CIR (Crédit d’Impôt Recherche)
France’s Research Tax Credit grants a 30% credit on eligible R&D expenses up to 100 million euros, then 5% above that threshold. The credit offsets corporate tax owed and is refundable for SMEs, young innovative companies and distressed businesses.
In practice
The CIR covers salaries of research staff and technicians, depreciation of R&D equipment, subcontracting to accredited bodies and patent filing costs. A SaaS startup with two R&D engineers at 60,000 euros gross each can recover roughly 36,000 euros in year one. The supporting file must document the work undertaken, the technical uncertainty overcome and the results achieved — specifics matter more than volume.