WBSO costs & expenses

In addition to R&D hours, you can receive extra benefits for development costs under the WBSO. This works through a surcharge on top of your R&D wage. One can choose between a simple flat-rate method or reporting actual costs and expenses.

Under the WBSO, your R&D benefit is first determined based on the awarded R&D hours and a fixed R&D hourly wage. On top of this comes a surcharge for other R&D costs. You calculate this surcharge either using the flat rate or actual costs and expenses.

Option 1: Flat rate for development costs

The flat rate is the simpler method. The surcharge is calculated based on the number of awarded R&D hours, with a fixed surcharge per hour. This surcharge for the first 1.800 hours is € 10 and € 4 for all hours above that.

The decision to either choose a flat rate or actual costs and expenses remains fixed for an entire calendar year. This means that once a flat rate is chosen one cannot switch back to actual costs and expenses later in the year.

Option 2: Actual Costs and Expenses (C&E)

Instead of the flat rate, one can opt for actual costs and expenses (C&E). This allows one’s surcharge to align better with the true development costs, but one must be able to substantiate it properly.

Every company, e.g. every B.V., chooses between a flat rate or actual costs and expenses at the time of their first application within a calendar year. To make the right choice, one can use a simple calculation to see which yields the most benefit in your specific situation.

What falls under Costs and what under Expenses?

The main rule is simple: only amounts with a clear and demonstrable causal link to R&D are eligible.

Costs

Costs are payments that are entirely (100%) dedicated to conducting own R&D. These costs must be borne by the R&D withholding agent (or a B.V. within the same fiscal unity), and that do not qualify as expenses. “Exclusively dedicated” means that the costs may not partially serve another purpose. Examples of costs include prototype materials and consumables for experiments, rental of laboratory space or equipment, development licenses, costs to have a prototype built, and costs for external testing.

Expenses

Expenses relate to the purchase of new business assets (not previously used) that are dedicated to own R&D and are borne by the R&D withholding agent (or a B.V. within the same fiscal unity). In practice: if something is “consumed” during the process, it is often classified as a cost; if it remains a business asset, it is more likely to be classified as an expense. Examples of expenses include new measuring equipment for tests, e.g. specialized scanners or microscopes, and new equipment for making models, test batches, or prototypes, such as a lathe, milling machine, or 3D printer.

Is one allowed to allocate costs and expenses between projects?

Within a single calendar year, when submitting the realisation notification, one may shift allocated amounts for costs and expenses between approved projects, even if those projects appear in different R&D declarations for that year. This means one can reallocate if project A used less and project B used more, provided one stays within the allocated projects and amounts.

Need more information about the WBSO?

Would you like to discuss the possibilities for a potential WBSO process? Or would you like a no-obligation second opinion on your current WBSO application? Contact our specialist Johan!

+31 6 52745172

johandelepper@real1ze.nl

Johan de Lepper

Specialist WBSO