Rental yield calculator for Belgium: gross and net (2026)
What does a Belgian buy-to-let really return? The gross yield in the listing says little: registration duty, notary costs, maintenance, vacancy and property tax all take their bite. This calculator computes both figures — the gross yield investors use to compare properties, and the net yield on what the purchase actually costs you.
It uses the 2026 registration duty per region, knows the VAT regime for new builds (21%), and — uniquely — can optionally show what remains after Belgian personal income tax on your rental income.
The bare price, excluding all costs.
Estimate including notary fee and administrative costs — adjust if you know the exact amount.
4% is about two weeks of vacancy per year, or one month every two years.
Maintenance, insurance and management; 15% is a common rule of thumb.
The amount on your annual property-tax bill. Leave empty if unknown — the net yield will then be slightly optimistic.
Don’t know it yet? Calculate it with the property tax calculator.
Enter the purchase price and monthly rent to see your yield.
Proproll tracks rent, costs and yield per property automatically — so you always know how each investment performs.
Start your 60-day free trialHow is rental yield calculated?
The gross rental yield is the simplest measure: gross annual rent divided by the bare purchase price. An apartment of € 250,000 renting at € 950 per month yields € 11,400 ÷ € 250,000 = 4.56% gross. Deliberately without costs: that keeps the figure comparable to listings and investor talk.
The net rental yield corrects both sides of the fraction. Above the line: annual rent minus vacancy, minus maintenance, insurance and management costs, minus property tax. Below the line: the total acquisition cost — purchase price plus registration duty or VAT, notary and deed costs, and any renovation budget. That same apartment quickly drops from 4.56% gross to around 2.6% net. The gap is not a rounding error: it is exactly the difference between a listing and an investment.
Both figures are before personal income tax, as the sector quotes them. What the tax office charges depends on your personal situation — that is what the optional after-tax section at the bottom of the calculator is for.
Registration duty per region and VAT on new builds
For an existing property you pay sale duty on the purchase price in 2026: 12% in Flanders and 12.5% in Wallonia and Brussels. The reduced rates — 2% in Flanders and 3% in Wallonia for the sole owner-occupied home, the Brussels abatement — require you to live there yourself, so they never apply to a rental property. The calculator therefore always uses the standard rate.
A new build bought from a developer falls under the VAT regime: 21% VAT instead of registration duty. Since 2011 that includes the land, as long as land and construction come from the same seller — the usual case in property development. If you buy the land from a separate seller or via a separate deed, you pay sale duty on the land value and VAT only on the construction; the calculator has a dedicated switch for that.
For residential letting that VAT is not deductible — renting to private tenants is VAT-exempt, so you recover nothing. The full 21% is a genuine acquisition cost, which is precisely why the net yield of a new build is often lower than the gross figure suggests.
Did you buy at a special rate, via shares, or with an abatement? Tick "I already know my purchase costs" and enter the actual amount — the calculator then uses your figure instead of the computed duties.
Which costs belong in an honest net yield?
Vacancy is the cost almost everyone forgets: between two tenants a month without income slips by quickly, every few years. The calculator defaults to 4% of annual rent — one month every two years — and you can adjust that percentage freely.
For maintenance, repairs, insurance and management, 15% of gross annual rent is a common rule of thumb for a property in good condition. An older property or high tenant turnover justifies a higher percentage.
The onroerende voorheffing is the annual regional property tax; you find the amount on the assessment you receive each year. If you leave it empty, the calculator computes without it — making the net yield slightly optimistic.
And what remains after tax?
When renting to a private tenant who lives in the property, Belgium does not tax the actual rent but the indexed cadastral income increased by 40% — usually far more favourable. In the after-tax section, enter the cadastral income and your municipality, and the calculator deducts the personal income tax from the net annual proceeds and recomputes the yield.
If your tenant uses the property professionally, the actual rent is taxed and the bill is often several times higher. For those scenarios the calculator points you to our rental income tax calculator.
What this calculator does not do
The calculator deliberately leaves financing out: the return on equity of a mortgaged purchase (cash-on-cash) depends on your loan and measures your leverage, not the property. Capital appreciation, rent indexation over the years and resale costs are also out of scope. The result is an indicative snapshot at 2026 rates, not investment advice.