Brussels city tax 2026: how much per room per night, and how do you file it?

Short answer: since 1 January 2026, the Brussels city tax is €5 per overnight stay per unit of accommodation (a bedroom or any space set up for sleeping). For home-based lodging ("logement chez l'habitant / logies op domicilie") it is €4, and for campsites €3. The municipal surcharges are already included in those amounts. You register your property in MyTax and file a return every month with the number of overnight stays per unit.

The key difference with Ghent or Antwerp: Brussels charges per room, not per person. A couple and a solo traveller cost you the same tax. Below you'll find what changed in 2026, how filing works, which exemptions apply, and how to pass the tax on to your guests correctly.

What exactly is the Brussels city tax?

Its official name is the regional tax on tourist accommodation establishments. The Brussels-Capital Region levies it, the municipalities add surcharges, and Brussels Fiscality collects the whole amount. For you as an operator there is one amount and one portal: MyTax.

The tax is owed by the operator of any place where tourists stay one or more nights for payment, regularly or occasionally. That covers hotels, but also guest rooms, B&Bs and holiday rentals.

The 2026 rates

According to the official be.brussels page, surcharges included, per overnight stay per unit of accommodation:

Whether your guest rooms fall under the standard rate or under home-based lodging depends on how your accommodation is registered. If in doubt, ask via the Contact & Help section in MyTax before you change your prices.

Worked example: per room, not per person

You let two rooms at the standard rate. A family books both rooms for three nights.

• 2 rooms × 3 nights × €5 = €30 city tax
• Had they taken one room: 1 × 3 × €5 = €15, whether one or two people slept in it.

Ghent and Antwerp charge per person. How that works is explained in our article on tourist tax in Belgium for B&Bs. If you operate in both regions, set up the calculation differently per property.

Registration: within 31 days of opening

1. Register your property with the registration form in MyTax, within 31 days of opening. You receive a confirmation in MyTax.
2. Separately, register your accommodation with Brussels Economy and Employment.

According to be.brussels, late registration can cost a fine of €1,000 per unit of accommodation. With three rooms, that adds up quickly.

Monthly return and payment

• Every month you file a return in MyTax for the previous month, with the total number of overnight stays per unit.
• The deadline is 31 days after the last day of the month.
• After your return, MyTax creates an advance payment request under "My documents", usually within 48 hours. There is no separate letter or email, so check it yourself.
• Late payment adds a 2% penalty on the unpaid amount.
• After the tax year (1 January to 31 December) you receive an assessment with the final balance.

Watch out: if you skip a return, the tax is assessed ex officio as if your property was fully booked all month. Even in a quiet month, file on time, even if it's only a few nights.

Exemptions

• Stays longer than 90 days do not count as tourist stays: no city tax is due.
• Minors travelling with a school group: their nights are not taxable. Attach the reduction form to your monthly return, completed and signed by you and by the group leader.
• Social tourism residential centres are exempt.

Passing the city tax on to guests

The tax is owed by you, the operator. Whether you charge it separately or include it in your rate is up to you. Two things to know:

• Airbnb does not collect city tax in Belgium for you, and Booking.com does not remit it either. Filing always stays with you. More in Airbnb and city tax in Belgium.
• If you charge an amount per room per night, set it up the same way on every channel. A per-person amount is wrong in Brussels: a couple would pay double.

How to set it up in BedFlow PMS

In BedFlow PMS you set the city tax with a tax set under Settings → Taxes. For the tourist tax, choose the calculation € per room per night and enter the rate (5 or 4). Your website, bookings, quotes and invoices then all charge the same amount. On the invoice, the city tax appears as a separate line at 0% VAT, apart from the accommodation at 12%. If the tax is already in your price, switch on Incl. in room price?. Step by step: see the guide VAT & tourist tax.

Do you also have a property outside Brussels? That property gets its own tax set with its own municipality's rules. Bruges, for example, levies its own tourist tax per person per night; the current rate is in the City of Bruges tax regulation.

In short

• €5 per room per night (standard), €4 for home-based lodging, since 1 January 2026.
• Register in MyTax within 31 days of opening, or risk a €1,000 fine per room.
• File every month within 31 days, even in a quiet month.
• Stays over 90 days and minors in school groups are not taxable.

The official rules and forms are on be.brussels. Want your city tax to be right on every channel and every invoice automatically? Try BedFlow PMS free for 30 days, no card details needed. Or check our pricing first.