Forschungszulage Personnel Costs: How Can I Get Funding for Personnel Costs in Innovation Projects?
Summary
With the Forschungszulage, companies in Germany can obtain tax relief on personnel costs for innovation projects: generally 25%, and 35% for SMEs. Since 01.01.2026, the maximum assessment base is €12 million per year. Personnel costs are usually the biggest lever – provided they are correctly delimited, documented, and calculated in an audit-proof manner.
Why This Article Matters (and What Many Companies Underestimate)
In practice, funding rarely fails because of the idea – it fails because costs, and specifically personnel costs, are not cleanly assigned to the innovation project or are not documented in an audit-proof way. Companies that get this right often recover five- to six-figure sums quickly – even when the company is currently not making profits (payment/refund is possible when the credit exceeds the tax liability).
Which Personnel Costs Are Eligible for the Forschungszulage?
For Forschungszulage personnel costs, the following are primarily eligible:
- Wages and salaries (subject to wage tax) of employees working on the eligible project
- Future security contributions by the employer (typically employer shares of social insurance, to the extent eligible)
- (In certain cases) own work by sole proprietors / co-entrepreneurs, at the statutory hourly rate
Important: What matters is not the job title or department, but the actual activity within the innovation project.
Calculating Forschungszulage Personnel Costs: How to Determine the Eligible Share
Calculating Forschungszulage personnel costs: How to determine the eligible share
The calculation follows a clear principle in practice:
- Determine total personnel costs per employee for the fiscal year (gross wages + eligible employer components).
- Determine the project share: what demonstrable proportion of working time was spent on the eligible innovation project?
- This gives the eligible assessment base per person:
- eligible personnel costs = total personnel costs × project time share
- Apply the funding rate to the total:
- Standard: 25%
- SMEs (upon application / when criteria are met): 35%
Brief Example After the March 2024 Amendment (one employee)
Brief example after the March 2024 amendment (one employee)
- Total personnel costs: €80,000
- Project share: 60%
- Eligible personnel costs: €48,000
- Forschungszulage: 25% = €12,000 (SMEs: 35% = €16,800)
What Limits and Changes Should You Know About?
Important for planning:
- Maximum assessment base:
- from 28.03.2024: €10 million per year
- from 01.01.2026: €12 million per year
- Maximum credit per year (from the assessment base):
- from 28.03.2024: up to €2.5 million (SMEs: €3.5 million)
- from 01.01.2026: up to €3.0 million (SMEs: €4.2 million)
- Own work (entrepreneur hours):
- from 01.01.2026: €100 / hour (at max. 40 hrs/week, for specific groups only)
Documentation: No Personnel Cost Funding Without Evidence
For personnel costs to be recognized, you need a plausible, consistent, and auditable basis – typically:
- a clear activity delimitation (what is "innovation in the project" vs. routine/support?)
- time tracking or equivalent internal records (project-related)
- payroll records (as the basis for personnel costs)
- a clear project structure (work packages / milestones) so that the time share can be logically explained
Documents needed to calculate and substantiate personnel costs: time tracking, payroll account, project structure.
If you are just getting started: at dieforschungszulage.de you will find practical guides on how to structure innovation projects cleanly and assign costs correctly.
Application and Process: Two Stages (BSFZ + Tax Office)
Application and process: Two stages (BSFZ + tax office)
The Forschungszulage runs in two stages:
- Certification of the innovation project at the BSFZ (online):
Official portal: https://www.bescheinigung-forschungszulage.de/
- Then application for the Forschungszulage at the tax office (electronically, after the end of the fiscal year).
Good to know: The credit is offset against the tax liability – and paid out if it exceeds the assessed tax.
Why the Forschungszulage Is So Attractive (Especially for Personnel Costs)
- Plannable: Personnel costs are recurring, well-documentable, and the largest cost block in innovation projects.
- Liquidity-effective: also for startups / companies in loss phases.
- Scalable: through the high assessment limits (from 2026 up to €12 million).
Do you still have questions about this topic?
We are happy to discuss your specific case in a free initial consultation. We'll find out in just a few minutes how much funding your company can receive.
Eligible are primarily wage-tax-liable salaries and wages of employees working on the innovation project, plus certain employer contributions for future security (e.g. relevant social insurance employer shares).
You need (1) total personnel costs per person and (2) a demonstrable project time share. The eligible amount is then: costs × project share.
The standard rate is 25%; for SMEs (if the criteria are met and an application is filed) it is 35%.
Yes. If the Forschungszulage exceeds the tax liability, the difference is generally paid out.
At the BSFZ via the official portal: https://www.bescheinigung-forschungszulage.de/