HyBrayn Funding Service
R&D tax allowance: up to 24.5 % of your AI development back
Via the German R&D tax incentive as contract research, you reclaim a large share of our development invoice: nationwide, a legal entitlement, retroactive. We guide the whole path — from pre-check to submission.
The German R&D tax incentive has no application deadline and no budget cap. As contract research, 70 % of our development invoice counts as an eligible expense; on that, SMEs get the 35 % rate and larger companies 25 % — an effective 24.5 % and 17.5 % back. We supply the technical evidence; your tax adviser files it.
Free pre-check · No approval guarantee · Your tax advisor files it
How your funding service works
Four steps, minimal effort for you. We do the work; you submit in your own name.
Discovery & free R&D pre-check
We work out the fundable project with you and check whether it meets the technical development risk the R&D tax incentive requires.
Cost calculation
We compile the eligible costs cleanly — transparent and traceable.
R&D evidence & application preparation
We write the technical evidence of our development work and prepare all documents for the certification body and the application.
Support through to submission
You submit in your own name; your tax advisor handles the tax assessment. We support you technically and organisationally — not tax or legal advice.
Result: up to ~24.5% of your development costs back
Under the R&D tax incentive, 70% of our invoice counts as an eligible expense × the 35% SME rate (≈ 24.5%); 25% for larger companies (≈ 17.5%). Nationwide, retroactive, no budget cap.
What this means in figures
The arithmetic works in both directions: 70 % of the development invoice counts as eligible expenditure (§ 3(4) FZulG), and the allowance on top of that is 35 % for SMEs or 25 % for larger companies (§ 4 FZulG).
| Development volume | Eligible expenditure (70 %) | SME — effectively 24.5 % | Larger companies — effectively 17.5 % |
|---|---|---|---|
| €50,000 | €35,000 | €12,250 | €8,750 |
| €100,000 | €70,000 | €24,500 | €17,500 |
| €250,000 | €175,000 | €61,250 | €43,750 |
We still invoice in full. What goes down is your effective cost — funded through tax, not through a discount. Projects commissioned before 28 March 2024 are at 60 % rather than 70 %.
Two stages — and no application deadline
The research allowance is not a competitive process. It runs through two separate authorities, and you can approach the first one at any time.
1. R&D certificate from the BSFZ
The certification body assesses whether your project is research and development within the meaning of the act. You can apply for this certificate at any time — there is no deadline. This is where the substantive work sits, and where we supply the technical documentation.
2. The allowance via your tax return
Your tax adviser claims the research allowance with the tax return; it is credited after the end of the financial year. The BSFZ decides on the certificate, the tax office on the crediting — two decisions, two authorities.
There is a legal entitlement under § 1 FZulG: no budget cap, no lottery, no first-come-first-served. If the statutory criteria are met, the entitlement exists — which does not make approval automatic.
Where it fails in practice
We would rather say this before the project than after. These five situations generally do not carry the research allowance:
- A standard tool is rolled out and configured. A Copilot rollout, a SaaS integration, a prompt catalogue — that is application of proven technology, not development risk.
- The outcome was certain from the start. If it is clear at the outset that and how something will work, the technical uncertainty that matters is missing.
- Pure integration work with no open questions. Connecting two documented interfaces is craft, not research — however laborious it is.
- Nothing is documented. Without a traceable account of the initial question, the alternatives examined and the approaches discarded, the uncertainty cannot be evidenced even where it existed.
- The contract is passed on. If a provider subcontracts parts of the project, the fee attributable to that subcontract is expressly not an eligible expense under § 3(4) sentence 3 FZulG — that share drops out of your funding.
The converse also holds: a project does not become eligible because it has “AI” on the label — and it does not lose eligibility because it ended up working. What counts is the state of knowledge at the start, not the outcome.
What we deliver — and what not
So you know exactly where HyBrayn acts for you and where you act on your own.
R&D tax incentive (nationwide)
Our actively delivered core product — from the pre-check through to the finished technical R&D documentation. Under § 1 FZulG the claimant is always your company; filing goes through you or your tax adviser. For any company in Germany.
Grant programmes
We select the fitting federal and state programmes with you and support you through the application — as part of a development project with us. The funding check shows which programmes suit your state and your project.
Funding advice on its own
Without an accompanying development project we do not take on application support. We will point you to the programmes that fit — filing is then down to you, and several programmes run through a lottery anyway.
The honest conditions
So it's clear when the R&D tax incentive applies — and when it doesn't.
- Only for genuine technical development risk (novelty, open outcome). Routine use of established standard tools does not qualify.
- No approval guarantee. The project must be certified as R&D by the certification body (BSFZ).
- The applicant is your company. The tax claim is made through your tax advisor — we do not provide tax or legal advice.
- HyBrayn qualifies as an EU contractor (§ 2 (5) FZulG). The incentive lowers your effective development price — we ourselves claim nothing.
Frequently asked questions about the research allowance
Your concrete funding figure in 2 minutes
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