WBSO stands for “Wet ter Bevordering van Speur- en Ontwikkelingswerk,” an elaborate Dutch phrase meaning “research and development.” This is a fiscal measure with the goal of stimulating R&D among Dutch businesses. As an organisation, you have to pay less wage tax for the hours your employees spend working on approved WBSO projects. In addition to the hours spent on WBSO projects, the other costs and expenses you face as an entrepreneur are also covered. This includes materials, consumables, trial batches, the costs of creating prototypes, the purchase of specific IT tools, the hiring or purchase of equipment and instruments needed for the work and R&D infrastructure.
Chain authorisation required for submission of WBSO application
In 2021, RVO will replace the e-Desk where we submit the application for you with a new application portal. In this new portal, all communication regarding the application will take place digitally. Authorisation must also take place digitally via a so-called ‘chain authorisation’.
With a chain authorisation at eHerkenning level 3 you authorise us as service provider to submit the WBSO application to RVO on your behalf. In this way we simplify matters for you because we support the application from A to Z as much as possible. You do not need to have eRecognition to do this. More information can be found at www.eherkenning.nl/ketenmachtiging. To arrange the chain authorisation, an authorisation is requested and digitally recorded at the level of the Chamber of Commerce. We can arrange this together with you.
If we apply for the WBSO for several companies, this chain authorisation must be issued for each company.
Target audiences of WBSO
The WBSO is available for Dutch entrepreneurs. Any organisation that develops technologically new products, processes or software or which conducts research into unknown technical operating principles is eligible for the WBSO. The size of the organisation is irrelevant.
The main criterion for the WBSO is that projects are technologically new for the applicant and that the work comes with technical challenges that must be resolved.
Conditions, characteristics and figures
The WBSO supports two types of projects:
- Development of technologically new products, processes or software
- Technical scientific research that leads to new insights
- This is a fiscal measure to stimulate research and development
- 32% (starters 40%) wage tax reduction for the initial €350,000 in wage costs, costs and expenses and 16% for the excess
- The WBSO must be applied for in advance. This can be done up to four times per year
- The request is evaluated by the Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO).
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