Does my company have to be an SME to receive the Forschungszulage?

No. The Forschungszulage is generally available to all taxable companies—regardless of size or legal form.

Who decides whether my project is eligible?

The BSFZ decides in the certification procedure whether your R&D project meets the criteria. The Forschungszulage is then claimed for tax purposes.

Which documents should I prepare?

At a minimum: project objective, delineation from the state of the art, technical risks/uncertainties, work packages/milestones, rough cost planning, and clean R&D documentation.

What are the most common mistakes?

Trying to "sell" routine developments as R&D, missing delineation from the state of the art, too little technical uncertainty—and above all: too little planning & documentation.

How do I know whether my project is eligible for the Forschungszulage?

Q: What is the most important requirement for the Forschungszulage?

That your project is genuine research and development and meets the criteria of novelty, technical uncertainty, and planned execution.

Date: March 20, 2026•Author: Erich Lehmann

Summary

Process Overview

1Project must be genuine R&D (not routine)
2Core criteria: novelty, uncertainty, planned execution
3Any taxable company is eligible to apply
4Formal start via BSFZ certification

Your project is often eligible for the Forschungszulage if it is genuine R&D (not just routine incremental development) and meets the criteria of novelty, technical uncertainty, and planned execution. The big advantage: any taxable company can use the Forschungszulage—regardless of size or legal form. The formal starting point is the certificate from the BSFZ; only after that comes the tax claim process.

Why is the Forschungszulage especially worthwhile?

For many companies, the Forschungszulage is the „simplest" R&D funding logic in Germany because it is not tied to SME criteria and can be planned within your tax framework. If you have R&D costs, it can be a very attractive option—especially if you do not want to rely on classic grant programs with competition, deadlines, or expert review rounds.

You can find more overview information here:

Forschungszulage: getting started & requirements: Go to guide
Cost calculation & eligible expenses: Go to guide

Step 1: Does your project qualify as "R&D"?

For the Forschungszulage, your project must be assignable to at least one of these three areas:

Basic research: generating knowledge without an immediate commercial focus.
Industrial research: scientifically/engineering-driven solution development for specific questions.
Experimental development: development/improvement of products, processes, or services—with real technical uncertainty.

If, by contrast, your project is "only" implementation, standard engineering, or pure adaptation without technical uncertainty, it is usually difficult.

Step 2: Does your project meet the core criteria?

In practice, you can assess eligibility well with a short checklist. Typical characteristics of eligible projects include:

Novelty: you generate new findings or exceed the state of the art. Learn more about the novelty criterion.
Creative: the solution is not "obvious" and not just routine. Learn more about the creative criterion.
Systematic/planned: there is a clear work plan (e.g., work packages, milestones, budget). Learn more about the systematic criterion.
Reproducible & documentable: results and approach are documented so they can be understood and traced.
Uncertainty/risk: it is open whether and how the goal can be achieved technically. Learn more about the uncertainty criterion.

This logic is central because the BSFZ (Bescheinigungsstelle Forschungszulage) evaluates projects in particular based on novelty, risk/uncertainty, and planned execution. Learn more about the BSFZ and the certification process.

Official points of contact:

BSFZ – Bescheinigungsstelle Forschungszulage (certification procedure, info & application): https://www.bsfz.de/
Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) (legal framework/tax context): https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/

Step 3: Typical "green" and "red" signals from practice

Often eligible (if clearly delineated)

Development of a new algorithm or novel data processing with measurable technical improvement
Prototyping, test series, validation—if the outcome is technically open
Development of new materials/components/processes with verifiable uncertainty

Often not eligible

Pure routine development (e.g., standard feature, UI adjustments, migration without technical uncertainty)
"Copy & paste" implementations of known solutions without an R&D component
Measures without a robust R&D plan or without a technical hypothesis/uncertainty

Step 4: The pragmatic quick test (5 questions)

Answer these questions with "Yes"—the more often, the better:

Is there a technical problem that is not trivial to solve?
Is it unclear whether the solution will work (technical risk)?
Are you generating new insights rather than just adopting existing ones?
Is there a project plan (goals, work packages, milestones, budget)?
Can you document the process (experiments, decisions, results)?

If you have at least 3–4 "Yes" answers here, a structured eligibility check for the Forschungszulage is usually worthwhile.

Next step: Get a quick eligibility check

If you want clarity fast, the best path is a short pre-check based on your project objective, state-of-the-art delineation, work packages, and cost structure.

Free initial check / contact: Check eligibility now

Learn more about key Forschungszulage terms explained simply and the application process.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Check out our guides about applications and funding