Research allowance - tax incentives for R&D projects Granting

Apply to the Research Allowance Certification Office (BSFZ) for tax-incentivized research funding for your company for basic research, industrial research or experimental development.

Whether start-up, small, medium-sized or large company: All companies subject to tax in Germany that carry out research and development can benefit from the research allowance.

To do so, submit an "Application for certification of an R&D project" to the Research Allowance Certification Office (BSFZ). The BSFZ will check whether your project is an eligible research project. The BSFZ examines your submissions for novelty, risk or unpredictability, and for planning.

You can apply for a certificate for a research grant before, during or after completion of your project. Please note that you should always apply for the certificate first. This is a prerequisite for subsequently being able to submit the "Application for research allowance" to your local tax office.a

The tax offices are responsible.

The tax offices are responsible.

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• Your company must be subject to tax in Germany.
• Your company must generate income.
• Work on your research project must have started after 01.01.2020.
• To apply for a certificate for an eligible research grant, you must register once on the BSFZ web portal.
• Your research project must fall into one of the following three categories Basic Research, Industrial Research and Experimental Development.

• Appeal

Further information on how to lodge an objection can be found in the notification of your application for certification from the Research Allowance Certification Office

To apply for the research allowance certificate, follow these steps:

• Registration and application:
  • Visit the web portal of the Bescheinigungsstelle Forschungszulage (BSFZ) and register there. After registering, you can log in with your access data.
• Fill out the application form:
  • Fill out the online application form. Here you must provide detailed information about your research and development project (R&D project). This includes
    • Description of the project
    • Objectives and expected results
    • Timetable and milestones
    • Budget and planned expenditure
• Submission of the application:
  • Submit the completed application online.
• Review by the BSFZ:
  • The BSFZ will check your application for eligibility as a beneficiary.
• Receive certificate:
  • After a successful review, you will receive a certificate confirming the eligibility of your R&D project. This certificate will also be sent directly to the relevant tax office.
• Apply for a research allowance from the tax office:
  • With the certificate, you can now apply for the research allowance at the relevant tax office via the ELSTER portal.
  • The tax office will check your application and determine the research allowance.

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