On this page
The short answer
Yes, in Brussels a premium can pay part of your new website: the digitalisation premium of Brussels Economy and Employment covers 25 percent of the costs, up to 70 percent with increases, and at most 10,000 euros. You apply before the assignment starts, and the provider must be a consultant whose main activity is consultancy, with at least two years of experience and independent of your company. Flanders has no such premium.
A grant for your website is rare in Belgium. Flanders has none, and the SME wallet (kmo-portefeuille) that many founders think of is a Flemish scheme that never applied in Brussels and ends in Flanders on 1 January 2027. Brussels, a separate region with its own economic policy, has its own system of premiums, and one of them is the digitalisation premium (*prime digitalisation* in French, *premie digitalisering* in Dutch): support for a consultancy assignment that digitalises your company, which explicitly includes developing or technically upgrading your website.
French-speaking founders in Brussels know it: when you type 'création site internet bruxelles', Google itself suggests 'création site web bruxelles prime digitalisation'. If you run an international business, a start-up or a shop in Brussels and work in English, this guide explains what the premium pays, for whom, with a worked example, and how to apply step by step. It also says what has been suspended since 12 August 2026.
What the premium pays
The premium is a percentage of the eligible costs, excluding VAT, with a base and increases.
| Part | Micro or small company | Medium company |
|---|---|---|
| Base | 25 percent | 25 percent |
| Starter, less than four years in the KBO | plus 25 percent | plus 20 percent |
| Recognised as exemplary on the environment | plus 30 percent | plus 20 percent |
| Recognised as exemplary on social matters | plus 30 percent | plus 20 percent |
| Ceiling | 70 percent and 10,000 euros | 70 percent and 10,000 euros |
| Minimum per assignment | 500 euros | 500 euros |
You can file at most two subsidised assignments per calendar year. The assignment may last at most six months and must be exceptional: a one-off problem your company lacks the skills for in-house, not ongoing subcontracting. Building a new site fits; the monthly maintenance of a site does not. By applying, you also commit to the charter for sustainable IT.
Which companies qualify
- An SME with at least one operating site in the Brussels-Capital Region,active in an eligible sector. The list works with NACE-BEL codes, which were updated in 2025, so check the conversion table.
- With an economic and commercial purpose,and not more than 75 percent publicly funded.
- Under the de minimis ceilingyour company received no more than 300,000 euros in total across the current and the two previous financial years.
- With your annual accounts in order,and a diversity plan if you have more than 50 employees.
- With an application before the assignment startsAn assignment that is already under way does not qualify.
A company that only sells into Brussels from elsewhere does not meet the first condition: what counts is an operating site in the region.
Which consultants qualify
This is the condition people miss most often. The provider carrying out the assignment must:
- provide those consultancy services as its main activity;
- be specialised in the field;
- have done this work for at least two years;
- show considerable competence through references and practical experience;
- be independent of your company;
- send the invoice to your company.
Not every web builder meets that. An agency whose main activity is not consultancy, or that has not existed long enough, falls outside it. Ask the provider beforehand and make sure its CV and references fit your application, because you attach them. How to build a site in several languages for Brussels is in multilingual website development.
Worked example
An invoice of 6,000 euros, layer by layer
6,000 euros excl. VAT, for a small company that is three years old
- 1,500Base, 25 percentFor every SME that meets the conditions.
- 1,500Starter, plus 25 percentRegistered in the KBO for less than four years, micro or small company.
- 1,200Exemplary on the environment, plus 20 percent up to the ceilingOnly with recognised proof; the increase is 30 percent, but the ceiling is 70 percent.
- 1,800You pay yourselfWhat the premium never covers: at least 30 percent.
4,200euros premium, 70 percent, under the ceiling of 10,000 euros
Without the environmental proof it stays at 50 percent: a premium of 3,000 euros.
Worked example: a starter with a 6,000 euro site
A small company registered in the Crossroads Bank for three years has a new site built for 6,000 euros excluding VAT.
| Situation | Percentage | Premium | You pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| No increase | 25 percent | 1,500 euros | 4,500 euros |
| Starter | 50 percent | 3,000 euros | 3,000 euros |
| Starter and exemplary on the environment | 70 percent, the ceiling | 4,200 euros | 1,800 euros |
For a site of 15,000 euros the same percentage applies, but the premium stops at 10,000 euros. You always pay the VAT yourself; a VAT-registered company recovers it. The premium is taxable: it counts as income of your company and belongs in your tax return. Ask your accountant how to book it.
The application in seven steps
- Check whether your company qualifies with the tool on the Brussels Economy and Employment website: sector, size and location.
- Choose a provider that meets the consultant profile, and ask for a quote that is valid on the day you apply.
- Gather the annexes: a bank statement, a power of attorney if someone else applies for you, the quote, the consultant's CV, an extract from the trade register and, where relevant, proof of being exemplary on the environment or social matters.
- File the application via MijnBEW, the online platform of Brussels Economy and Employment, at the latest the day before the assignment starts. You get an acknowledgement; if your file is incomplete, you hear within fifteen days and have a month to complete it.
- Wait for the decision. It comes at the latest four months after your complete application, via the same platform.
- Start the assignment at the earliest the day after your application and at the latest three months after the decision. Start before the decision and you do so at your own risk.
- Send the supporting documents within twelve months of the decision: invoices and proof of payment. You fill in a payment claim and then receive the premium.
What has been suspended since 12 August 2026
Because of the large number of applications, the Brussels minister for the economy temporarily suspended a series of operating premiums. Applications filed before 12 August 2026 are still processed.
| Suspended | Still available |
|---|---|
| Training | Digitalisation premium |
| Consultancy and consultancy for economic transition | All investment premiums |
| Transfer or takeover | Recognition of competences, training for industrial conversion |
| Recruitment | Business start-up, employment cooperative |
| Coworking | Compensation for disruption by a building site |
So the general consultancy premium, which used to cover advice, is suspended; for a website the digitalisation premium remains the route. Free guidance also remains available at hub.brussels, the regional agency for entrepreneurs, which also publishes its guidance in English, and at the local economy desks.
What the premium does not cover
- The monthly maintenanceof your site or your hosting: not a one-off assignment.
- Ads and campaignsthe premium pays for a consultancy assignment, not a media budget.
- VATthe premium is calculated on costs excluding VAT.
- Work that has already startedthe application must be filed at the latest the day before the assignment starts.
Four misunderstandings
- "The kmo-portefeuille pays for my site in Brussels."No: the SME wallet is Flemish, never applied in Brussels and ends in Flanders on 1 January 2027; see our news item on the end of the kmo-portefeuille.
- "Any web builder qualifies."No: the consultant profile is strict. Ask beforehand.
- "I apply once the site is finished."Too late: the application must be in before the assignment starts.
- "The premium also pays for maintenance."No: it covers a one-off assignment of at most six months.
What exists in Flanders is in digitalisation grants in Flanders; whether any subsidy covers your website is answered briefly in website grants in Belgium. What a site costs without a premium is in our website cost calculator, what web design in the capital involves is on web design in Brussels, and what marketing in Brussels takes is on our page about a marketing agency in Brussels. If you start in Flanders instead, cities pay grants of their own: see starter grants in Flanders.
Questions about the digitalisation premium
How much of a website grant do I get in Brussels?
At least 25 percent of the costs excluding VAT if you qualify, up to 70 percent with increases for starters and for companies recognised as exemplary, and never more than 10,000 euros per assignment.
Does an online shop qualify?
The premium names developing or technically upgrading your website and digitalising your products and services. An online shop generally falls under that; put your project to Brussels Economy and Employment if in doubt.
Can I apply as a sole trader without a company?
The premium is for SMEs with an operating site in the Brussels Region in an eligible sector. Use the tool on the Brussels Economy and Employment website to check your situation.
How long before I get the money?
The decision comes within four months of your complete application. Then you carry out the assignment, send your invoices and proof of payment within twelve months, and payment follows your claim.