AI subsidies in the Netherlands: the honest version

The WBSO is a Dutch tax scheme for research and development work (speur- en ontwikkelingswerk, S&O). Employers pay less payroll tax on the hours their own employees spend on R&D; self-employed people get a deduction. You apply to RVO, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (WBSO at RVO, in Dutch).

Does AI implementation qualify? No. RVO excludes introducing and implementing existing applications, as well as building systems based on available technology. If the result can be achieved with common techniques, it isn't R&D. You have to solve concrete technical bottlenecks yourself.

Does a hired agency qualify? No, not for the client. Only the hours of your own salaried employees count. Outsourced research and hired staff don't qualify.

Fits if: your own developers are building something technically new and solving technical bottlenecks for which there's no common solution yet. The Dutch coalition agreement mentions broadening the WBSO for AI and software, but that hasn't been worked out yet. So don't count on it yet.

The MIT scheme (Mkb-innovatiestimulering Regio en Topsectoren, an SME innovation scheme for regions and top sectors) has two parts that can be interesting for AI (MIT at RVO, in Dutch):

• Haalbaarheidsproject (feasibility project): a subsidy to investigate the technical and economic risks of an innovation project. You now only apply for it at the desk of your own region; conditions and percentages differ per region.
• R&D-samenwerkingsproject (R&D collaboration project): a subsidy for research or development by at least two SMEs together. There's also a separate round for AI projects, aimed at trustworthy and human-centered AI (R&D collaboration projects AI, in Dutch). The 2026 rounds are closed; dates for 2027 weren't known yet at the time of writing.

Does regular implementation qualify? No. It has to be an innovation project, or industrial research and experimental development. Whether the costs of a hired agency count, we haven't been able to confirm. For feasibility projects, it depends on the scheme in your region. Check with RVO or your regional desk.

The Innovatiekrediet (Innovation Credit) isn't a subsidy but a loan from RVO for development projects with sufficient technical or clinical risk. The product, process or service has to be new to the Netherlands, and there has to be initial proof that the idea works (a proof of principle). You finance part of the project yourself or with investors (Innovation Credit at RVO).

Does AI implementation qualify? No. Implementing existing AI tools carries no technical development risk. The credit is meant for companies that develop a new AI product or process themselves.

SLIM is a subsidy from the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW) to encourage learning and development in SMEs (SLIM at Uitvoering van Beleid SZW, in Dutch). Among other things, you can get a subsidy for an analysis of your company that results in a training or development plan, and for career or development advice for employees.

Does an AI training qualify? No. The costs of the training or course itself are explicitly not eligible, and neither are the wage costs of participants.

Does an external adviser qualify? Partly. For the analysis with a training plan, you may bring in an external adviser, within a maximum hourly rate. So having a plan drawn up for your team's AI skills can fit; the AI workshop that follows from it can't.

SLIM works with application periods and, if it's oversubscribed, a lottery. The 2026 periods are closed; those for 2027 weren't known yet at the time of writing.

The European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH) are regional hubs that help SMEs with digitalization. Half of their funding comes from the EU. From 2026 through 2028 the focus is on AI and cybersecurity: awareness, support with testing and implementing ("test before invest"), training and help finding financing (EDIH at RVO, in Dutch).

Do you get money? No. An EDIH is a service provider, not a subsidy scheme. Ask the hub in your region what the support costs.

By looking at it the other way round. A well-chosen AI application should pay for itself, without a subsidy. If a process only pays off with a subsidy, it's probably not the right process to start with.

So first work out what a process costs now: how long a task takes, with how many people and how often. Set the costs of building and maintaining against that. That's what we do in the AI Quick Scan: one day on site, and within a week a business case per opportunity. Our guarantee with the AI Partnership: at least 2x back in the first year, otherwise we don't start.

You can already do the sums yourself with the AI savings calculator. And want to know what AI costs in total, including licenses and usage? Read what AI costs.