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Form 2069-A — French research and innovation tax credits

Form 2069-A-SD is the return for the French research tax credit (CIR) and the innovation tax credit (CII), which uses the same form. A company subject to corporate tax files it with its balance statement, no later than the 15th of the 4th month after year-end; a business subject to income tax files it with its results return, no later than 15 days after the 2nd working day following 1 May. The credit is computed per calendar year whatever the closing date, then set off against the tax balance; any excess is carried forward for three years before being refunded. The amount is also reported on the 2069-RCI summary.

Up to date for 2026 — verified on September 11, 2026Official form2069-A-SDGuide: about 45 min

This content is part of the path: Optimising my group's corporation tax· Step 9 of 12· Next step: French form 2069-RCI — tax reductions and credits

Deadlines

Corporate-tax company: with the balance statement
No later than the 15th of the 4th month after year-end; for a year closed on 31 December, the DGFiP tax calendar sets the online payment of the corporate tax balance on 15 May.
Income-tax business: with the results return
No later than 15 days after the 2nd working day following 1 May.

Documents to prepare

  • Detail of the calendar year's research expenses (staff, depreciation, approved subcontracting)
  • Public grants received for the research projects
  • For the CII: design expenses of prototypes or pilot installations, up to €400,000
  • Balance statement 2572 or results return being prepared
  • Above €10 million of expenses: elements of annex 2069-A-1-SD
Download the official form (2069-A-SD)

You download it from the official site — we never re-host a public document.

What this page gives you

The guide above and the link to the official site. ActioFin does not produce any document for this page: whatever you fill in or file is done on the official medium.

Who this applies to

  • Industrial, commercial, craft or agricultural businesses taxed under an actual-profit regime (corporate or income tax) that incur research expenses
  • SMEs designing a prototype or pilot installation of a new product (innovation tax credit, same form)
  • Tax-exempt businesses eligible to the CIR through their status: young innovative company, takeover of a company in difficulty, location in certain zones

Worked example

Example: Novatech SAS files its first research tax credit

Novatech SAS, founded in 2024 in Lyon, closes on 31 December. In 2025 it incurred €150,000 of eligible research expenses (salaries and charges of two engineers assigned to the project, depreciation of a test bench). The credit is computed per calendar year: at the 30 % rate applicable up to €100 million of expenses, the 2025 CIR is €45,000. Novatech fills in the 2026 edition of form 2069-A-SD, reports the €45,000 on its 2069-RCI, and files both with its 2572 balance statement no later than 15 May 2026, the DGFiP tax-calendar date for the corporate tax balance of years closed on 31 December 2025. Its corporate tax being €12,000, it sets off €12,000 and, as a company under two years old, requests direct refund of the remaining €33,000 with the supporting evidence of the expenses.

How to fill it in, step by step

  1. Check that you are under an actual-profit regime (normal or simplified) for corporate or income tax, or under one of the eligible exempt statuses: this is the first condition of the scheme.
  2. Gather the expenses of the calendar year, whether or not your financial year is offset: depreciation of assets assigned to research, staff costs of researchers and technicians, work entrusted to approved bodies — patent costs and technology watch no longer count for expenses incurred from 15 February 2025 (Finance Act for 2025, art. 55) — and deduct the public grants received for those projects.
  3. Separate what is research (CIR) from what is the design of a prototype or pilot installation (CII, SMEs only, €400,000 expense ceiling): the same expense cannot count twice.
  4. Compute the credit with the calculator linked to this page, then report the amounts on the 2069-A-SD and its 2069-RCI summary, never adding CIR and CII on the same line.
  5. If your research expenses exceed €10 million, attach form 2069-A-1-SD (share of PhD holders, full-time equivalents, average pay); above €100 million, also describe the nature and progress of the work.
  6. File online (professional tax account in EFI mode or EDI-TDFC teleprocedure) at your regime's deadline, and set the credit off against the tax balance; keep track of the excess for three years before its refund.

The form, line by line

Research expenses section
One line per type of expense of the calendar year: depreciation, research staff, work subcontracted to approved bodies, standardisation costs. The costs of filing, maintaining and defending patents and technology-watch expenses are excluded from the base for expenses incurred from 15 February 2025. Operating expenses are added as a flat rate, computed from staff costs and depreciation.
Public grants
Aid paid by public-law entities, or by entities entrusted with a public-service mission, is deducted from the expenses retained for the year, or years, in which the expenses it is meant to cover are incurred — not the year it is paid: a grant received in December for next year's work is deducted next year.
Innovation tax credit
Separate section, reserved to SMEs within the EU meaning, for the design of prototypes or pilot installations of a new product, up to €400,000 of expenses. Expenses already retained for the CIR are excluded.
Annex 2069-A-1-SD
Mandatory above €10 million of research expenses: share of PhD holders funded or hired, full-time equivalents, average pay. Above €100 million, it also covers the nature of the work, its progress, the resources and their location.

Good to know

  • The credit is determined per calendar year whatever the closing date: a company closing on 30 September 2025 reports the expenses from 1 January to 31 December 2025.
  • An unused credit is not lost: it pays the tax of the following three years, and whatever remains afterwards is refunded. Some businesses can request immediate refund without waiting: SMEs within the EU meaning, young innovative companies and new companies under conditions, as well as companies in conciliation, safeguard, receivership or liquidation proceedings (impots.gouv page "Restitution de crédit d'impôt"). For a corporate-tax company, the request goes through form 2573-SD, together with the balance statement.
  • Form 2069-A-SD does not replace the 2069-RCI: the first details the computation, the second summarises all the credits of the year. Both are filed.
  • The innovation tax credit applies to expenses incurred until 31 December 2027; its rate is 20 % in mainland France, 60 % in the overseas departments, 40 % or 35 % in Corsica depending on company size.

Common mistakes

  • Counting the same expense for both the CIR and the CII: the official page expressly excludes it.
  • Reasoning by financial year instead of calendar year when the financial year is offset.
  • Forgetting to deduct the public grants received for the research project.
  • Reporting the credit on the 2069-A-SD without setting it off on the balance statement or carrying it to the 2069-RCI — the money then stays with the tax authority.
  • Retaining the production-phase expenses of the prototype for the CII: only the design phase qualifies.

Frequently asked questions

Are the CIR and the CII filed on two different forms?

No: the innovation tax credit is reported on the same form 2069-A-SD as the research tax credit, in its own section. The 2026 edition comprises the main form, three annexes (2069-A-1, A-2, A-3) and a notice.

When must a corporate-tax company file form 2069-A-SD?

With its corporate-tax balance statement, no later than the 15th of the 4th month following year-end. An income-tax business files it with its results return, no later than 15 days after the 2nd working day following 1 May.

What happens to a credit larger than the tax due?

The excess pays the tax of the following three years; whatever is unused after those three years is refunded. Businesses under two years old, young innovative companies and companies in insolvency proceedings can request direct refund, with the supporting evidence of the expenses.

From what amount must annex 2069-A-1-SD be attached?

As soon as research expenses exceed €10 million: the annex states the share of PhD holders funded or hired, the number of full-time equivalents and their average pay. Above €100 million, it also describes the nature of the work, its progress and the resources committed.

Go further

Compute the related amounts

Understand this form: the related course

Related forms

Official sources

Read in French

Guide and document provided for information purposes only; they do not constitute personalised legal or tax advice. Check the recipient organisation's requirements and consult a professional if needed.