The second-residence tax is a municipal levy on a home you own but do not use as your official domicile, and do not rent out. It varies by commune, generally between 500 and 1,500 euros a year, and comes on top of the ordinary property tax (We Invest, 2026).
A second residence is any dwelling you own that is not your registered main home: a holiday flat at the coast, a weekend house in the Ardennes, or a pied-a-terre kept for occasional use. Belgian municipalities may impose a dedicated annual tax on such properties, and many do, precisely because the owner uses local services without being domiciled there. The amount is set by each commune and typically falls between 500 and 1,500 euros per year (We Invest, 2026).
This municipal tax is separate from, and additional to, the two federal-level charges a second home already carries. First, you keep paying the annual property tax (precompte immobilier) on the indexed cadastral income, with no reductions of the kind a modest main home might enjoy (We Invest, 2026). Second, for a second home you occupy yourself and do not let, you must declare it in your personal income tax on the basis of the indexed cadastral income increased by 40%, which is then taxed (We Invest, 2026). If instead you rent it to a private individual for housing, you are taxed on the indexed cadastral income plus 40% rather than on the actual rent, a quirk that often makes Belgian residential letting attractive.
The counter-intuitive point for investors is that the commune, not the region, drives this specific tax, so two identical apartments a few kilometres apart can carry very different second-residence bills depending on local policy. Coastal and tourist municipalities in particular tend to levy higher rates, and some have been increasing them. Before buying a holiday property, it is worth checking the target commune’s tax regulation, not just the purchase price.
Remember too that acquiring a second home means the 12.5% standard registration duty in Wallonia, not the 3% own-home rate, since the reduced rate is reserved for a sole and own home (Wallonie.be, 2025). The tax picture of a second residence is therefore a stack: higher purchase duty, ongoing property tax, income-tax on the cadastral income, and the municipal second-residence levy.
At a glance
| Charge | Basis | Typical level |
|---|---|---|
| Municipal second-residence tax | Set by the commune | 500 to 1,500 euros a year (We Invest, 2026) |
| Property tax (precompte immobilier) | Indexed cadastral income | No second-home reduction |
| Personal income tax (own use) | Indexed cadastral income +40% | Taxed at your rate |
| Personal income tax (let to private) | Indexed cadastral income +40% | Not on actual rent |
| Registration duty on purchase (Wallonia) | Purchase value | 12.5% (Wallonie.be, 2025) |