WBSO R&D tax credit

Join more than 20,000 other companies in making use of the WBSO R&D tax credit

If your business involves research and development, then you will want to minimise the resulting costs. The government of the Netherlands wants to reward innovative businesses and, to that end, have enacted the Wet Bevordering Speur en Ontwikkelingswerk or WBSO. For over 25 years, tens of thousands of businesses have been making use of the credit awarded via this act every year. Want to know more about WBSO can help your business? Here is what you need to know.

About the WBSO R&D tax credit

The WBSO, or Research and Development Promotion act, is a tax arrangement that reimburses part of the costs incurred from research and development. It is applicable to FTEs and costs or expenses incurred through an R&D project that focusses on new technical development. It is a way for the government to reward entrepreneurs who are willing to take financial risk in their pursuit of innovation.

The WBSO credit lets entrepreneurs working on the development or improvement of a new or existing product, service, or process deduct 32% of wage and material costs from their payroll tax declarations. Material costs include prototype costs, experimental designs, machines, and laboratories. This credit arrangement has been in effect since 1994, and over 22,000 entrepreneurs make use of it annually. Every year, Vindsubsidies helps over 1,000 entrepreneurs file for WBSO credit.

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Businesses eligible for WBSO tax credit

WBSO is available for all Dutch businesses focussed on innovation, renovation, and development. This includes start-ups, the self-employed, small to medium businesses, and multinationals. If your business meets these criteria, you are eligible to file for WBSO credit.

Start-ups are further rewarded through the special start-up deduction percentage of 40%, with a deduction for €13,360 per calendar year for the self-employed. Self-employed start-up business are even entitled to an extra €6,684 deduction, on the condition that at least 500 hours are spent on R&D annually.

Projects eligible for WBSO grants

WBSO grants are available for various types of innovative projects. The act itself lists the following 3 categories:

Development projects – the development of new technical (components) of physical products and physical production processes
The development of new or improved programming (WBSO ICT)
Technological-scientific research (TWO)

Available WBSO funding

The budget for WBSO is € 1.336 billion in 2022. Applicants file for figures between some thousand to even hundreds of thousands of Euros. On average, businesses receive several tens of thousands of Euros in compensation for (wage) costs incurred through innovative projects thanks to WBSO.

Let Vindsubsidies help you

For over 25 years, grant consultancy firm Vindsubsidies has been helping innovative and sustainable businesses find and secure appropriate grants and financing. This means we have extensive experience with WBSO grants as well. We offer full care in terms of admin and financial accounting, and function as contact for the Netherlands Enterprise Agency. For more information about our services, have a look at the advantages of applying for a WBSO grant via Vindsubsidies.