AETHERION Worldwide is the fundraising and landing practice of AETHERION Capital.
When are the deadlines for Dutch and EU startup funding in 2026?
Most Dutch equity-free funding has no single deadline. WBSO can be applied for up to the last day of any month, and the Innovation Credit is handled in the order applications arrive. The European route is the one with fixed dates: according to the EIC Work Programme, the EIC Accelerator takes full proposals at six cut-offs.
This is a reference page for a founder planning a Dutch company's funding year. It lists only dates that come from the body that runs the scheme, and it names that source on every line. Dates move, so the check date sits on this page and on every source below it.
Sources:
RVO, Handleiding WBSO 2026, sections 2.3 and 6.1
European Commission, EIC Work Programme 2026, page 79
The calendar, scheme by scheme
| Scheme | When you apply | Who can apply | Where the date comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| WBSO, any period in a calendar year | Up to and including the last day of a month. The period then starts on the first day of the next month and runs to 31 December | A company established in the Netherlands that withholds Dutch payroll tax for its R&D staff | RVO, business.gov.nl |
| WBSO, for a period that starts on 1 January 2027 | By 20 December 2026 | The same | RVO |
| WBSO, last application of a calendar year | By 30 September, because a period runs for at least three months | The same | RVO |
| WBSO, realisation report over 2026 | By 31 March 2027 | Every holder of an R&D declaration | RVO |
| EIC Accelerator, short proposal | At any time. Proposals are sent for evaluation on the first Tuesday of each month | A small or medium-sized company established in an EU member state or an associated country | European Commission |
| EIC Accelerator, full proposal | 7 January, 4 March, 6 May, 8 July, 2 September and 4 November 2026 | The same | European Commission |
| Innovation Credit | At any time. RVO divides the budget in the order applications arrive | A business established in the Netherlands | Regeling nationale EZ-, LVVN- en KGG-subsidies |
| Innovation box | With the corporate income tax return for the year | A company taxed in the Netherlands that holds an R&D declaration | Belastingdienst |
| MIT, R&D cooperation projects | Closed on the day this page was checked | Small and medium-sized companies, at least two together | business.gov.nl |
Sources:
RVO, Handleiding WBSO 2026, sections 2.1, 2.3 and 6.1
Business.gov.nl, Dutch R&D tax credit scheme (WBSO)
European Commission, EIC Work Programme 2026, pages 77 and 79
Regeling nationale EZ-, LVVN- en KGG-subsidies, article 3.9.5 (in Dutch)
Belastingdienst, Innovatiebox (in Dutch)
Business.gov.nl, SME Innovation Stimulus for Regional and Top Sectors (MIT)
The deadlines that repeat every month
WBSO rewards planning rather than speed. RVO accepts an application up to and including the last day of any month, and the period it covers begins on the first day of the month after. Work done before that period does not count.
Two dates follow from the rule that a period runs for at least three months. An application for the last quarter of a year has to be in by 30 September. An application for a period starting on 1 January has to be in by 20 December. A company that files at the end of November is not early: it has already lost November.
There is also a ceiling on how often you can come back: at most four applications in a calendar year, and an incomplete one that is not withdrawn still counts. The order of preparation is in what you need before you apply for WBSO.
Source: RVO, Handleiding WBSO 2026, sections 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3
The deadlines that do not exist
Three routes on this page have no date to miss.
- The Innovation Credit. RVO divides the budget in the order applications arrive, against a ceiling. There is nothing to wait for, only an empty budget later in the period.
- The innovation box. It is claimed in the corporate income tax return, so its timing follows the tax year, not a funding calendar.
- The regional development companies. They are investors, so they work to their own process rather than to a public deadline.
Sources:
Regeling nationale EZ-, LVVN- en KGG-subsidies, article 3.9.5 (in Dutch)
Belastingdienst, Innovatiebox (in Dutch)
What has already passed this year
Five of the six EIC Accelerator cut-offs for full proposals were behind us when this page was checked, leaving 4 November 2026. A short proposal can go in at any time, and it has to come first, so a company aiming at that cut-off is working to a short runway. The stages and the published results are in the EIC Accelerator cut-offs and odds in 2026.
The MIT scheme, in Dutch the MKB-innovatiestimulering Regio en Topsectoren, was closed for R&D cooperation projects on the day this page was checked. The business portal states plainly that applications can no longer be made, and points to RVO for the scheme itself.
Sources:
European Commission, EIC Work Programme 2026, page 79
Business.gov.nl, SME Innovation Stimulus for Regional and Top Sectors (MIT)
How to read the dates on this page
Every line above was checked against the body that runs the scheme on 22 September 2026. A date without a primary source is not on this page, which is why some schemes founders ask about are missing rather than estimated.
The European Commission can move a cut-off, RVO publishes new WBSO parameters each year, and regional schemes open and close on their own calendars. Before planning around any line here, open the source next to it.
Source: European Commission, EIC Work Programme 2026, page 79
Where the calendar fits in a move to Europe
The Dutch dates start moving the month your first engineer is on the Dutch payroll. The European dates are fixed and public, so they are the ones a landing is planned around. What each scheme is and what it pays is mapped in which government grants a startup can get, and the application itself is in how to apply for WBSO.
Sources
- RVO, Handleiding WBSO 2026 (PDF, in Dutch), checked 22 September 2026
- Business.gov.nl, Dutch R&D tax credit scheme (WBSO), checked 22 September 2026
- European Commission, EIC Work Programme 2026, as amended on 17 June 2026 (PDF), checked 22 September 2026
- Regeling nationale EZ-, LVVN- en KGG-subsidies, title 3.9 Innovatiekredieten (in Dutch), checked 22 September 2026
- Belastingdienst, Innovatiebox (in Dutch), checked 22 September 2026
- Business.gov.nl, SME Innovation Stimulus for Regional and Top Sectors (MIT), checked 22 September 2026
Checked on 22 September 2026. This page is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice. Rules change: check the official source, or ask an adviser, before you act on it.
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