How is your Airbnb income taxed in Belgium?

More and more people in Belgium are renting out accommodation on Airbnb. It’s definitely not a bad idea, especially if you have a spare bedroom or a property that’s not being used. However, since 2022, Airbnb has been legally obliged to declare the income of ‘non-professional’ hosts to the tax authorities. What does this mean for you, as a host, and how is your Airbnb income taxed? Find out all you need to know in this article.

Automatic declaration by Airbnb

Do you regularly rent out a room or property via the Airbnb platform? If so, Airbnb is obliged to declare your income to the Belgian tax authorities. To do this, Airbnb uses the  EU data exchange system DAC7, which requires it to share the following information:

👉 Your personal details

👉 Your income, services or Airbnb ‘experiences’ from the previous calendar year

👉 The date you started your activity on Airbnb, or stopped it (if applicable)

This requirement was introduced to tackle abuse and undeclared revenues.

Tax obligations for hosts

If you earn money via Airbnb, you are required to pay tax on that income. In Belgium, you have to pay tax on almost all income, regardless of the source of the earnings. The exact amount of tax you have to pay, and how you declare it depends on your personal (rental) situation.

In addition, your Airbnb income is divided into three categories: income from the rental of the space, income from the rental of furnishings, and income from additional services such as breakfast. 

If you do not split your Airbnb income yourself and opt for an all-inclusive price, the tax authorities will consider that 20% of the income is miscellaneous income and that the remaining 80% comes from renting out the space and furnishings. The latter is broken down as follows: 60% from immovable property (i.e. for the space) and 40% from movable property (i.e. the furnishings).

🏠You rent out accommodation from time to time 

Do you rent out accommodation a few times a year, without any additional services like breakfast or dinner? If so, you must declare this income as income from immovable property and income from movable property.

Income from immovable property

This is income from real estate, such as a house or land, or in this case, the space you rent out via Airbnb. Here, you simply declare the cadastral income. This amount is equal to a percentage of the entire property that you rent out via Airbnb. 

For example, if you rent out 15% of your property via Airbnb, the income from immovable property is calculated as follows:

€150* (15% of the cadastral income of your property) x 2.1763 (index 2024) x 1.4 = €457.02 in income from immovable property. 

This is the amount upon which you will be taxed and which will be added to your total income. Subsequently, you will be taxed according to the progressive tax brackets (25-50%).

Suppose you are taxed through income tax at a rate of 45%, then you would pay €205.66 in tax on your income from immovable property.

*In this example, we take a cadastral income of €1,000.

Income from movable property

The space you put up for rent is furnished – at least for the renter’s sake, we hope it is. You must therefore declare 40% of your income as furnished rental.

You can also add 50% in flat-rate charges, such as compensation for electricity, internet and water, among other things. You then pay 30% tax. 

For example, if you generate €5,000 in income from Airbnb in one year, the income from movable property is calculated as follows:

€5,000 (annual income) x 0.40 (percentage to be declared) x 0.50 (flat-rate expenses you are allowed to report) x 0.30 (tax) = €300 in income from movable property.

So, how much do you earn from renting out your room?

It’s all a bit complicated, isn’t it! To find out exactly how much money you’ll keep from your Airbnb income, take a look at the example below:

Suppose you earn €5,000 a year from renting out accommodation via Airbnb. The tax on income from immovable property in this example is €205.66. The income from movable property would be €300. Meaning that in this specific example, you would keep €4,494.34 of your Airbnb income. 

You enter these two amounts on your tax return: under code 1156/2156 for income from movable property and under code 1106/2106 for income from immovable property.

What happens if you offer additional services?

Do you offer extra services in addition to the room, such as breakfast or cleaning? If so, this income is considered as ‘miscellaneous income’ and is taxed at 33%. Note that this only applies to very occasional income that is received only rarely. 

You declare miscellaneous income in Part II of your tax return, under code 1200/2200.

🏨 You regularly rent out accommodation via Airbnb 

Is your Airbnb income so regular it could be considered a professional income? If so, you should consider becoming self-employed. When you’re self-employed, you pay tax on your income and social security contributions, but you can also deduct business expenses. You enter the expenses incurred on your tax return under code 1201/2201.

You can also combine your self-employed activity with your current job as an employee by opting to become self-employed in a secondary occupation. Do you intend to turn your Airbnb into a real business? If so, click here to read what you need to know about starting up a self-employed business.

What about VAT?

Furnished rentals, which is the case for almost all Airbnb rentals, are still subject to a reduced VAT rate of 6%. 

Since 2022, the law has required all owners of furnished accommodation that is let for less than three months to charge VAT. This applies both to private individuals who rent out their property and to business owners who let out rooms as a professional activity. Both are subject to VAT.

Consequently, those who are self-employed (whether as a natural person or with a company) and in principle covered by the VAT exemption scheme must also charge VAT. For hosts who rent out accommodation via Airbnb, Airbnb automatically charges VAT on the VAT invoice.

Do you need help?

Correctly declaring your Airbnb income to the tax authorities can be a real headache. Remember that Accountable is there to support you. Our experts are at your disposal.