Partial withholding tax exemption for R&D personnel
Employers of qualifying researchers may retain 80% of the professional withholding tax on their salaries instead of remitting it — an immediate, rule-based reduction of R&D labor cost of roughly 15–20%.
Key parameters
| Exemption rate | 80% of the professional withholding tax remittance |
|---|---|
| Eligible degrees | Doctoral/master degrees (full rate); bachelor degrees eligible but capped Bachelor reduction limited to max 25% of the reduction applied to master/doctoral staff |
| Qualifying fields | Applied/exact sciences, engineering, medical & veterinary science |
| Preliminary condition | Project/programme notified to BELSPO before start (mandatory) |
Eligibility
- HQ
- Any headquarters country
- Local presence
- Local tax presence required (branch is sufficient) A branch office (Zweigniederlassung/permanent establishment) of your existing company is enough — you do not need to form a new legal entity such as a GmbH or BV.
- R&D substance
- Required
- Company size
- No size restriction
- Models
- All
- Sectors
- All
- Goals
- Additional design site in Europe; R&D cooperation without own site
R&D projects/programs must be notified to BELSPO before they start — the Belgian courts have confirmed this preliminary notification is an essential (substantive) condition. Both the diploma and the actual R&D involvement of each researcher must be documented.
Mechanism & application
Rule-based entitlement — Legal entitlement — self-assessment, no case-by-case funding decision.
Notify the R&D projects/programs to BELSPO before start; apply the exemption directly in periodic payroll withholding tax returns and keep per-researcher documentation.
Timeline: Immediate via payroll once BELSPO notification is in place
Legal basis & sources
- Legal basis
- Art. 275/3 CIR 92
- Verification
- CIR 92 Art. 275/3 / BELSPO (2026 rate 80%; bachelor cap 25%)
Related
✓ Stacks with