Important: The information presented below is current as of November 4, 2025.
Upcoming parliamentary debates are likely to modify its content. This article deals exclusively with the «revenue» section of the 2026 Finance Bill (PLF), which is currently under debate. The «expenditure» section will be examined separately in the coming weeks. The amendments detailed below are subject to change during parliamentary discussions.
The 2026 Finance Bill (2026 Finance Bill) promises to be eventful: more than 3,800 amendments tabled, a suspension of debates, and a Research tax credit (CIR) at the heart of tensions between competitiveness, sovereignty, and tax justice.
Review of the 2026 draft budget: between parliamentary overload and a tight schedule
The review of the 2026 finance bill is turning into a marathon. After the text was rejected by the finance committee, lawmakers returned to the government's initial draft, restarting the entire legislative process. The result: 3,822 amendments were tabled in public session, compared with 1,821 in committee.
As of November 4, the counter shows 151 amendments adopted, 876 examined, and 504 rejected, leaving 2,947 proposals still to be reviewed. Faced with this backlog, discussions were suspended from November 4 to 12, allowing time to examine in parallel the social security financing bill (PLFSS). Debates are expected to resume on November 12.
Unlike a comprehensive adoption, the vote on November 17 will only concern the first part of the finance bill: revenue and tax measures, with the CIR remaining a key issue. The second part, which covers expenditure and budget appropriations, will be debated from November 17 to 24, before a final vote on the entire finance bill is expected on November 24.
The CIR at the center of debates on innovation and taxation
Among this profusion of amendments, one measure in particular stands out: the CIR. A cornerstone of innovation support policy, it has become the focus of debates on competitiveness, sovereignty, and tax justice.
No fewer than 64 amendments relate to the CIR, covering regulation, simplification, and rewriting of eligibility criteria.. Only one text has passed the threshold so far: amendment I-823. It requires any company voluntarily relocating to repay the CIRs received during the previous three financial years, while being excluded from the scheme for three years. A measure aimed at linking tax benefits to territorial anchoring.
Proposed amendments to change the CIR system
- I 1880 extends the tax credit for research collaboration (CICo) until December 31, 2028; ;
- I 2239; I 462 and I-461 include expenses for patents, plant variety certificates, and designs or models, as well as the associated depreciation allowances; ;
- I 2969 creates a «CIR Express» procedure: Companies with the «French Tech» label can benefit from a simplified procedure for validating their CIR, called «CIR Express.» This procedure provides for automatic validation for research and development expenses not exceeding €500,000, review by the administration within a maximum of fifteen days for expenses exceeding this threshold, and a retrospective check for automatically validated files, with increased penalties in the event of abuse.
- I 2715 reserves 80% of the CIR for SMEs with fewer than 250 employees; ;
- I 1682 and I 3332 make eligibility for the credit conditional on professional equality and the absence of any conviction for discrimination; ;
- I 2533 prohibits the transfer abroad of research results funded by the CIR for ten years.
- I-2720; I-2239; I-3595; I-2619; I-768; I-1100: reinstatement and adjustment of the young doctors program.
- I-609 proposes that companies operating in technology sectors critical to national security should not be subject to the CIR cap.
- I-2969 proposes creating a CIR rate of 40% for companies with R&D expenditures related to critical technologies such as cybersecurity, AI, and quantum technologies.
- I-2235 proposes the creation of a new CII-Artificial Intelligence for companies that have CPU and GPU expenses.
Towards a more strategic research tax credit, but one that is preserved
However, the CIR has not escaped attempts at budget cuts. Several amendments aimed at refocusing the program have been rejected:
- I-1951 and I-1592r advocated its outright abolition; ;
- I-3313 aimed to lower the ceiling on eligible expenses; ;
- I-2943 reserved it for companies with a turnover of less than €100 million;
- I-1955 and I-2579 excluded the financial and insurance sectors.
Other proposals, such as I-232 (overall ceiling of €30 million) and I-451 (modulation of the rate according to contribution to technological sovereignty), were withdrawn before any debate took place.
There now seems to be a consensus on the idea of a more strategic CIR, but not one that is curtailed.
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