Looking to innovate? The government will back you financially

The government funds innovation through various schemes for research and development, innovative products, process innovation, and energy and environmental investments. Find out what your business is eligible for. 

Lower R&D costs under the WBSO 

If you or your employees are investing time in research and development (R&D), the Wet Bevordering Speur- en ontwikkelingswerk,WBSO (Research and Development (Promotion) Act) could be of interest to you. Using the WSBO, you can reduce wage costs related to R&D. If you are a business owner for income tax purposes and spend a minimum of 500 hours on R&D activities per year, you can deduct a set annual amount from your taxable income. You can also apply for a reduction in payroll tax for employees involved in innovation under the WBSO, provided you are implementing innovative new technologies for your business. This will be assessed by the Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (Netherlands Enterprise Agency, RVO). If your application is approved, you will receive an R&D declaration. Use the RVO's tool (in Dutch) to find out whether you are eligible to apply for the WBSO, and how it might pay off for you. 

Lower profit tax with the innovation box 

Are you launching innovative new products in the market based on your own R&D? You may be able to use the innovation box. Only companies liable for corporate tax, such as Dutch bvs (private limited companies), can use this scheme. The innovation box reduces corporate tax for profits from innovative activities. For this, an effective tax rate of 9% is applied. The Belastingdienst (Netherlands Tax Administration) is responsible for implementing the innovation box. If you would like to use the innovation box, you need an R&D declaration and, in some cases, a patent.

If you want to talk to someone about applying the innovation box, you can find contact details on the website of the Tax Administration (in Dutch). 

SME Innovation Incentive Regional and Top Sectors (MIT scheme) 

Are you an SME owner and want to take on innovation projects together with partners? And you are required to invest in research and development but have trouble financing your plans? The MIT scheme may be just what you need. You may also apply if you operate in any of the top sectors. 

The MIT offers the following instruments:

• R&D Collaboration Projects (temporarily closed for applications)
• R&D Cooperation Projects Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Knowledge vouchers
• TKI Networking activities
• TKI Innovation Brokers

Read more about the MIT scheme and how to apply for it. The instruments are only open for applications for a few months each year

Process innovation 

Do you want to innovate or improve your business processes by acquiring new business assets? Then the schemes described below may be of interest to you as well as the WBSO scheme. 

Energy-Saving Investment Credit (Energie-investeringsaftrek, EIA) 

If you invest in specific energy-efficient business assets and sustainable energy, you can deduct a portion of the investment costs from your taxable profit under the EIA scheme. This will reduce your income tax or corporate tax. Check the Energy List (in Dutch) to see if your investment entitles you to this. 

Environmental investments 

Sometimes you can benefit from making investments in order to reduce harmful environmental impacts. Investments included on the Environmental List (in Dutch) result in an additional deduction on the Environmental Investment Credit (MIA). Or you may be able to write off the investment costs more quickly using the Willekeurige afschrijving milieu-investeringen, Vamil scheme. This will reduce your income tax or corporate tax. The MIA scheme  and the VAMIL scheme also apply to other environmental measures in the industrial sector, agriculture, and the transport industry. 

Business owners must comply with a number of different climate rules. Check which ones apply to your business and whether you can use any of the schemes. 

WBSO for process innovation 

The WBSO scheme can also reduce the costs for process innovation. The publication ‘Procesinnovatie - Belastingvoordeel voor innovatieve ondernemers’ (Process innovation: Tax Benefit for Innovative Business Owners, in Dutch) contains a number of examples of process innovations that received financial support under the WBSO. 

If you would like to learn more about the various grants and schemes available for research and innovation, check out the options.