When first established, many start-ups have a need for additional financial resources to be able to realise their dream. Asking for help from a financial institution may be a solution. The government recently introduced the following incentives to help start-ups to finance their company.

  1. Tax shelter;
  2. Partial exemption from the obligation to pay withholding tax on professional income;
  3. Exemption to pay interest on crowdfunding;
  4. A win-win loan (Flemish Region).

The above fiscal measures are intended to provide additional support to start-ups. A start-up is any micro-business or SME under 4 years old. A micro-business is a company that meets at least two of the following three criteria:

  1. Balance total: maximum 350.000,00 EUR;
  2. Turnover (ex VAT): maximum 700.000,00 EUR;
  3. Average number of staff: maximum 10.

An SME is a company or a natural person which/who, based on section 15 of the Company Code, does not surpass more than one of the following threshold levels:

  1. Balance total: 3.650.000,00 EUR;
  2. Turnover (ex VAT): 7.300.000,00 EUR;
  3. Average number of staff: 50.

If the average number of staff is 100, the enterprise is regarded as a large company.