Most Belgian SMEs don’t know they can get roughly 15 to 75% of their AI project funded by the government. We see it all the time: business owners assume subsidies are reserved for universities, pharma labs, or companies with dedicated grant writers on staff. They’re not. If you’re a small or medium-sized business in Belgium exploring AI, there’s a good chance public money is available to cover a significant chunk of your costs.
The catch? The landscape is fragmented. Each region has its own programs, its own rules, and its own application process. Federal tax incentives add another layer. It’s not complicated once you understand the map, but most companies never get that far. They either don’t know the programs exist, or they start looking and give up because the information is scattered across a dozen websites in three languages.
This post is the map. We’ll walk through every major funding option by region, explain what each one covers, and share practical tips on what actually gets applications approved.
Checked in September 2026. Since this guide first ran in February, Innoviris has suspended its programmes for 2026 and Digital Wallonia has relaunched Start IA and Tremplin IA at new rates. In Brussels, the open route for digital work is now the Prime Digitalisation. Here is where each programme stands:
| Programme | Region | Status in September 2026 | Support |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prime Digitalisation | Brussels | Open, apply before the mission starts | 25 to 70%, max 10,000 EUR per calendar year |
| Start AI, GENAI, Proof of Business (Innoviris) | Brussels | Suspended for 2026 | No new calls |
| Start IA | Wallonia | Call closes 30 September 2026 | Up to 50%, max 5,000 EUR |
| Tremplin IA 08 | Wallonia | 2026 call published 10 June 2026, check the deadline | Up to 50%, max 20,000 EUR |
| Chèque maturité numérique | Wallonia | Open | 50%, max 50,000 EUR over 3 years |
| Chèque cybersécurité | Wallonia | Open | 75%, max 50,000 EUR over 3 years |
| KMO-portefeuille | Flanders | Training, and cybersecurity advice only. Confirm on vlaio.be | 20 to 45%, max 7,500 EUR per year |
| Technology deduction | Federal | In force | 13.5% one-off or 20.5% spread |
Brussels-Capital Region
Two funders matter in Brussels. Brussels Economy and Employment runs the Prime Digitalisation, which is open. Innoviris, the regional research and innovation agency, has suspended its programmes for 2026.
Prime Digitalisation (Digitalisation grant)
Best for: Brussels SMEs hiring an outside provider to digitalise a process, secure their IT, or rebuild their website.
The Prime Digitalisation pays part of a consulting mission in one of three areas:
- the digitalisation of your internal processes, your means of production, or your products and services
- the IT security of your company
- the technical development or improvement of your website
Who is eligible: SMEs with at least one operating site in the Brussels-Capital Region, active in one of the eligible sectors listed on the official page. The mission must solve a one-off problem your team lacks the skills for, last 6 months at most, and cannot be permanent subcontracting. You also commit to the region’s responsible digital charter.
Rate: 25% of eligible costs by default. Bonuses raise it: +25% for a starter (registered for less than 4 years) that is a micro or small company, +20% for a medium one, and +30% (micro or small) or +20% (medium) for each recognised environmental or social exemplarity. The total is capped at 70%.
Ceiling: 10,000 EUR per company per calendar year, with a minimum grant of 500 EUR per mission and at most two funded missions a year.
The provider: consulting in the field must be their main activity, for at least 2 years. They must be independent from your company and invoice you, directly or through a billing service.
Apply before work starts. The request goes through MonBEE at the latest the day before the mission begins, and the mission can start at the earliest the day after you file. A mission that has already started cannot be funded.
An automation or chatbot project can fit the first area when it digitalises a specific process, such as handling inbound emails or answering customer questions. Brussels Economy and Employment decides case by case, so describe the process the mission changes and check eligibility before you sign. hub.brussels also explains the grant in its entrepreneur guide.
Innoviris programmes: suspended in 2026
Innoviris states on its programme pages that, given its 2026 budget, no new calls will be launched and no new projects funded in 2026. Projects with a signed agreement continue. Applications already submitted are still processed and may be funded in 2027, depending on available resources. This covers the programmes the earlier version of this guide described:
- Start AI innovation voucher: up to 75% of expenses excluding VAT, capped at 10,000 EUR per calendar year.
- GENAI: generative AI feasibility study and proof of concept, budgets up to 80,000 EUR excluding VAT. Its last cut-off was 13 June 2025.
- Proof of Business: 50 to 70% of project costs.
Watch innoviris.brussels for the 2027 calls. SustAIn.brussels, the Brussels Digital Innovation Hub, still offers supplier matchmaking, training, and proof of concept support. Ask them directly what is free in 2026.
Practical tips for Brussels applications
- File before you fix a start date. The Prime Digitalisation excludes missions that began before the request. Put the filing date in the provider’s schedule.
- Check the provider’s profile. A provider whose main activity is not consulting, or with less than 2 years in the field, makes the mission ineligible.
- Keep R&D projects in view for 2027. An application already filed with Innoviris may still be funded in 2027, depending on available resources.
Wallonia
Wallonia funds AI through two Digital Wallonia calls, Start IA to find use cases and Tremplin IA for proofs of concept, and funds wider digital work through the Chèques-Entreprises.
Start IA (Digital Wallonia)
Best for: Walloon SMEs that want an expert to find and rank their AI use cases.
Deadline: the 2026 call runs from 10 June to 30 September 2026.
Start IA funds an AI expert mission of up to 4 months: 5 mandatory days for the audit and action plan, plus up to 5 optional days for advanced data analysis, process optimisation, or building an AI agent. The expert identifies use cases, assesses their feasibility and impact, and structures a roadmap.
Who is eligible: private SMEs (fewer than 250 employees, turnover up to 50 million EUR or balance sheet up to 43 million EUR) with economic activity in Wallonia and a company number.
Rate and ceiling: Digital Wallonia funds up to 50% of costs, with a maximum public contribution of 5,000 EUR per participant. The call has a 500,000 EUR budget for more than 100 projects.
This replaces the format described in the earlier version of this guide (45 hours at 70%, open to organisations of any size).
Tremplin IA (Digital Wallonia)
Best for: Walloon SMEs ready to build an AI proof of concept with a provider.
Tremplin IA is in its eighth edition, published on 10 June 2026. It covers up to 50% of the provider’s fees, capped at 20,000 EUR per project, from a 1 million EUR budget for more than 50 projects. Eligibility uses the same SME definition as Start IA.
You apply together with your AI provider: an application of at least 7 pages on the official template, sent through the online form, with a signed de minimis aid declaration. The call page does not state a closing date, so check it before you plan a project around this call.
Chèque maturité numérique (Chèques-Entreprises)
Best for: Walloon companies that want paid support to assess and digitalise their processes, including the process an AI tool would change.
The chèque maturité numérique pays part of a labelled provider’s work to assess your digital maturity and plan the digitalisation of your processes: infrastructure, information flows, production processes, and the organisation of work, up to the specifications and the follow-up of implementation.
Who is eligible: companies, through the Chèques-Entreprises platform.
Rate: 50% of the cost.
Ceiling: 50,000 EUR excluding VAT over 3 years.
The provider must be labelled on the platform. For a first request, the provider opens the file, and you pay your share before the administration accepts it. The programme page does not mention AI by name. Read the full conditions in the procedure on wallonie.be, linked from the programme page, before the mission starts.
Chèque cybersécurité
The chèque cybersécurité covers 75% of an audit or diagnostic of your cybersecurity followed by the implementation of the recommended actions, up to 50,000 EUR excluding VAT over 3 years. It is worth considering before any project that connects an AI tool to your email, CRM, or customer data.
Practical tips for Wallonia applications
- Start IA closes on 30 September 2026. Prepare your application now.
- Write Tremplin IA with your provider. The 7-page application is a joint document, so pick a provider who has written one before.
- Think in steps. Start IA to choose the use case, Tremplin IA for the proof of concept, then a chèque maturité numérique for the wider rollout. Check each call’s rules on combining aid: each cost can only be funded once.
Flanders
Flanders channels most of its innovation support through VLAIO (Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship). The programs here are broader than AI-specific, but they absolutely cover AI projects.
Before you apply: the Flanders figures below could not be re-checked in September 2026. Confirm them on vlaio.be.
VLAIO Research and Development Projects
Best for: Companies building innovative AI products or services with a genuine R&D component.
VLAIO offers separate tracks for research projects (longer-term knowledge building) and development projects (shorter-term innovation leading to new products, processes, or services). The rates differ by track:
- Development projects: base rate of 25% (regardless of company size), minimum support €25K
- Research projects: base rate of 25% (large), 35% (medium), or 45% (small) enterprises, minimum support €100K
- +10% for collaboration with another independent company (at least one SME)
- +15% for international or interregional collaboration
- Total funding can reach up to 50-60% for development and up to 70% for research, depending on your setup
These are substantial grants for serious projects. VLAIO also offers R&D feasibility studies if you need to validate your approach before committing to a full project.
KMO-Portefeuille (SME E-Wallet)
Best for: Training your team on AI tools or getting cybersecurity consulting.
The KMO-portefeuille subsidizes training and consulting from registered service providers:
- Small enterprises: 30% subsidy (45% for cybersecurity)
- Medium enterprises: 20% subsidy (35% for cybersecurity)
- Maximum: 7,500 EUR per year
Important note: since February 1, 2026, the advisory component of KMO-portefeuille is limited to cybersecurity only. Digitalization advisory is no longer supported. Training services (including for digitalization and AI topics) remain available for all themes.
Practical tips for Flanders applications
- Frame your AI project as innovation, not just technology adoption. VLAIO R&D grants reward novelty. Explain what’s new about your approach, not just that you’re using AI.
- Collaboration boosts your rate. If you can partner with another SME or a research institution, your subsidy percentage goes up significantly.
- Start with KMO-portefeuille for quick wins. It’s the fastest program to access and can fund AI training for your team. For advisory work, focus on the cybersecurity angle if applicable.
Federal Tax Incentives (All Regions)
Regardless of where your company is based, Belgian federal tax incentives can stack on top of regional subsidies. These apply to your corporate tax return and can meaningfully reduce the cost of AI investment over time.
Technology Deduction
Since the January 1, 2025 tax reform, the former “investment deduction for R&D” has been renamed the technology deduction (technologie-aftrek / déduction pour technologie). It applies specifically to patents and environmentally friendly R&D investments, not general software development or AI projects. If your AI work leads to a patent or qualifies as an environmentally friendly R&D investment, you can claim a deduction of 13.5% of the acquisition value as a one-shot deduction, or 20.5% if you spread it over the depreciation period. This directly reduces your taxable income.
Alternatively, you can opt for a tax credit calculated at 25% of those rates. If you have insufficient taxable profits to use the deduction, unused tax credits are automatically reimbursed after four years.
Investment Deduction for Digital Assets
Small companies (and natural persons) also get a basic investment deduction on fixed assets acquired from 1 January 2025: 10% in general and 20% for digital fixed assets. Ask your accountant which software and hardware in an AI project qualify. The FPS Finance page lists the current rates (in French).
Innovation Income Deduction
Companies generating revenue from qualifying intellectual property (including copyrighted software) can deduct 85% of the net IP income from their taxable base. This effectively lowers the tax rate on that income to around 3.75% instead of the standard 25% corporate tax rate.
This applies to patents, copyrighted software, plant breeders’ rights, and certain other IP. If you build an AI product and license or sell it, the revenue can qualify, provided the software results from a qualifying R&D program and passes the nexus test (the deduction is proportional to your own R&D spend versus acquired IP). It’s not automatic for all software revenue. New rules from 2025 also allow unused deductions to be carried forward as a non-refundable tax credit.
Partial Exemption of Withholding Tax for Researchers
If you employ R&D staff (developers, data scientists, AI engineers) who hold qualifying degrees (master’s, PhD, or qualifying bachelor’s degrees in sciences, engineering, or related fields), your company can be exempted from paying up to 80% of the wage withholding tax for those employees. Holders of qualifying bachelor’s degrees are eligible at the 80% rate, but capped at 25% of the total master’s/PhD exemption amount (50% for SMEs). The exemption is proportional to the time they spend on R&D activities.
This is one of the most impactful incentives for companies building AI in-house. A developer spending 80% of their time on R&D effectively costs you significantly less in payroll taxes. You do need to register your R&D projects with BELSPO (the Belgian Science Policy Office) before starting, and maintain proper time-tracking records.
For detailed guidance on all federal incentives, the FPS Finance investment deduction page, the PwC Belgium tax summary (reviewed September 2026), and BELSPO (for WHT exemption registration rules) are reliable references.
Combining Programs for Maximum Impact
Here’s what many companies miss: you can combine regional subsidies with federal tax incentives. A small Brussels company could use the Prime Digitalisation for a mission that automates a process, then claim the 20% deduction on digital fixed assets it paid for itself. A Flemish company could use KMO-portefeuille for AI training, then apply for a VLAIO development project for the build, while claiming the withholding tax exemption for its R&D developers the entire time.
A few important constraints to keep in mind:
- You can’t “double-fund” the same costs. Each euro of expenditure can only be covered by one subsidy.
- The technology deduction and the R&D tax credit are mutually exclusive per asset: you must choose one or the other.
- Different cost categories within the same project often qualify for different programs, so combining is still very effective.
Do you already have an AI project in mind?
An email automation or web chatbot package has a fixed setup fee and a defined scope, so its quote is easy to compare with a programme’s ceiling. For larger work, our proofs of concept and our projects show what Flowful AI builds for Belgian businesses.
Compare our packages or book a call to see which programme fits your project. We can point out which subsidies are likely to apply. The application itself is best handled by you directly, or through a specialised firm.