CIR: Definition and Explanation

CIR (Crédit Impôt Recherche) is a French tax credit that allows companies to recover 30% of their research and development expenses. It is refundable even if the company is not taxable, with a cap of €100M of eligible expenses per year (€30M maximum credit).

Eligible expenses include: R&D personnel costs (salaries + contributions), depreciation of R&D assets, operating expenses (flat rate of 43% of personnel), subcontracting to public bodies (50% eligible) or private entities (30% eligible), intellectual property protection costs (patents), and standardisation costs. Prototypes and pilot installations are also eligible.

The calculation is: eligible expenses × 30% = tax credit amount. Beyond €100M of expenses, the rate drops to 5%. Example: €500K of R&D expenses = €150K of CIR. For young PhDs (less than 2 years), personnel expenses are doubled in the calculation base for 24 months if the R&D workforce increases.

Processing time: 3 to 6 months after filing the 2069-A-SD declaration. The limitation period is 3 years: you can amend for years N-1, N-2, N-3 if you underestimated your CIR. The credit is offset against tax due, then refunded beyond that.

Yes, CIR can be combined with: JEI status (social contributions exemption), CII (Crédit Impôt Innovation at 20%), and certain public grants. Public grants (ANR, Bpifrance, regional funds) can be combined but reduce the CIR calculation base accordingly.