1. DONATION DEDUCTION GUIDELINES
For entities subject to corporation tax, Article 16 of the 1969 Corporation Tax Law ('Wet Vpb'), includes a provision related to donation deductions. To be eligible for a deduction based on Article 16 of the Wet Vpb an entity must make a donation to a religious, philosophical, charitable, cultural, scientific or institution aimed at the common good, based in the Netherlands. The entity must be able to substantiate the donation with written documentation. The entity is also subject to a maximum threshold. The deduction amounts to a maximum of 50% of the taxable profit, with a maximum of €100,000.
2. THE TERM DONATIONS
In principle the term 'donations' used in the Wet Vpb is consistent with the definition of the term used in income tax. The applicable rules related to deducting donations do not apply to so-called corporate donations. Corporate donations are deductible from profit as business expenses. This applies to businesses of natural persons as well as entities that are subject to corporation tax. According to an old resolution by the State Secretary for Finance (BNB 1962/83) donations made to an institution aimed at the common good, are considered as business expenses if, and insofar as, they are of a business nature and have a direct interest to the business. Examples include advertising costs or donations from which the business has not reasonably been able to withdraw or that took place, because the entity has an interest in the objective the donation applied to. Given that corporate donations are considered to be standard deductible expenses they are not subject to the deduction limits of Article 16 of the Wet Vpb.
3. THE RECIPIENT INSTITUTION
The Twente University Fund is classified by the Tax and Customs Administration as a so-called 'institution aimed at the common good' based on current rules. Consequently this satisfies the condition that the donation must be made to an institution aimed at the common good (based in the Netherlands). The information included on this web page is of a general nature and is not concerned with the specific circumstances that apply to a particular individual or particular entity. Even though the utmost care was taken when this web page was compiled, we cannot guarantee that the information included here is correct and complete at the time it is consulted or will continue to be so in the future.