Application forms for the new German tax allowance published
Munich, 11.20.2020 – The certification body for the German research allowance (BSFZ) has published the digital application forms for the new tax allowance. This means that all taxpaying companies can now have their personnel costs and costs for contract research in their research and development projects reimbursed up to 25 percent via tax. ARTTIC Innovation GmbH, the consulting firm specializing in research funding, supports companies in the correct drafting of the extensive application procedure (www.fzulg.eu).
This milestone has been a long time coming. “Following political disputes over the law on research allowances, it was enacted last year in time for 2020, with effect from the beginning of the year. Now the applications for 2020 can be submitted without a time limit at year’s end”, explains Anne Baumgärtel, team leader for the research allowance at Arttic. The call for applications for the project management agency, the certifying body, lasted until July and was concluded with the announcement of the three project management agencies – VDI Technologiezentrum GmbH, AIF Projekt GmbH and the German Aerospace Center – DLR. On behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), these three institutions examine applications for their eligibility and amount of funding. Positive certification in accordance with § 6 of the Research Allowance Act (FZulG) creates a legal claim to the funding via the income or corporation tax return.
The expenses can be taken into account retroactively from January 1, 2020. The maximum amount of the achievable tax credit is one million euros.
The certifying bodies point out in several places that they will not act in an advisory capacity before the application is submitted. Their task is to examine and decide on the eligibility of the projects for funding under Section 6 of the Research Allowance Act (FZulG). The gap in consulting is closed by consulting companies for subsidies such as ARTTIC Innovation GmbH.
Anne Baumgärtel of ARTTIC: “Due to the complex rules for defining research, it is not easy to describe a project in a few sentences. ARTTIC has already been registering lively activity on research grants for months. The examination for eligibility for funding is particularly frequently requested”. Within the framework of a service contract, ARTTIC checks the eligibility in advance and supports the researching companies with the new application according to the guidelines. “This is a task for experts who have submitted thousands of such applications throughout Europe and know the most important pitfalls,” Baumgärtel continues. “It is more efficient if qualified scientists in the companies can concentrate on their core competencies. Especially since our experts are able to obtain a higher funding amount due to their experience”.
