The innovation funding consulting market in France

According to the Bulletin officiel des finances publiques (BOFiP, the French tax doctrine), consulting fees set as a percentage of the credit obtained are deducted from the CIR base. Other fees are deducted only for the part exceeding €15,000 excluding VAT or 5% of eligible expenses net of grants, whichever is higher. The rule applies to any provider in France: specialist firm, lawyer or chartered accountant.

The 2025 finance act (loi n° 2025-127 of 14 February 2025) extends the innovation tax credit to 31 December 2027 but lowers its standard rate from 30% to 20% for expenses incurred since 1 January 2025, according to the BOFiP. The Sénat notes that the CII targets SMEs and covers prototype design, capped at €400,000 of spending a year. Its cost is estimated at €230m in 2026.

For expenses incurred since 15 February 2025, the 2025 finance act removes patent and plant variety certificate costs and technology watch from the research tax credit base, according to the BOFiP. It ends the doubling of young doctoral staff costs and lowers the operating flat rate from 43% to 40% of staff costs. These changes reduce the amounts that innovation funding consultants can claim.

According to the Sénat report on the 2026 finance bill, the tax component of the young innovative company scheme has been winding down since the 2024 finance act. The social component was kept in 2025 but reserved for companies whose R&D reaches 20% of deductible costs, up from 15% before. The Government proposes raising this threshold to 25% in 2026; the scheme’s cost would then reach €194m.

In mainland France, the research tax credit equals 30% of research spending up to €100m, then 5% above, according to Service-public.gouv.fr (page checked on 21 February 2025). The Sénat presents it as the State’s costliest tax expenditure in 2026, at €8,041m. This weight explains the central place of the CIR in the offer of innovation funding consultancies.

A PDF report in French, 2026 edition, organised in six chapters: the market and its schemes, size and dynamics, corporate demand, supply and firms, regulation and audits, outlook.

Budget documents and parliamentary reports, the tax doctrine published in the BOFiP, public data on corporate research and innovation, and the trade press. Every figure comes with its source and period.

Yes. The study is updated before it is sent, within 48 hours at most: it includes the latest published data, and every figure comes with its source and period.

Managers and partners of innovation funding consultancies, accountants and tax lawyers, finance directors and R&D heads of innovative companies, and investors and bankers who need to understand this market in France.

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