Innovation can be funded as it happens and taxed efficiently once it earns, but only if the right structures are in place and coordinated. For innovative Belgian companies in particular, a combination of grants, subsidies and tax incentives can fund a meaningful share of R&D and sharply reduce the tax on the income that innovation later generates. The value is in running them together rather than as separate filings.

What this area covers

On the funding side, R&D grants and subsidies help finance research and development through the relevant Flemish, Brussels and European programmes, and broader funding support covers the wider picture. On the tax side, the innovation income deduction can cut the effective rate on qualifying IP income to around 3.75 percent, the copyright tax regime applies to qualifying creative and software work, and the withholding tax exemption for research staff reduces the cost of employing your R&D team.

How this connects to your innovation

These incentives are anchored in the same R&D and IP that the rest of the practice protects and commercialises. The qualifying output usually involves patents and software, the income often arises through licensing and transactions, and the underlying data and technology can themselves be protectable assets. We model the grant, the deduction and the withholding exemption as one plan to maximise the combined benefit without double counting.

How we help

We combine tax, IP and technical analysis in a single team, identify what qualifies, prepare the applications and supporting documentation, and secure certainty through advance rulings where that is worthwhile.

Frequently asked questions

Can grants and tax incentives be combined? Yes, and they usually should be, with care taken over how the same expenditure is allocated across each instrument to avoid double counting.

Does software qualify for the innovation income deduction? It can. Copyright-protected software developed through a research or development programme can qualify, which makes the regime relevant to many technology and SaaS companies, not only patent holders.

Do we need to be based in Flanders or Brussels? The regional grant agency depends on where you are based, while some programmes are open across the EU. We match the project to the right instrument.