How Ireland’s R&D Tax Credit works, what qualifies as research and development, and what does not — administered by Revenue.

dgm is an independent osFoundry implementation partner — not affiliated with osFoundry’s developer (the company OS LLC), and it has not yet completed any client integrations.

The R&D Tax Credit, administered by Revenue, is a credit for performing qualifying research and development — not a credit for buying software.

What the scheme actually gives

  • 35% credit on qualifying R&D expenditure (periods beginning on or after 1 January 2026), fully refundable in instalments, with the first-year threshold raised to €87,500.
  • Qualifying R&D means seeking a scientific or technological advance with genuine technical uncertainty.
  • Where an employee spends at least 95% of their time on qualifying R&D, 100% of their pay can be treated as qualifying expenditure.

Does it fund buying AI software?

The credit rewards genuine R&D activity; it is not a credit for buying or subscribing to AI software. A platform such as osFoundry lowers the cost structurally through usage-based pricing and the BYOK principle — which helps more than waiting for support that does not cover software.

Important note

This article is general information and is not legal, tax or grant advice. Tax schemes, grants, rules and rates change, and only the relevant authorities (among them Revenue, IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, the Data Protection Commission and the Central Bank of Ireland) decide eligibility and awards. dgm is not a grant deliverer, approved knowledge provider or intermediary. Always confirm the current terms with the official source or a qualified tax or legal adviser.

How dgm helps

dgm is an independent implementation partner that helps businesses in Ireland adopt osFoundry — from identifying the first practical use case, through building it, to connecting AI to the systems you already use. dgm works independently of osFoundry’s developer (the company OS LLC) and has not yet completed any client integrations; everything above is therefore a description of the service offered, not a delivered result. If you would like to look at a sensible first step, dgm is happy to think it through with you. Arrange a no-obligation conversation with dgm.