
Useful addresses (French and Dutch sites)
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