For home buyers
How much can I borrow for a home?
Enter your gross monthly salaries, the interest rate and the term. We calculate your net salary and assume a monthly payment of one third of your net income, the Wikifin rule of thumb. Adding your own funds also shows your purchase budget. This is an approximation: Belgium has no statutory table, the bank decides.
How much can I borrow?
| Breakdown | Amount |
|---|
Explanation: how much can I borrow for a home?
In Belgium there is no statutory table for how much you may borrow. Each bank assesses itself whether you can repay the loan. A commonly used rule of thumb, also from Wikifin (FSMA): your monthly repayment should preferably not exceed one third of your net income. If you have other loans, those repayments are deducted as well.
The bank also looks at the loan-to-value: the loan divided by the value of the home. The National Bank (NBB) expects banks to limit loans above 90% of the value. For first-time buyers, 35% of new loans may exceed 90%, of which at most 5% above 100%. For other buyers it is 20%, and not above 100%. A loan above 90% with a monthly payment above 50% of your income is considered risky.
The difference between the price and the loan, plus the registration duties and the notary fees, you pay with your own funds. In Flanders you pay 2% registration tax on your only own home in 2026, in Wallonia 3%. In Brussels it is 12.5%, but you pay nothing on the first €200,000 if the price is not higher than €600,000.
Frequently asked questions
How much can we borrow with €3,500 and €2,800 gross a month?
Net that is about €2,400.40 and €2,220.28: together €4,620.68 a month. One third of that is €1,540.23 a month. At 3.5% interest over 25 years you can borrow about €309,480 with that, over 20 years about €266,872. Salaried employees, full time, no dependent children and no other loans.
Is one third of your income a legal rule?
No. It is a rule of thumb, which Wikifin of the FSMA also uses. Banks look at your whole situation: what you have left after the repayment, your household, your other costs and your own contribution. Under More options you can enter a different percentage.
How much of my own money do I need?
At least the difference between the price and the loan, plus the registration duties and the notary fees. A home of €350,000 in Flanders with a loan of €309,480: €40,520 plus €7,000 registration tax (2%), together €47,520, excluding notary fees. Enter your own funds to see straight away how much you still need to borrow.
May I borrow more than 90% of the value?
Sometimes. The NBB expects banks to limit loans above 90%. For first-time buyers, 35% of new loans may exceed 90%, of which at most 5% above 100%. For other buyers it is 20%, and not above 100%. Whether you are one of them is up to the bank.
How much registration duty do I pay?
For your only own home in 2026: 2% in Flanders (the Flemish government announced 3% from 2027), 3% in Wallonia. In Brussels 12.5%, but nothing on the first €200,000 if the amount is not higher than €600,000. Conditions apply, for example that you will live there yourself. On a new-build home you pay VAT instead of registration duties.
Why does the bank give a different amount?
Each bank has its own rules. It sometimes also takes into account your holiday pay and year-end bonus, a different term, or looks at what is left for your household after the repayment. This calculator is an approximation.
Note: indication, not mortgage advice
This calculation is an indication, not mortgage advice; the lender decides. In Belgium there is no statutory table for how much you may borrow: each bank assesses your repayment capacity itself, within the NBB’s expectations. This calculator uses a rule of thumb and is therefore an approximation. Assumptions: salaried employees with a fixed full-time salary, fixed interest rate, fixed monthly repayment. No rights can be derived from this result.
Something wrong or missing? Let us know
Sources & values used
| Item | Amount | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Net salary per partner | Gross-to-net calculation engine: 13.07% social security, work bonus, special social security contribution; excluding holiday pay and year-end bonus | RSZ/ONSS |
| Withholding tax | key formula from 1-1-2026 (single, children with partner 1) | approximation |
| Monthly payment | one third of net income, minus other loans (adjustable) | Wikifin rule of thumb, not a legal standard |
| Risky segment | loan above 90% of the value and monthly payment above 50% of disposable income: at most 5% of new loans | NBB |
| Loan-to-value (LTV) | threshold 90% (own home); first-time buyers: 35% of loans may exceed it, of which at most 5% above 100%; other buyers 20%, not above 100% | NBB |
| Loan | fixed monthly instalment; monthly rate = (1 + annual rate)^(1/12) − 1 | calculation rule |
| Registration duties Flanders | 2% for the only own home (deed in 2026; 3% announced from 2027), otherwise 12% | Flanders |
| Registration duties Brussels | 12.5%; no duties on the first €200,000 if the amount is at most €600,000 | Brussels Taxation |
| Registration duties Wallonia | 3% for the only own home (since 1-1-2025), otherwise 12.5% | Wallonie.be |
| Own funds and purchase budget | purchase budget = loan based on income + own funds; still to borrow = purchase price + registration duties − own funds (not below €0); own funds do not change the loan | calculation rule |
| Savings | at least enough for the additional costs: registration duties, notary fees, deed costs | Wikifin |
| Not included | notary fees, costs of the mortgage deed, mortgage protection and home insurance, holiday pay and year-end bonus, regional conditions | note |
- NBB – Thresholds and tolerance margins of the prudential expectations for new mortgage loans (LTV, DSTI) (in Dutch)
- NBB – Macroprudential report 2026 (prudential expectations for mortgage loans maintained, PDF) (in Dutch)
- Wikifin (FSMA) – How much can you borrow to buy a property? (preferably no more than one third of your income) (in Dutch)
- Wikifin (FSMA) – What budget do you need to become a home owner? (savings at least for the additional costs) (in Dutch)
- Vlaanderen.be – Reduced rate of sales duty for the purchase of the only own home (2%) (in Dutch)
- Brussels-Capital Region – Allowance on registration duties (12.5%, first €200,000 exempt up to €600,000) (in Dutch)
- Wallonie.be – Fiscalité immobilière: droits d'enregistrement habitation propre et unique 3% (depuis le 1er janvier 2025) (in French)
- Social Security (socialsecurity.be) – Which contributions does an employer pay? (incl. 13.07% employee, structural reduction) (in Dutch)
- RSZ/ONSS – Administrative instructions: work bonus (amounts from 1 September 2026) (in Dutch)
- FPS Finance – Calculating withholding tax (key formula from 1 January 2026, Annex III Royal Decree/ITC 92, Belgian Official Gazette 29-12-2025) (in Dutch)
- RSZ/ONSS – Administrative instructions: special social security contribution (in Dutch)
Checked on 8 October 2026.