R&D tax credit: are you eligible?
Seven questions decide whether a project falls under the FZulG. The check ends with the estimated allowance per year and tells you which answer moves it most.
- Two questions are knockout criteria, five weigh the result
- Estimate based on the funding rate under § 4 (1) FZulG
- No form, no email address
Written by Max Nodes, Founder and Managing Director · 25 of 25 supported BSFZ applications certified (as of 09/2026) · Last updated: · Law as of:
Your project carries the marks of an eligible project
Tax liability, technical risk and record keeping fit. The BSFZ certificate decides bindingly (§ 6 FZulG); the estimate shows the order of magnitude we would be talking about.
Estimated for one project, at EUR 65,000 employer gross per person and year, without contract research and without own contributions. Most companies run several projects: the allowance is calculated per fiscal year across all certified projects together, up to the cap on the assessment basis (Bemessungsgrundlage). Your real figures will give a different result.
Eligible, but one answer weakens the application
The basic requirements are met. Usually the time records are missing or the classification of the project is unclear. Both can be fixed before you file.
Estimated for one project, at EUR 65,000 employer gross per person and year, without contract research and without own contributions. Most companies run several projects: the allowance is calculated per fiscal year across all certified projects together, up to the cap on the assessment basis (Bemessungsgrundlage). Your real figures will give a different result.
The research allowance does not apply to this project
Either the German tax liability is missing or the project carries no technical risk. Both are requirements that cannot be negotiated. For other projects in your company the answer may differ.
Discuss another projectKey facts in brief
The research allowance is available to anyone liable to income or corporation tax in Germany (§ 1 FZulG) who runs a project that falls under basic research, industrial research or experimental development (§ 2 FZulG). What decides it is not the size of the innovation but whether it was open at the outset whether the solution would work. Legal form, industry and company size do not affect the claim; they do affect the rate. All rates and caps at a glance: the Forschungszulage facts 2026 page.
The essentials of eligibility
Which companies can claim?
Anyone liable to income or corporation tax in Germany. Legal form, industry, age and size do not affect the claim.
- Corporations such as GmbH, UG and AG, through corporation tax
- Partnerships such as GbR, OHG and KG, pro rata through the partners
- Sole proprietors and freelancers, through income tax
- Loss-making companies, because the allowance is paid out when there is no tax
Tax-exempt bodies without a commercial operation fall outside: § 1 (1) FZulG limits eligibility to companies subject to unlimited or limited income or corporate tax liability, and without assessed tax there is nothing for the allowance to be offset against.
Which projects qualify?
Projects where it was open at the outset whether the solution would work and where the work followed a system. § 2 FZulG names three categories.
| Category | How to recognise it |
|---|---|
| Basic research | Gaining knowledge with no specific application in view |
| Industrial research | New knowledge for products, processes or services |
| Experimental development | Prototypes, demonstrators and test series, as long as the product or process is not yet essentially settled (§ 2 (2) FZulG) |
What does not count
- Routine changes to existing products with no open technical outcome
- Market research, design and advertising
- Preparing production once the process is essentially settled (§ 2 (2) FZulG)
Which costs enter the assessment basis?
Personnel costs above all. Own contributions, contract research, depreciation and, from 2026, a flat rate come on top.
| Cost type | How it counts | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Wages of R&D staff | in full, pro rata by time share | § 3 (1) FZulG |
| Own contribution of sole proprietors and partners | EUR 100 per hour, at most 40 hours per week | § 3 (3) FZulG |
| Depreciation on movable fixed assets | pro rata, acquired after 27 March 2024 | § 3 (3a) FZulG |
| Contract research | 70 % of the fee | § 3 (4) FZulG |
| Overhead flat rate | 20 %, only for projects started after 31 December 2025 | § 3 (3b) FZulG |
Example of an SME with a project started in 2026. The amounts are computed from the values in the act.
The assessment basis is capped at EUR 12 million per fiscal year (§ 3 (5) FZulG). How the allowance follows from it is computed year by year by the calculator.
What happens after the check?
Two applications in a fixed order: first the BSFZ certificate, then research allowance application (ELSTER) at the tax office.
Define the project
Which work belongs to the project and which is routine.
You and usApply for the certificate
The BSFZ checks whether the project qualifies (§ 6 FZulG).
BSFZFile research allowance application (ELSTER)
Electronically to the tax office after the end of the fiscal year (§ 5 FZulG).
YouAssessment and payout
Offset against the assessed tax, the surplus is paid out (§ 10 FZulG).
Tax office
The whole route with deadlines is on the page applying for the research allowance.
Which questions about eligibility come up most often?
Turn the check result into firm figures
In the first consultation we define your projects and calculate with your real numbers. 70 % of the fee falls due only after the allowance is paid out.
Book a first consultationRead on
- Research allowance calculatorComputes the allowance year by year.
- Applying for the research allowanceThe route from project analysis to payout.
- SMEs and the funding rateWhen 35 % applies and how the group counts.
- Time recordingWhat an audit-proof timesheet looks like.
- Application exampleA project description that convinces the BSFZ.
- Research allowance (FZulG)The guide with all the rules in one place.
Max Nodes
Founder and Managing Director of NOVARIS Consulting. Specialised in the German R&D tax credit (FZulG) since 2021; 25 of 25 accompanied BSFZ applications approved (as of 09/2026). Max Nodes