The Forschungszulage is a tax incentive you are legally entitled to. No committee, no deadline, no budget cap. Anyone who can evidence eligible R&D expenditure gets back a fixed percentage of it, either credited against tax or, where the tax burden is low, paid out in cash. Since 1 January 2026 the assessment ceilings have risen and a new overhead flat rate applies.
The funding rate: 25% and 35% at a glance
The statutory rule is in § 4 FZulG: the Forschungszulage is 25 per cent of the assessment base. Small and medium-sized companies as defined in Annex I of the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) can claim a further ten percentage points on application, giving 35 per cent. You have to make that application actively; it doesn't apply automatically.
- 25% — the standard rate for all eligible companies
- 35% — on application for SMEs under GBER Annex I (fewer than 250 employees, turnover up to €50m or a balance sheet total up to €43m)
With the assessment base fully used, the ten-percentage-point SME bonus is worth €1.2m a year. A company with SME status that doesn't apply is giving away exactly that amount.
Maximum amounts from 2026
The maximum annual amount follows from the funding rate and the maximum assessment base. Since 1 January 2026 the assessment base has been €12m per financial year, raised from €10m by the immediate tax investment programme (BGBl. I 2025 no. 161).
- €3.0m a year — the standard cap (25% × €12m)
- €4.2m a year — the cap for SMEs (35% × €12m)
For most companies the €12m limit is not a real constraint. It only bites once total eligible R&D expenditure in a financial year exceeds that figure, which for a staff-heavy team is roughly 60 to 70 people working full time on R&D.
What goes into the assessment base
The assessment base under § 3 FZulG is made up of four cost blocks:
- Staff costs: gross pay of employees working on the R&D project plus the employer's social security contributions, apportioned by evidenced R&D time
- Own work: for sole traders and actively involved co-entrepreneurs, a notional hourly rate of €100 applies from 1 January 2026 (previously €70), capped at 40 working hours a week
- Contract research: 70 per cent of the fee for contracts awarded after 27 March 2024, provided the contractor is based in an EU or EEA state
- Depreciation: on movable fixed assets used exclusively on the R&D project and acquired after 27 March 2024
Expenditure already financed by other public funding programmes is not eligible. The same person-hour may only be funded once (§ 7 FZulG). Anyone drawing ZIM or EXIST in parallel has to strip the affected costs out cleanly.
20% overhead flat rate (new in 2026)
New from 1 January 2026: on the remaining eligible expenditure (staff, own work, contract research, depreciation), 20 per cent may be claimed as a flat overhead rate, with no itemised evidence. The rule was inserted into § 3 FZulG by the immediate tax investment programme.
For a company with a direct assessment base of €800,000, the flat rate adds another €160,000, and at a 35% funding rate that is €56,000 more in Forschungszulage without having to evidence rent, licences or IT costs individually. It is the simplest lever 2026 brings.
The flat rate applies to projects that started after 31 December 2025. Whether ongoing projects that started before 2026 also benefit has not yet been finally settled by the tax authorities.
The cap per group of companies
The €12m limit applies not per company but per group. Under § 3 (6) FZulG, linked companies share a single annual assessment base. Anyone running several operating units inside a group or holding structure has to allocate the limit across the companies in advance, otherwise they end up arguing with the tax office about the split during assessment.
The definition of linked companies follows Article 3 of GBER Annex I, the same definition that decides SME status. Anyone who effectively belongs to a larger group through an investor holding above 50 per cent has to run the group calculation properly, even if their own company is small.
There is also a state aid ceiling of €15m per project under § 4 (2) FZulG (Art. 25 GBER). In practice this limit is only relevant for very large individual projects.
FAQ
How much is the Forschungszulage in 2026?
The rate is 25 per cent of the assessment base under § 4 FZulG. SMEs under GBER Annex I can claim 35 per cent on application. With the full assessment base of €12m, that gives a maximum allowance of €3m (standard) or €4.2m (SME).
What is the assessment base for the Forschungszulage?
The assessment base consists of eligible staff costs, own work (€100 an hour, max. 40 hours a week from 2026), 70 per cent of the contract research fee, and the new 20 per cent overhead flat rate.
Does the 35% SME bonus apply automatically?
No. The uplift is only granted on application. You have to meet the SME criteria in GBER Annex I and make the application explicitly. Linked companies are consolidated for the SME test.
Is the €12m limit calculated per company or per group?
Per group of companies. Under § 3 (6) FZulG, linked companies share a single annual assessment base. Anyone running several companies has to allocate the limit in advance.
When is the Forschungszulage paid out?
Under § 10 FZulG the allowance is credited against assessed income or corporation tax. If it exceeds the tax liability, the excess is refunded. In practice, twelve to eighteen months typically pass between the end of the financial year and the assessment.
Forschungszulage 2026: the complete guide
A €12m assessment base, a 35% SME rate, a two-stage procedure: an overview of the Forschungszulage in 2026, and where to find the detail.
Forschungszulage 2026: a €12m assessment base, €4.2m for SMEs — what applicants need to know now
The immediate tax investment programme raises the cap again. Which documentation mistakes are surfacing in the first BSFZ wave, and how to be ready for them.
Forschungszulage: which staff costs are eligible
Which pay components feed into the assessment base, how the 20% overhead flat rate works from 2026, and why time records decide the payout.
Calculating the Forschungszulage: what you actually get
25% on staff costs, own work and contract research, plus a 20% overhead flat rate from 2026. How to work your Forschungszulage out.
All the detail, eligibility and pitfalls:
- [1]§ 4 FZulG — the amount of the Forschungszulage— gesetze-im-internet.de (BMJ), 2026 Source
- [2]§ 3 FZulG — eligible expenditure and the assessment base— gesetze-im-internet.de (BMJ), 2026 Source
- [3]Act on an immediate tax investment programme to strengthen Germany as a business location (BGBl. I no. 161, 18 July 2025)— Bundesgesetzblatt, 2025 Source
- [4]The immediate tax investment programme and its effect on the Forschungszulage— Bescheinigungsstelle Forschungszulage (BSFZ), 2026 Source
- [5]GBER Annex I — the SME definition (Regulation (EU) No 651/2014)— EUR-Lex / European Commission, 2014 Source