WBSO: tax scheme for research and development

Are you an entrepreneur and going to do Research & Development (R&D)? Or perform technical-scientific research? Then you can easily receive tax benefits from the WBSO (Wet Bevordering Speur- en Ontwikkelingswerk).

WBSO in brief

The WBSO helps 20,000 companies each year to carry out Research and Development (R&D) work. Because of the WBSO, your costs will be much lower. On this page you can read more about what the WBSO is and what it can do for you. Want to know more about the WBSO? Then watch the information film.

Information film WBSO

Parameters WBSO in 2024

For you as an applicant, the same WBSO conditions and WBSO parameters will apply in 2024 as in 2023.

Parameters WBSO

Rate 2024

• Tariff 1st tranche 32%
• Tariff 1st tranche starters40%
• Limit 1st tranche €350,000 R&D base
• Tariff 2nd tranche 16%

In 2024, the R&D deduction for the self-employed will be €15,551. The additional R&D deduction for start-up self-employed is €7,781.

Read the parliamentary letter on WBSO in 2024

Conditions

To take advantage of the WBSO, there are several conditions. The most important are:

• You yourself are developing new software, a (tangible) product or production process, or you are conducting technical-scientific research.
• The R&D project takes place within the European Union.
• The R&D project takes place within the European Union.
• You approach the R&D work in a planned manner, for example, with several project phases.
• Your company pays income tax and/or payroll tax.
• You can only apply for WBSO for future R&D work.

In addition, there are several additional conditions. We have listed all the conditions for the self-employed and for companies with personnel for you.

Calculate your benefit

The WBSO reimburses part of the labor costs of your R&D project. Companies with personnel can receive a deduction on top of that on other costs and expenses of the R&D project, such as the purchase of materials. Use the WBSO Regulatory Aid to calculate in minutes exactly how much the WBSO will earn you.

View examples of WBSO benefits and learn more about calculating your financial benefit

Preparing your application

You apply for the WBSO yourself within 1-4 hours. If it is clear what you want to develop or research, the WBSO application is easy. For a quick and complete application for a development project, we ask you for the following information:

• What are you going to develop?
• Why is this development technically new for your company?
• What technical problems do you expect to encounter during the development?
• How do you plan to solve these technical problems?
• Practical information such as company name, project duration and number of employees.

Are you conducting technical-scientific research (TWO)? If so, describe the research design.

Learn more about the WBSO application process