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How much property tax do you pay, and what are surcharges (opcentiemen)?

Property tax (onroerende voorheffing, précompte immobilier) is the annual tax on a home or land. It starts from the cadastral income (KI), indexed with the coefficient 2.3000 in 2026, at a base rate of 3.97% in Flanders and 1.25% in Brussels and Wallonia. On top come the surcharges of the municipality and the province, in Brussels of the agglomeration: they make up most of the amount. Whoever owns the property on 1 January receives the tax bill for the whole year.

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The formula

Property tax = KI × indexation coefficient × base rate × (1 + surcharges / 100).

An example in Flanders, with a KI of €1,000 and 1,000 surcharges of municipality and province together: €1,000 × 2.3 × 3.97% = €91.31, times 11 gives €1,004.41 a year, before reductions.

A purchase involves other points too, such as the certificates required for a sale and registration duties by region. What a report on an address costs is listed under Perceelscan pricing. You can work out the taxes on a purchase for free with the registration duties calculator.

Surcharges by municipality

Each municipality and each province sets its own surcharges, every year. So the same home can cost much more in one municipality than in the next. The Flemish Tax Administration publishes the list for the Flemish municipalities, Brussels Taxation the one for the 19 Brussels municipalities.

In 2026 the Flemish municipalities with a single rate levy between 472 and 1,417 surcharges (median 913); the provinces between 148.47 and 214.52. A few municipalities have several rates: the tax bill says which one applies to a home.

In Brussels the 19 municipalities levy between 2,440 and 4,191 surcharges, and the agglomeration 989.

For the Walloon municipalities we found no open list: the surcharges are on the tax bill and in the municipality’s tax regulations.

Reductions

Each region has its own reductions. In Flanders, among others, 25% for a modest home (the home where you are registered, if your total KI in Flanders is no more than €745), an amount per child from two children and a reduction for a person with a disability. Brussels and Wallonia have their own rules: check them with the region’s tax administration.

What does this mean if you are buying a house?

Whoever owns the property on 1 January pays the authorities for the whole year. Between seller and buyer the notary usually divides it by the date of the deed: with a deed on 1 October the buyer bears 3/12. Ask the seller for the latest tax bill: it shows the KI and the amount.

The municipality also levies a surcharge on the personal income tax of its residents, a percentage the FPS Finance publishes each year per municipality. It too differs from one municipality to the next.

What cadastral income is and where to find it: see What is cadastral income?.

What the Perceelscan shows

Section 16 of the report calculates property tax with the KI you enter and the surcharges of the address’s municipality, already filled in for Flanders and Brussels; in Wallonia you enter them yourself. Section 15 sets the surcharges and the municipal income tax surcharge next to those of the region. See the sample report.

Work it out with your cadastral income and your municipality’s surcharges in the free property tax calculator.

Do I pay property tax in the year I buy?

The tax bill goes to whoever owned the property on 1 January, usually the seller. At the deed you pay back your share of the year; the notary works it out.

What are surcharges (opcentiemen)?

Supplements of the municipality and the province (in Brussels the agglomeration) on the region’s base rate. 100 surcharges equal the base rate once.

Why does property tax differ between municipalities?

Because each municipality and province sets its own surcharges, and the KI differs per home. The base rate is the same across the region.

Sources

Check it for your address

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