How are DeFi loans taxed in Belgium?

✅ 2026 update: Since 1 January 2026, the Belgian 10% capital gains tax applies to crypto capital gains. For DeFi loans, two things change: (1) any swap or sale that results from a loan is now taxed regardless (0% under normal management has been abolished), and (2) lending interest remains taxed as movable income (roerende inkomsten) at 30%, irrespective of your profile. Read our 2026 guide →

What do we mean by "DeFi loans"?

• Borrowing (borrow): you receive tokens via a DeFi protocol, you have to repay them with interest.
• Lending out (lend / liquidity providing): you supply crypto or stablecoins and receive interest or rewards.
• Incentives: some protocols give extra tokens on top of interest.

The tax treatment depends on which role you have and how frequently/professionally you do this.

Belgian tax context for crypto

Belgium has no specific legal framework for DeFi yet. The tax authority applies general principles of the Income Tax Code 1992 (WIB 92). Profits can be exempt, taxed as miscellaneous income (diverse inkomsten), or qualify as professional income:

In addition, the government is working on a capital gains tax on financial assets (including crypto) from 2026.

How are DeFi loans taxed?

1. Lender / supplier

• What happens? You receive interest or rewards for lending out crypto.
• Tax treatment: interest can qualify as income from movable property (art. 17 WIB 92). A 30% withholding tax on movable income usually applies to it. If it is not withheld automatically (which with DeFi is never the case), you have to declare this yourself in the box "Income from capital and movable property".
• Uncertainties: not every DeFi reward legally qualifies as "interest"; some rewards may be recharacterized as miscellaneous income (diverse inkomsten) or even professional income.

2. Borrower

• What happens? You receive tokens via a loan, and pay interest.
• Tax treatment: receiving the loan is not taxable income, because you have to repay it. The interest you pay is only relevant as a professional expense when you trade professionally.
• Uncertainties: if you systematically use the loan for speculative purposes, the tax authority may classify your activities as professional.

3. Rewards & incentives

• What happens? The protocol gives governance tokens or extra rewards.
• Tax treatment: they are taxed at the moment of receipt, at market value in EUR. They can fall under movable income, miscellaneous income (diverse inkomsten) or professional income.
• Uncertainties: timing (on-chain "claimable" vs effectively received) and valuation are points of discussion.

4. Sale of borrowed or received crypto

• What happens? You sell borrowed crypto or received rewards.
• Tax treatment: realization of a capital gain or loss. Depending on your profile this falls under "miscellaneous income (diverse inkomsten)" (33%) or professional income. In exceptional cases (normal management of private assets) the capital gain can be tax-free.
• Uncertainties: the tax authority looks at frequency, volume and intent to determine which category applies.

Example scenarios

1. Aave - stablecoin lending

Alice deposits 10,000 USDC in Aave V3 in January 2026. During the year she receives 520 USDC in interest (≈5.2% APY). In December she withdraws everything.

• The 520 USDC interest is taxable as movable income (roerende inkomsten) at 30% (€156 tax), to be declared under box VII of Tax-on-Web.
• The deposit and withdrawal themselves are continuity (USDC stays USDC) - no capital gain.
• Received aTokens (aUSDC) are tax-neutral: they represent your deposit + accruing interest.

2. Morpho - vault yield

Bob deposits 5 ETH in a Morpho vault on Base in March 2026 for 4% APY. After 6 months he has earned 0.1 ETH yield. ETH price at receipt: €3,800.

• 0.1 ETH yield = €380 taxable as movable income (30% = €114 tax). The taxable moment is at each claim or compounding, not at later sale.
• The yield ETH gets its own cost basis = €3,800/ETH for future FIFO calculations.
• Does Bob later sell that yield ETH for €4,500? Then on top of the 30% there is also 10% capital gains tax on the €70 price gain.

3. Compound - borrowing against collateral

Claire deposits 1 BTC as collateral on Compound (July 2026, BTC price €60,000) and borrows 20,000 USDC. She uses the USDC to buy 5 ETH (€4,000/ETH) - evidently speculative.

• The BTC deposit is continuity (no sale, you keep ownership).
• The 20,000 USDC loan is not income - it has to be repaid.
• The purchase of 5 ETH is an acquisition with a cost basis of €20,000.
• On liquidation of the collateral or voluntary sale of the 5 ETH, a capital gain or loss arises.
• Because of the speculative character (borrowing to buy), the tax authority may place Claire in the 33% miscellaneous income (diverse inkomsten) category, not the favorable 10% capital gains tax.

4. Governance tokens as a reward

David provides liquidity to a DEX and receives 50 governance tokens with a market value of €1,500 at the moment of claim.

• The €1,500 is taxable on receipt (movable income 30% or miscellaneous income (diverse inkomsten) 33%, depending on context).
• Does David later sell for €2,000? Then on top of the income tax there is a capital gain of €500 (10% = €50 under normal management, subject to the €10,000 exemption).

Summary

• Lending out: interest and rewards are taxable (movable income or miscellaneous income (diverse inkomsten)).
• Borrowing: no income, unless profit results from the sale of borrowed assets.
• Rewards/incentives: taxable on receipt at EUR value.
• Sales: always realization of a capital gain or loss.
• Category: tax-free under normal management of private assets, 33% as miscellaneous income (diverse inkomsten), or progressive rate as professional income.

⚙️ DeFi processed automatically
Cryptotax recognizes Aave, Compound, Morpho, stETH and more on Ethereum, Base and Arbitrum. View DeFi support →

⚠️ Disclaimer: This article is purely informative and not individual tax advice. For concrete cases: consult a recognized Belgian tax specialist or request a ruling from the Advance Rulings Service (Dienst Voorafgaande Beslissingen).

📚 Read also

Yield farming tax in Belgium: how lending on Aave, LP rewards on Curve and vaults on Beefy are treated for tax purposes, with concrete codes (1444-11), examples and the 2026 capital gains tax.