diff --git a/src/CMakeLists.txt b/src/CMakeLists.txt
index a9f0a9a80..c32c94ac9 100644
--- a/src/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -133,6 +133,12 @@ if(QT)
   set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 17)
   set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON)
   set(CMAKE_CXX_EXTENSIONS OFF)
+  
+  # if we want to use qt5-static to eliminate need for bundling qt dlls (windows)
+  #set(QT_STATIC ON)
+  # needed to build with qt5-static if both qt5 and qt5-static are installed
+  #set(CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH "path/to/qt5-static")
+  
   find_package(Qt5 COMPONENTS Core Widgets REQUIRED)
 endif()
 
diff --git a/src/qt/CMakeLists.txt b/src/qt/CMakeLists.txt
index 96d3ba6d4..65ae7c643 100644
--- a/src/qt/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/qt/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -107,6 +107,13 @@ target_link_libraries(
     Threads::Threads
 )
 
+# needed for static builds
+if (WIN32)
+    qt_import_plugins(plat INCLUDE Qt5::QWindowsIntegrationPlugin Qt5::QICOPlugin QWindowsVistaStylePlugin)
+else()
+    qt_import_plugins(plat INCLUDE Qt5::QICOPlugin)
+endif()
+
 if (PkgConfig_FOUND)
     pkg_check_modules(RTMIDI rtmidi)
     if (RTMIDI_FOUND)
diff --git a/src/qt/qt_main.cpp b/src/qt/qt_main.cpp
index 8aa878e3e..48ca388ac 100644
--- a/src/qt/qt_main.cpp
+++ b/src/qt/qt_main.cpp
@@ -4,6 +4,16 @@
 #include <QThread>
 #include <QTimer>
 
+#ifdef QT_STATIC
+/* Static builds need plugin imports */
+#include <QtPlugin>
+Q_IMPORT_PLUGIN(QICOPlugin)
+#ifdef Q_OS_WINDOWS
+Q_IMPORT_PLUGIN(QWindowsIntegrationPlugin)
+Q_IMPORT_PLUGIN(QWindowsVistaStylePlugin)
+#endif
+#endif
+
 #include <86box/86box.h>
 #include <86box/plat.h>
 #include <86box/ui.h>