Investing in property
in France from Belgium

French banks apply the HCSF standard to Belgian residents: a 35% debt ratio, insurance included, and a maximum term of 25 years. Your income in euros spares them the exchange-rate risk, but not all of them accept non-residents, and some ask for a very high down payment: before joining ImmoPourExpat, our member in Belgium had been asked for a 35% down payment, excluding notary fees. The choice of banks and the presentation of the application make the difference.

Also read: which banks lend to expats and how much down payment to plan for.

The new treaty signed in 2021 has not entered into force: the 1964 one still applies. Above €50,000 of taxable capital gain, a surcharge of 2% to 6% is added in France. The capital gain may be exempt up to €150,000 if you are a French or EU national, have been domiciled in France for at least two consecutive years and sell no later than 31 December of the 10th year following your departure. The former main home is exempt if you sell it no later than 31 December of the year following your departure, without having let or lent it in the meantime. If you plan to buy through a SCI, have the structure validated by a Belgian adviser: its treatment in Belgium is debated.

Also read: how the rents of a non-resident are taxed.

Careful, in Belgium: the treatment of a French SCI is debated, in particular since the reform of the Cayman tax. Have the structure validated by a Belgian adviser before buying; holding directly remains the simplest.

The right choice depends on your project and your country: compare with the rental income tax calculator.

Since 2021, a property located abroad is assigned a Belgian cadastral income. Your home in France is declared in your Belgian return on this basis if it is let to an individual as a dwelling or if it is not let, and on the rent if it is let for professional use. Thanks to the treaty, this income is exempt, but it enters into the calculation of your Belgian tax rate. Also notify the SPF Finances of the purchase, letting or sale of the property, and declare your French bank accounts in your return and to the Central Contact Point of the National Bank of Belgium. For furnished lets, the Belgian authority considers that the share of the rent that pays for the furniture is not property income and may therefore be taxed in Belgium. A first judgment went against it and the case is on appeal: have this point checked by a Belgian adviser before choosing furnished.

France and Belgium signed a new tax treaty on 9 November 2021 that will replace the 1964 one. As at 3 November 2026, it has not entered into force. The day it applies, Belgium will exempt your French property income only to the extent that it is actually taxed in France. For a property held directly and declared in France, the effect should be limited; we will update this page when it comes into force.

The steps of the ImmoPourExpat method, from the first call to letting →