How it works
A company that develops its own technology, software or products can put the profit from that innovation in the innovation box. The profit in the box is taxed at an effective 9%. The rest of the profit stays at the normal rates.
The entry ticket is an R&D declaration under the WBSO scheme, which the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) grants for development projects. Larger companies also need a patent, a plant breeder’s right or software with proven innovation. The company and the tax authority agree on how much of the profit belongs to the innovation, usually in a ruling for several years.
Small companies can use a flat-rate option: a fixed part of the profit goes in the box on a fixed basis. That option applies up to €25,000 in 2026 and rises to €100,000 in 2027 under the Tax Plan.
The box works for foreign-owned companies too, when the development takes place in the Dutch company. Software companies with their developers in the Netherlands are the largest group of users.
Example
A software BV has €400,000 profit, of which €300,000 comes from its own platform developed under a WBSO declaration. The €300,000 is taxed at 9% (€27,000); the other €100,000 at 19% (€19,000). At the normal rates the tax would have been €89,600.
The figures
All 2026 figures: Netherlands tax rates 2026 · the 2027 figures: Netherlands tax rates 2027.
Questions people ask
Does bought-in software qualify?
The box is for innovation the company developed itself, with its own staff or under its own direction. Bought software falls outside it.
How much of the profit goes in the box?
The part that comes from the innovation, agreed with the tax authority, usually as a percentage of the profit or with a method that follows the R&D costs. The agreement lasts several years.
Holdwise, Hoofddorp. Definition and explanation maintained with the Dutch and German glossaries; figures from the central rates source, year 2026. Updated 16 September 2026.
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