R&D wage witholding tax exemption

The following categories are eligible:

• Companies conducting research and development activities
• “Young Innovative Companies” (YIC)
• Universities, higher education institutions, and recognized scientific organizations
• Companies that have established cooperation agreements with these institutions

The exemption applies to companies that meet the following conditions:

• Employment of workers holding a specific scientific degree
• Work on a fundamental research project or program, industrial research, or experimental development
• Prior notification and description of the project/program on the Science Policy (BELSPO) platform

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Specifically, the following degrees are eligible:

• Doctorate in applied sciences, exact sciences, medicine, veterinary medicine, pharmaceutical sciences, or civil engineering
• Master's degree in industrial engineering, sciences, medicine, pharmaceutical sciences, agricultural sciences, architecture, or product development
• Equivalent degrees and certain bachelor's degrees in specific fields

Foreign degrees may also be considered, subject to recognition of their equivalence. Exemptions exist for YIC and certain companies.

A YIC must be considered a Small Enterprise (Article 15, paragraph 1, of the Companies Code), established less than 10 years ago, not resulting from a merger or restructuring, and dedicating at least 15% of the total costs of the previous tax period to R&D activities.

The ABV team verifies and categorizes the R&D nature of activities (fundamental, industrial, experimental development research), checks the eligibility of workers and their qualifications, verifies proportions by exemption code, builds the complete file (R&D description, tasks, worker allocation), and provides administrative follow-up as well as assistance during tax audits.