Why mid-sized companies work with NOVARIS
The German research allowance refunds 25 % of R&D personnel costs, 35 % for SMEs, since 2026 on 120 % of those costs. What is missing is rarely the money. It is the time to turn development done in the daily business into a project the certification office understands. That is the part we take over.
- Success-based, 70 % due only after payout
- 25 of 25 BSFZ applications approved
- Hours preparation and support until approval included
Written by Max Nodes, Founder & Managing Director · Last updated:
Offset against the tax assessment, any surplus is paid out (§ 10 FZulG)
Assessment basis capped at EUR 12,000,000
Key facts in brief
Mid-sized companies file the German research allowance with NOVARIS because we take over the part where applications fail: scoping the project and presenting the technical risk to the BSFZ. The allowance is 25 % of eligible expenses, 35 % for SMEs, since 2026 on 120 % of personnel costs (20 % overhead flat rate). The assessment basis is capped at EUR 12 million, the allowance at EUR 4.2 million per year. Our fee is success-based, and 70 % of it falls due only after the allowance has been paid out. 25 of 25 supported BSFZ applications were approved (as of 09/2026).
- 25+engagements supported
- EUR 18.85Mfunding volume filed
- 25 of 25BSFZ applications approved (as of 09/2026)
- 3.5 monthsto the BSFZ certificate on average
What does a mid-sized company get from NOVARIS?
Who at NOVARIS works on your application?
A consultant who knows the research allowance from the largest application practice in Germany, not from the statute.
Max Nodes
Founder & Managing Director
Leadership role at the largest provider
Before founding NOVARIS, Max Nodes held a leadership role at the largest provider of research allowance consulting in Germany. There he successfully wrote more than 90 BSFZ applications and supported 50 companies through to approval, mid-sized and large companies alike.
On average 40 % more funding
The companies he supported received on average 40 % more research allowance than they had initially calculated themselves. The difference comes from how projects are scoped and how hours are prepared, not from the wording of the application.
Since 2026, from the timesheet to the assessment
NOVARIS Consulting was founded in early 2026 and does nothing but research allowance. We take over the complete preparation of hours per project, write the BSFZ application, prepare the Anlage FZ and stay with you until approval. Track record: 25 of 25 supported BSFZ applications approved (as of 09/2026).
Why do mid-sized companies leave the research allowance unclaimed?
We hear four reasons in almost every first conversation. None of them is about the technology.
"We do not do research, we improve our products."
The FZulG funds experimental development, not only basic research (§ 2 (1) FZulG). A new control concept, a process with an open outcome, a prototype whose behaviour nobody knows before the first test run: all of this is eligible, even when it happens in the daily business.
AnswerWe go through the projects of the last few years with your development team and separate eligible projects from routine. The conversation takes an hour.
"The managing director has no time for this."
A first application done in-house costs 40 to 80 working hours, most of them from the managing director or the head of development. That is why it stays on the pile.
AnswerYour share shrinks to one conversation per project and the approval. Application, queries and Annex FZ are written by us.
"Our tax advisor knows this."
The second stage at the tax office belongs to the tax firm. The first stage is a technical procedure at the BSFZ with its own language and its own rejection reasons. Projects are mostly rejected because the technical risk is presented weakly, not because it is missing (BSFZ rejection and objection).
AnswerWe take over the BSFZ stage and hand the finished Annex FZ to your tax firm. Both keep their role.
"When the tax audit comes, this will cause trouble."
The allowance is offset in the tax assessment and is therefore part of every later audit. Without time records per project and a clean delineation, the worry is justified.
AnswerWe build the file audit-ready from the start: hours assigned per project, delineation from daily business, evidence of technical risk.
The most common case in our engagements: the company had eligible projects for three years and no application. As long as the assessment period is open, this can be caught up.
How does an engagement run?
Six steps, two authorities. The durations of the authority steps come from our engagements and the BSFZ's own figures.
First consultation
30 minutes with management or the head of development. We tell you whether and which projects qualify. Free of charge.
You + NOVARISProject screening
One conversation per project with the developers. We scope the project, name the technical risk and prepare the hours per project from payroll and project records.
Developers + NOVARISBSFZ application
We write the application in the BSFZ portal, you approve it. Queries from the certification office are answered by us.
NOVARISCertificate
The BSFZ certifies the project. This establishes that it is R&D within the meaning of the FZulG.
BSFZAnnex FZ at the tax office
We prepare Annex FZ with the eligible expenses. Your tax firm files it via ELSTER.
NOVARIS + tax firmAssessment and payout
The tax office assesses the allowance and offsets it against the next tax assessment. Any surplus is paid out (§ 10 (1) FZulG).
Tax office
If you need the liquidity earlier: advance payments can be reduced by the expected allowance (§ 10 (2a) FZulG). Details on research allowance payout.
Filing yourself, tax advisor or specialist: what separates the three routes?
All three routes lead to an application. They differ in who speaks the BSFZ language, who invests the hours and who builds the audit file. No ranking, no prices: these are the criteria from our first conversations.
| Criterion | Filing yourself | Tax firm | NOVARIS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your time | no 40 to 80 hours per first application | partly Technical description stays with you | yes One conversation per project, one approval |
| BSFZ language (novelty, technical risk, systematic approach) | no Has to be learned | partly Strong on tax, rarely on technology | yes Daily practice, 25 approved applications |
| Tax office application (Annex FZ) | partly Possible via ELSTER | yes Core business | yes Prepared, tax firm files it |
| Audit file (time records, delineation) | no Usually created afterwards | partly Accounting view, not per project | yes Per project from day one |
| Fee model | Your own working time | Usually hourly | Success-based, 70 % after payout |
| Queries from BSFZ and tax office | no Answer them yourself | partly Tax office yes, BSFZ rarely | yes Both authorities |
If you have the hours and know the BSFZ language, you do not need us. How to do it is on filing the research allowance yourself. For everyone else the only question is who delivers the translation.
What does a mid-sized company end up with?
Two worked examples with the rates from 2026. The figures are rounded examples, not client data. Personnel costs are the employer gross for the hours worked in the project.
Special machinery, 60 employees, SME
Eight design and test engineers, on average 40 % of their time in two certified projects.
SME under Annex I of the GBER: fewer than 250 employees and at most EUR 50 million turnover or EUR 43 million balance sheet total. The 10 percentage point increase is requested via Annex FZ.
Software company, 120 employees, SME, with contract research
Four developers in the project plus a development contract with an institute worth EUR 200,000.
Contract research: 70 % of the fee counts if the contractor has its management in the EU or the EEA (§ 3 (4), § 2 (5) FZulG).
Above the SME threshold the rate is 25 %. The cap is EUR 12 million assessment basis, which means EUR 4.2 million allowance (SME) per financial year. Your own figures: research allowance calculator.
White paper research allowance 2026
Legal position, deadlines and rejection reasons to read up on.
What does the tax office check, and what do we secure?
The allowance is offset in the tax assessment. A tax audit therefore treats it like any other item. Four points decide.
Hours per project
The tax office wants to see the working hours in the project, not the total hours of the department. Without time records, hours are estimated, and estimates get cut.
AnswerA time grid per project that fits your existing time recording. No new system.
Delineation from daily business
Customer orders, maintenance and the project run with the same people. The audit asks where one ends and the other begins.
AnswerThe project scope from the screening is the delineation document. It exists before the first application.
Technical risk
The BSFZ has certified it. The tax office can still question it if the records suggest the opposite.
AnswerTest protocols, revisions and failed iterations are collected as evidence, not hidden as embarrassments.
Offsetting and booking
The allowance is a receivable from the tax office and other operating income. Booked wrongly, it stands out in the audit.
AnswerWe agree booking and offsetting with your tax firm. Details on booking the research allowance.
In 25 supported BSFZ procedures there was no rejection. That is not a promise for your project, but it shows that the project scope was right beforehand.
Frequently asked questions from mid-sized companies about the research allowance
When is NOVARIS not the right choice?
Three cases in which we advise against it in the first conversation.
Fewer than two people in the project
The allowance is then small, and the effort for time records and application is out of proportion. Read filing the research allowance yourself and file it yourself.
Pure contract development to a customer's specification
If the customer defines the result and carries the risk, your own technical risk is missing. The BSFZ rejects such projects, and we do not take them on.
Group with its own tax department and BSFZ routine
Then it is about the group cap, allocation and a series of applications, not about translation. There is a separate page for that: research allowance for large companies.
Send us two project names, not a questionnaire.
In the first consultation we tell you within 30 minutes whether your projects qualify and what allowance you can expect. Free of charge, no obligation.
Book a first consultationRead on
- Research allowance for SMEsSME definition, 35 % rate, special rules
- Research allowance amountAssessment basis, caps, worked examples
- Consulting costsWhat success-based fees mean
- Advisor register11 providers in a register, no ranking
- Filing yourselfBoth stages in-house, with effort estimate
- Research allowance for large companiesGroup cap, allocation, application per entity
Max Nodes
Managing Director & founder 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). Learn more