Belgian tax return 2026: do Indian NRE, NRO, PPF and LIC accounts have to be declared?
Do Belgian residents declare Indian accounts? Yes: NRE, NRO and PPF may require reporting and interest tax; LIC is declared separately.
Yes. A Belgian tax resident must generally declare foreign bank accounts and foreign movable income, including Indian interest income from NRE, NRO or PPF-type accounts. A foreign LIC life insurance policy is treated differently: it is not normally reported to the CPC/PCC, but it must be mentioned in the Belgian tax return as a foreign individual life insurance policy. The exact tax impact depends on the person’s figures and situation.
The figures below are illustrative and relate mainly to income year 2025 / assessment year 2026, with a regularisation issue for earlier Belgian tax returns.
Belgium taxes residents on worldwide income
A person who is a Belgian tax resident is taxable in Belgium on worldwide income. This includes foreign interest, dividends, investment income and, in some cases, income linked to foreign life insurance products.
This principle applies even if the account or investment is located outside Belgium, even if the foreign country gives favourable tax treatment, and even if the amounts are relatively modest.
There are two separate obligations:
the existence of foreign accounts must be reported;
the income generated by those accounts must be declared if it is taxable in Belgium.
The balance of the foreign account is not taxed merely because the account exists. The reporting obligation and the income tax obligation are separate.
Indian NRE and NRO accounts: foreign accounts for Belgian tax purposes
Indian NRE and NRO accounts should generally be treated as foreign bank accounts for Belgian tax purposes.
This means they should normally be reported:
once per account to the Central Point of Contact of the National Bank of Belgium, often called the CPC/PCC;
every year in the Belgian personal income tax return for each year in which the taxpayer held the account.
For the Belgian tax return relating to income year 2025 / assessment year 2026, foreign accounts are mentioned in Box XIII, section A, under code 1075-89 on the preparatory form.
This applies even if the account was opened before moving to Belgium and even if the balance is not very high.
PPF account: a conservative Belgian approach
An Indian Public Provident Fund, or PPF, may receive favourable or exempt treatment in India. That does not automatically mean it is exempt in Belgium.
From a Belgian perspective, a PPF account should be analysed conservatively as a foreign savings or investment account, especially if it is held through an Indian bank, India Post or another financial institution.
A prudent approach is therefore to:
report the PPF account to the CPC/PCC;
mention it as a foreign account in the Belgian tax return;
analyse the annual PPF interest as foreign movable income.
The Belgian regulated savings account exemption should not be assumed to apply to Indian NRE, NRO or PPF interest, because these are not Belgian regulated savings accounts.
LIC life insurance policy: not a bank account, but still reportable in the tax return
An Indian LIC life insurance policy is not treated in the same way as a bank account.
A foreign individual life insurance policy does not normally have to be reported to the CPC/PCC. However, it must be mentioned in the Belgian tax return in the section for foreign individual life insurance policies.
For income year 2025 / assessment year 2026, the official Belgian preparatory document refers to foreign individual life insurance under code 1076-88.
Mentioning the policy does not necessarily mean that tax is due every year. In many cases, the yearly obligation concerns the existence of the foreign policy.
A Belgian tax issue may arise later if there is:
a surrender;
a maturity payout;
a bonus;
a guaranteed return;
a partial withdrawal;
a death benefit.
The tax treatment then depends on the exact LIC product, the policy terms, the duration, the savings or investment component, and whether any Belgian tax deduction was ever claimed.
Wise accounts: check whether there are foreign account details
Wise requires a separate analysis.
If the account is simply held with Wise Europe SA, which is incorporated in Belgium and authorised by the National Bank of Belgium, and if Wise is used only as a technical transfer tool with no balance retained, it is not automatically a foreign bank account for Belgian tax purposes.
However, the answer may change if Wise provides foreign local account details, such as a non-Belgian IBAN or foreign account details in another currency, or if the taxpayer keeps balances there beyond the time strictly necessary for transfers.
By analogy with the Belgian administration’s approach to technical online payment accounts, the key factors are whether the account is linked to professional activity and whether funds remain there beyond a purely technical transfer period.
In practice, Indian NRE, NRO, PPF and LIC items are usually more important than a Wise account used only for short technical transfers.
How Indian interest income may be taxed in Belgium
Foreign interest received without Belgian withholding tax must generally be declared in Belgium as movable income.
Most interest and dividends are taxed at 30%, unless a specific exemption or reduced rate applies.
For example, using illustrative figures:
PPF interest of around 7.1% on approximately €4,800 could produce about €340 of interest per year;
Belgian tax at 30% on that amount would be about €100;
NRE or NRO interest on a balance of around €6,500, at approximately 2.5% to 3%, could produce roughly €160 to €195 of interest per year;
Belgian tax at 30% on that amount would be roughly €50 to €60.
On these illustrative assumptions, the Belgian tax exposure could be around €150 to €160 per full year, before taking into account exact timing, exact exchange rates and any Indian withholding tax.
For a year in which the person became Belgian tax resident during the year, the calculation should be based only on the interest actually credited or received during the Belgian tax residency period. The safest method is to use actual account statements rather than a rough annual estimate.
Indian withholding tax and the Belgium–India tax treaty
If Indian withholding tax was deducted, especially on an NRO account, this should be documented carefully.
Under the Belgium–India double tax treaty, interest may generally be taxed in Belgium as the country of residence, while India may also tax Indian-source interest subject to treaty limitations.
For personal deposit-type interest, the treaty cap is generally 15% in “other cases”. The 10% rate applies to a specific category of interest paid on loans granted by a bank.
If India withholds more than the treaty allows, the correction may need to be handled in India, for example through the bank, a tax residency certificate, Form 10F or an Indian tax return/refund claim. It should not be assumed that Belgium will simply refund excessive Indian withholding tax.
How to correct the 2026 Belgian tax return for income year 2025
For income year 2025 / assessment year 2026, the foreign accounts and income should ideally be declared correctly from the start.
The tax return should generally include:
foreign accounts in Box XIII, section A — code 1075-89;
foreign individual life insurance in Box XIII, section B — code 1076-88;
foreign interest income in Box VII, normally under the category for income without Belgian withholding tax taxable at 30%, typically code 1444-11 for a single taxpayer.
Once the CPC/PCC reporting has been completed, the taxpayer should answer “yes” to the question asking whether the legally required data have been communicated to the Central Point of Contact.
For the 2026 tax return, the standard online filing deadline through MyMinfin is 15 July 2026, and the paper deadline is 30 June 2026. If the return has already been filed online and needs correction, MyMinfin allows one online correction until 15 July 2026, provided the return was filed online or through an authorised channel.
How to regularise earlier Belgian tax returns
If foreign accounts or Indian interest income were omitted from earlier Belgian tax returns, the situation should be regularised proactively.
A practical correction file should include, for each year:
the accounts that should have been declared;
the foreign life insurance policy that should have been mentioned;
the interest amounts to add;
any Indian withholding tax;
the EUR conversion method used.
If the tax assessment notice has already been issued, the ordinary objection period is generally one year from the sending or online availability of the assessment notice. The objection must be motivated and can be filed via MyMinfin or in writing.
If no assessment notice has yet been issued, the taxpayer should contact the competent tax office through MyMinfin and ask for the return to be corrected before assessment.
Even if the formal objection route is not always the perfect technical route for an omission that increases tax, the key point is to make a clear voluntary disclosure through MyMinfin or to the competent tax office.
A voluntary correction should explain that the omission was unintentional, that the relevant foreign accounts have now been reported to the CPC/PCC, and that the taxpayer wants to correct the foreign accounts, the foreign life insurance policy and the related interest income.
Penalty risk if foreign accounts were not declared
The Belgian tax administration may apply fines or tax increases where a tax return is incomplete or incorrect.
There are two possible types of exposure:
a reporting omission, because foreign accounts or foreign life insurance were not mentioned;
a tax omission, because foreign interest income was not declared.
A voluntary correction before an audit or question from the administration is generally much better than waiting. If the annual tax exposure is modest and the correction is complete, documented and proactive, the practical penalty risk may be more manageable, although additional tax, late-payment interest or an administrative fine can still be possible.
Are transfers from Belgium to India taxable?
A transfer of money from Belgium to India is not taxable merely because money is transferred.
If someone sends Belgian salary savings to Indian accounts, that is normally a movement of their own funds, not a new taxable income event.
However, documentation should be kept, including:
Belgian salary slips;
Belgian bank statements showing the origin of the funds;
Wise transfer confirmations;
Indian bank statements showing receipt of the funds.
This documentation is useful if a bank, tax administration or anti-money laundering review later asks where the money came from. It is also useful if funds are later transferred back from India to Belgium, because it helps show that the money represents previously taxed savings rather than new taxable income.
Frequently asked questions
Do Belgian residents have to declare Indian NRE and NRO accounts?
Yes. Indian NRE and NRO accounts should generally be treated as foreign bank accounts. They should be reported to the CPC/PCC and mentioned annually in the Belgian tax return under code 1075-89 for income year 2025 / assessment year 2026.
Is Indian PPF interest taxable in Belgium?
It can be. The fact that PPF interest may be tax-favoured or exempt in India does not automatically exempt it in Belgium. A Belgian tax resident should analyse PPF interest as foreign movable income, usually taxable at 30% unless a specific exception applies.
Does an Indian LIC policy have to be declared to the CPC/PCC?
Normally, no. A foreign individual life insurance policy is not treated like a bank account for CPC/PCC purposes. However, it must be mentioned in the Belgian tax return as foreign individual life insurance, under code 1076-88 for income year 2025 / assessment year 2026.
Do I pay Belgian tax on the balance of my Indian bank account?
No, not merely because the account exists. Belgium does not tax the account balance just because it is held abroad. The reporting obligation concerns the existence of the account, while tax may apply to the income generated by the account, such as interest.
Is a Wise account a foreign account for Belgian tax purposes?
It depends on the exact account details. If Wise is only used through Wise Europe SA as a Belgian technical transfer tool with no retained balance, it is not automatically a foreign account. If Wise provides foreign local account details or holds balances for longer than a technical transfer period, declaring it may be prudent.
What should I do if I forgot to declare Indian accounts in previous Belgian tax returns?
The safest approach is to regularise proactively. Report the relevant accounts to the CPC/PCC, gather the interest statements and withholding tax documents, and submit a voluntary correction or motivated objection through MyMinfin or to the competent tax office.
Sources
FPS Finance — Foreign bank accounts — https://fin.belgium.be/en/private-individuals/international/foreign-income-accounts/accounts
FPS Finance — Foreign income — https://fin.belgium.be/en/private-individuals/international/foreign-income-accounts/income
FPS Finance — Savings and investment income — https://fin.belgium.be/fr/particuliers/declaration-impot/revenus/epargne-placements
FPS Finance — Tax return 2026 and deadlines — https://fin.belgium.be/en/private-individuals/tax-return/tax-submission/tax-return
FPS Finance — Correction after filing — https://fin.belgium.be/fr/particuliers/declaration-impot/apres-declaration
FPS Finance — Tax objection — https://fin.belgium.be/fr/particuliers/declaration-impot/avertissement-extrait-de-role/reclamation
FPS Finance — Preparatory document 2026 — https://fin.belgium.be/sites/default/files/media/documents/doc-preparatoire-partie-1-bxl-2026.pdf
Belgium–India Double Tax Treaty — https://themis.vlaanderen.be/files/1c29925e-d653-11e9-99f3-0242ac1b0003/download
Wise — Regulation of Wise entities — https://wise.com/help/articles/2932693/how-is-wise-regulated-in-each-country-and-region
This article provides a general framework and does not constitute personalised tax advice. Tax rules and filing deadlines can change yearly, and the correct treatment depends on the exact accounts, products, dates, amounts and tax residency situation.
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