EIA subsidy: how does the Energy Investment Allowance work?

The EIA subsidy is not really a subsidy but a tax deduction. With the Energy Investment Allowance (Energie-investeringsaftrek, EIA), you deduct an extra 40% of your investment in energy-efficient business assets from your taxable profit in 2026. If your profit is above €200,000, this gives a net benefit of just over 10% of the investment amount, because you pay less corporate income tax.

The scheme is run by the Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO, Netherlands Enterprise Agency) . Your investment must appear on the Energy List (Energielijst) , and you must report it within 3 months of placing the order. You can find an overview of all schemes alongside the EIA on subsidies and tax benefits with ISO 50001. For environmental investments, a similar scheme exists: MIA and Vamil.

A late notification does not qualify for the EIA. The 3-month period starts from the date of the order or the signed purchase agreement, not from the invoice or the installation.

The EIA in brief (2026)


What	Extra deduction from your taxable profit
Percentage	40% of the investment costs
Budget 2026	€460 million
Minimum	€2,500 per notification
Maximum	€155 million per company per year (Energy List 2026)
Notification period	Within 3 months of the order
Apply to	RVO, via eLoket with eHerkenning
Who it is for	Entrepreneurs subject to income tax (inkomstenbelasting) or corporate income tax (vennootschapsbelasting)

Source: RVO, EIA conditions . The Dutch cabinet proposes in the Tax Plan 2027 (Belastingplan 2027) to raise the percentage to 45.5% from 1 January 2027. The proposal still has to pass the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Is the EIA a subsidy?

No, although many entrepreneurs search for “EIA subsidy”. With a subsidy, you receive money in your bank account. With the EIA, you pay less tax, because your taxable profit becomes lower. This has two consequences:

You only benefit if you pay tax. If you make a loss, the benefit carries over to other years.
You receive nothing up front. You see the benefit in your tax return or your provisional assessment.

What does the EIA subsidy give you? A calculation example

A manufacturing company (private limited company, bv) invests €120,000 in a heat pump with heat recovery. The technology appears on the Energy List 2026. The company’s profit is well above €200,000, so every euro of extra deduction falls in the 25.8% tax rate.

Step	Calculation	Amount
Investment that counts for the EIA		€120,000
EIA deduction	40% × €120,000	€48,000
Tax benefit	25.8% × €48,000	€12,384
Net benefit as a percentage	€12,384 / €120,000	10.3%

You also depreciate the heat pump as usual over the full €120,000. The EIA comes on top of that.

If your profit is below €200,000, the deduction falls in the 19% rate and the benefit is €9,120 (7.6%). If you are an entrepreneur subject to income tax, the benefit depends on your personal rate. If you make a loss, you can offset the deduction against earlier or later years.

Which investments qualify for the EIA?

Only business assets that match a code on the Energy List qualify. The list is renewed every year. For your investment, the list of the year in which you place the order applies.

Energy List 2026 category	What it covers
A. Business buildings	Savings in new and existing buildings
B. Processes	More efficient production, reuse of heat
C. Transport	Efficient vehicles and facilities
D. Renewable energy	Own generation of renewable energy
E. Energy balancing	Storage and smart matching of demand and supply
F. Energy transition	Technologies for switching away from fossil energy
G. Energy advice	Including energy advice, EP-U tailored advice (EP-U maatwerkadvies), CO2 reduction plan and blower door test

Alongside the fixed codes, there is a generic route for tailored solutions: investments that demonstrably save a lot of energy, even if they do not appear as a specific technology on the list. Read the conditions for each code in the list. These often include minimum efficiencies or exclusions.

What does not count for the EIA?

According to RVO, the following costs fall outside the EIA, among others:

business assets that have been used before (second-hand);
land, homes, passenger cars and vessels, unless used for professional transport;
maintenance costs;
goodwill, licences and other intangible items.

How to apply for the EIA: step by step

Check the Energy List before you order

Find the code that matches your investment and read the conditions. Ask your supplier for a quote that states the specifications from the code.

Place the order

Keep the signed order or purchase agreement. That date starts the 3-month period.

Notify RVO within 3 months

Submit the notification via eLoket with eHerkenning (level 2 or higher), or have your adviser do it with a chain authorisation (ketenmachtiging). Within a few hours, you receive a confirmation of receipt with a reference number.

Wait for the decision

RVO usually decides within about 8 weeks. Sometimes RVO asks for additional information, such as a technical specification.

Include the deduction in your tax return

Your accountant processes the EIA in the tax return for the year of the investment. Keep invoices and specifications.

How does ISO 50001 help with the EIA?

ISO 50001 is not a condition for the EIA. However, your energy management system provides exactly the information you need. In your energy review, you see which installations use the most energy. These are your best candidates for an EIA investment. And with your energy performance indicators, you can show afterwards what the investment delivered.

Does your company fall under the energy saving obligation (energiebesparingsplicht)? Measures you are required to take can still appear on the Energy List. Check for each code whether an exclusion applies.

Common mistakes with the EIA subsidy

Notifying too late. The most common mistake. Build the notification period into your purchasing process.
Using the invoice date. The period starts at the order.
Using the wrong Energy List. The year of the order determines which list applies.
Stacking EIA and MIA. You cannot combine them for the same costs. EIA and Vamil can be combined, see MIA and Vamil.
Not following the code exactly. If your installation does not meet every characteristic in the code description, RVO will reject the notification.