Forschungszulage (German R&D Tax Allowance)
Bescheinigungsstelle Forschungszulage / German tax authorities · R&D tax credit
VariesAllowance of 25% of eligible R&D costs (35% for SMEs); maximum assessment base €12M per year for costs from 1 Jan 2026 (max ~€3M/yr, €4.2M for SMEs); contract research counted at 70%; paid out even if loss-making
Legal entitlement for every German-taxed company (any size or sector) to an R&D tax allowance on in-house and contract R&D.
Key terms
- Any company with tax liability in Germany, regardless of size, legal form or industry
- Two-step: BSFZ certifies the R&D project, then claim the allowance at the tax office
- Assessment base raised to €12M/yr from 2026 (Investitionssofortprogramm), with added overhead flat rate
- Fully digital application
Eligibility
- Where
- Germany
- Stages
- pre-seed, seed, series-a, growth
- Needs VC/accelerator backing
- No
- Needs partner referral code
- No
- Must be incorporated
- Yes
- AI focus required
- No
- Students / researchers
- Not eligible
- Nonprofits
- Not eligible
Also required
- Credited against tax; refunded if exceeding tax liability
How to apply
Apply for project certification at bescheinigung-forschungszulage.de, then file the allowance claim with your tax office (ELSTER) after year-end.
- Benefit
- cash
- Equity-free
- Yes
- Decision time
- —
- Credit validity
- —
- Deadline
- Rolling
- Status
- Open
Verified 2026-10-22 · source