Quick Answer:
When it comes to property tax in Belize, Most homeowners pay well under $300 US per year. But this is NOT the whole picture! There are annual holding costs and a one-time purchase cost. OK, the one-time purchase cost is not really property tax – but you still have to pay it – so it’s worth talking about it right?
So Is There a Kind Of Two-Tax System in Belize?
It worse than that, there are three taxes Jim – here’s the simple breakdown:
The National Land Tax Act
This is calculated at 1% of the value of the unimproved land, NOT the structure on the land. So, unlike North America, you are not taxed on the total appraised value of the land plus the house on the land. In Belize you will only ever pay the 1% of the value of the unimproved land – even if you build a 10-bedroom mansion on it!!
But this only applies to what the government consider ‘rural’ or ‘out-of-town’ properties. These properties are taxed under the National Land Tax Act.
The Town Property Tax Act
If your property sits inside town or city limits (like San Pedro – Ambergris Caye or Belize City) then it falls under the Town Property Tax Act, which is an entirely different animal.
Under the Town Property Tax Act you are taxed on the rental potential of the land – this is around 9% (but it can be up to 12.5%) of the estimated rental income the land could produce and the tax will increase once your lot is ‘occupied’ by a house or other building. Once you build on the land you are taxed on what your building could produce in rental income.
The good news for BOTH tax structures is that the government’s estimation of the value of your land is completely decoupled from the actual market value of your land. The government’s estimation is extremely conservative – on average between 10% and 30% of the actual value of the land, so taxes are much lower than 1% or 9% of the price you paid for the land.
You can find more information on Town Property Tax on Belize City Council’s website.
Now For the Big One – Stamp Duty
OK, we are supposed to be answering the question “how much is property tax in Belize?” and stamp duty is not property tax, but it is a tax related to buying property so it’s worth talking about right? So…
In a nutshell:
- Foreign investors pay 8% of the value of the property, while Belizeans pay 5%
- In either case, there is a $10,000 USD threshold, so for a $100,000 property the taxable amount would be $90,000 which would be $7,200 for a foreign investor and $4,500 for a Belizean Citizen.
- FYI: The buyer pays the Stamp Duty the cost is not shared with the seller so do factor that into your calculations!!
Municipal Rates vs National Land Tax – why your neighbour’s property tax bill might be different to yours
How City and Town Councils set their rates
All municipal property taxed across all of Belize’s cities and town are governed by the Town’s Property Evaluation Act. You can read the whole Belize Towns Property Evaluation Act HERE.
Under this framework the government establishes distinct procedures and legal limits depending on whether a property is in it’s raw native state (known as unoccupied) or is built upon (known as occupied – which includes any property with a home on it – even if the home has no one living in it).
When assessing the value of a property, the Act distinguishes between occupied and unoccupied properties.
The framework directs that local councils update their property evaluations every 5 years. However, local governments often defer re-evaluations for political or economic reasons. This can create a significant compounding tax effect when rated are finally updated.
An example of this took place in January 2026 when Belize City Council updated its property evaluations after 13 years. This resulted in a 48% – 50% spike in property tax!
The occupied vs unoccupied catch
As mentioned above, unoccupied property tax in Belize is based on its current market value this is capped at a maximum of 2% of the government’s (very conservative) valuation of the land.
Occupied property is taxed on its annual rental value which is the gross amount the property could reasonably be expected to earn as rent per year if it were tenanted.
Under Section 19 of the Act the tax rate for occupied property is capped at 12.5% of its annual rental value.
So, IF your property falls under the Town Property Tax Act AND you bought it as raw land and subsequently build on it, you will see your property tax jump from a maximum of 2% of the value of your raw land to a possible 12.5% of the value of the gross amount the property could reasonably be expected to earn as rent per year. Do prepare yourself for that!
What you can expect to pay by region (April 2026 – March 2027)
Ambergris Caye / San Pedro
This area typically has higher land values, so a higher tax is to be expected. But again, the assed value of your land will be a lot lower than its actual market value.
Since April 1st 2025 the entire island of Ambergis Caye has been under the Town Property Tax Act applies.
To get a definitive assessed land value and tax bill for your specific lot you can email taxclerk@sanpedrotowncouncil.org.
As a side note, general living costs are kept quite low in places like Secret Beach due to the use of off-grid power and water catchment/treatment plus you’re bombing around on a golf cart not an SUV, so gas costs are pretty good too!
Belize City
Unoccupied land is taxed at 2% of the value of the land.
Occupied land is taxed at 10% of the value of the annual rental income.
Belize City council offers a 50% discount to senior citizens and up to 15% for early payers.
Belmopan
This is very simple. Under Statutory Instrument No. 43 of 2025 Belmopan charge a flat 5% of estimated land value whether occupied or unoccupied.
Like Belize City, Belmopan offers a 50% discount to senior citizens and up to 15% for early payers.
Benque Viejo Town
Unoccupied land is taxed at 2% of the land’s value.
Occupied land is taxed at 5% of the land’s annual rental income.
Caye Caulker – governed by Belize City’s Council (at least as far as property tax goes…)
Unoccupied land is taxed at 2% of the land’s value.
Occupied land is taxed at 2.5% of the land’s annual rental income.
Corozal
This area sits under the Town Property Tax Act, so it matters whether your land is occupied or unoccupied.
Happily, the rates are quite favourable. If your property is unoccupied, you pay 1% of the estimated value of the land and if it is occupied, you pay 5% of the estimated rental value of the property. As mentioned above the estimates are very conservative but you should expect quite a hike in property tax once you build on the land (remember, we’re not just talking about 5% of the value of the raw land, we’re talking about 5% of what your building could produce in annual rental income).
Again, there is a 50% discount for senior citizens and up to 15% discount for early payers.
Dangriga (Stan Creek’s only declared town)
Unoccupied property is taxed at 2% of the estimated value of the unimproved property.
Occupied property is taxed at 6% of the estimated value of the annual rental income.
Again, there are discounts – 25% for senior citizens and up to 20% for early payers.
San Ignacio
Unoccupied property tax is charged at 2% of land value.
Occupied property is charged at 7% of annual rental value.
St George’s Caye (governed by Belize City’s Council (again, as far as property tax goes)
Unoccupied land is taxed at 1% of the land’s value.
Occupied land is taxed at 6% of the land’s annual rental income.
Placencia / Hopkins / Seine Blight / Independence / Mango Creek / Monkey River
This might surprise you, but all of these places are considered villages not towns – so they don’t have a Town Council and therefore cannot be subject to the Town Property Tax Act.
This means, whne it comes to property tax, these areas sit under the National Land Tax Act. Which means you pay a flat 1% of the estimated value of the raw land regardless of any building you do.
However, Placentia’s Village Council has stated the need for more independent funding so it might not be long before Placentia’s status changes and becomes a town for the sake of tax purposes (it wouldn’t be the first time this has happened). In honesty, Placencia is growing so it might not be long before it does become a town in every sense of the word. In time, this may also become the case for some of the other areas.
Orange Walk and Punta Gorda
These areas were left off this list because we could not find definitive data on their property tax. This was because the pages for these areas were down at the time of writing.
Hope that helps guys!
If you have any questions regarding property tax or any other aspect of buying property in Belize just reach out to us HERE.
