8 Benefits of the Forschungszulage

The 8 key benefits of the Forschungszulage (short & practical)

1) Statutory entitlement instead of a competitive program

With the Forschungszulage, the rule is: If your project meets the R&D criteria, you have a legal entitlement. You do not compete with other companies for limited budgets as with classic grants. This creates planning certainty—especially when R&D is designed for the long term.

2) Claimable retroactively for up to 4 years (also for projects already completed)

A major lever is retroactivity: You can claim the Forschungszulage after the fact for eligible R&D expenses (typically within the scope of the tax assessment limitation periods). This is especially helpful if you only realize later that a project actually qualified as "R&D"—or if a project has already been completed.

3) Open to all sectors & to (almost) all company sizes

Whether start-up, SME, or corporation: the Forschungszulage is not tied to a specific sector. What matters is not your industry, but whether your activity can be classified as research/industrial research/experimental development.

4) Usable even without profit (liquidity advantage for start-ups)

Many funding instruments help only "at some point later"—the Forschungszulage can also have an impact when there are no profits and therefore no or low tax burden: If the assessed Forschungszulage exceeds the tax due, it can be paid out. This is a relevant liquidity advantage, especially for growth-oriented companies.

5) Simpler than classic grants (two-step, but standardized)

Compared to many project grants, the Forschungszulage is often leaner:

1. Project certification by the BSFZ (proof: genuine R&D project)
2. Claiming it with the tax office (calculation/offsetting or payout)

Important: "Leaner" does not mean "anything goes"—a well-prepared project description and documentation saves time and follow-up questions later.

6) Fully digital process (BSFZ portal & ELSTER)

The application steps are digital: project certification via the BSFZ portal, and the tax claim via the tax return/ELSTER. This reduces paperwork, improves traceability, and makes the process more workable for many teams.

7) Thematic openness (you don't have to fit into "funding priorities")

There is no rigid topic catalogue like with many programs. Projects are supported if they qualify as R&D (e.g., experimental development, industrial research). This makes the Forschungszulage a good fit for product-close development—for example in software, mechanical engineering, electronics, MedTech, or process innovation.

8) Broad range of eligible costs (not just salaries)

A typical core component is personnel costs for employees working in R&D. Depending on the setup, additional cost types may also be eligible (e.g., contract research as well as, under certain conditions, depreciation-related costs for assets used in the project context). This means the Forschungszulage can also work for more complex development setups.

More topics on zeitmaker.com

• Getting started & basics: What is the Forschungszulage?
• Practice: Application process
• Classification: Requirements
• Costs & evidence: Calculation