Will the Kit Consulting return in 2026? The real status and alternatives

Starting point: the original call is closed

Let us start with what is certain. The Kit Consulting call opened on 18 June 2024 and its application period ended on 31 March 2025, after several extensions. Since then the programme has been in the justification phase: the companies that obtained the voucher are formalising agreements with their digital advisers and delivering the services.

The outcome was notable: in its first year more than 17,400 grants were awarded, and between June 2024 and May 2025 more than 16,600 grants were distributed for an amount exceeding €232 million, out of the programme's total budget of €300 million. That means a portion of the funds was never assigned, and therein lies the key to the whole conversation about a possible reopening.

It is worth recalling who the programme was aimed at, because that is where much of the confusion creeps in. The Kit Consulting was created for SMEs of between 10 and fewer than 250 workers, with the aim of funding specialised advisory services (not software implementation) in areas such as artificial intelligence, data analysis, digital sales, business processes or cybersecurity. In other words, it pays for an expert's diagnosis and roadmap, not the tool itself. That difference from the Kit Digital is fundamental and explains why many companies looking to fund a website or a CRM found that this programme was not for them.

The fact that part of the budget went unspent is not a minor detail or an administrative footnote. Within the framework of the European Next Generation funds, unspent resources are a management problem that the administration has clear incentives to resolve. Hence the regulatory move at the start of 2026, precisely to avoid leaving money unassigned. But the existence of that motivation does not mean the reopening is already decided and dated, as we shall see in detail.

What the official rules say: Order TDF/38/2026

The document to look at in order to answer rigorously is Order TDF/38/2026, of 26 January, published in the BOE of 28 January 2026 (reference BOE-A-2026-2069), which amends the programme's governing rules (Order TDF/436/2024). Two changes are relevant:

First, the new wording of Article 4 on the temporal scope establishes that the provisions will apply to grants called "from its entry into force and until the total exhaustion of the Kit Consulting Programme funds". In other words, the rigid deadline that tied the programme to a fixed calendar is removed.

Second, a new section 6.4 adds that "Red.es will reinvest any unspent budget surplus, even after 2026, in the Kit Consulting Programme". This is the most important point: it confirms the intention to make use of the funds that were not granted in the first call.

Why does this point about the date matter so much? Because in the original design, the programme was bounded by a specific time horizon. By replacing that expiry with the criterion of "total exhaustion of the funds", the rule detaches the programme's validity from a calendar date and ties it to an economic criterion: the programme lives as long as there is money left to distribute. It is a technical change, but with obvious practical consequences, because it widens the window in which the administration can act without having to approve a new programme from scratch.

Overall, the Order seeks to maximise the absorption of the programme's €300 million, preventing European resources from going unspent. It is exactly the same move that was made with the Kit Digital through Order TDF/39/2026 that I cite in my article on what the Kit Consulting is. The fact that both programmes were amended at the same time, with the same "until funds are exhausted" logic, reinforces the idea that there is a deliberate strategy not to leave budget unused. But, I insist, the underlying strategy is not the same as a specific call on the table.

What the rules DO permit and what they do NOT confirm

Here is the nuance that many articles overlook. It is worth separating it clearly:

What the rules DO permit:

• That the programme remains in force without a fixed expiry date, until the funds are exhausted.
• That Red.es reinvests the unspent surpluses, even after 2026.
• That new grants can be called with those leftover funds.

What the rules do NOT confirm (as of June 2026):

• They do NOT set a specific date for a new call.
• They do NOT yet publish the procedure or the criteria for reassigning the surpluses.
• They do NOT guarantee that a new application window will open for new companies.

Put plainly: Order TDF/38/2026 creates the legal framework for a reopening to be possible, but it is not in itself a reopening. Any claim along the lines of "the Kit Consulting returns on such-and-such a date" that does not cite an official call published in the BOE or on the Red.es headquarters should be treated with caution.

It is worth explaining why this distinction is more than a lawyer's subtlety. In Spanish administrative procedure, one thing is the governing rules (the regulation that says how the programme will work, who can request it and under what conditions) and quite another is the call (the act that opens the period, sets the available budget for that round and allows applications to be submitted). Amending the rules, as the January Order did, is preparing the ground; but until a call is published, there is no deadline or money assigned that you can apply for. That is why no serious consultant can commit to dates right now: to do so would be to give you an expectation that the administration itself has not committed to in writing.

Caution: a deadline change is not the same as a new call

In 2026 there has been regulatory movement that may be confused with a reopening, and it is not. A resolution was published (BOE of April 2026) affecting the deadlines for formalising agreements of companies that already had the grant awarded: specifically, grants awarded from 28 February 2026 must formalise their advisory agreements before 31 May 2026.

It is an adjustment aimed at existing beneficiaries who were processing their voucher, not a new application window for companies that were left out. It is important not to confuse the two: easing deadlines for those who already have the grant is not the same as reopening the programme for new applicants.

This type of resolution is common in the final stretch of a grant programme. When an administration detects that many beneficiaries could lose the grant by failing to complete a procedure in time, it tends to ease the deadlines so as not to leave funds unspent for purely bureaucratic reasons. It makes perfect sense from a management standpoint, but it generates ambiguous headlines: someone who reads "new Kit Consulting deadlines" may think the door has reopened for entry, when in reality only those already inside have been given more leeway. If you did not obtain the voucher at the time, news of this kind, on its own, does not change your situation.

What is the real likelihood of a reopening

Without a crystal ball and sticking to what is verifiable, the factors that work in favour of a possible reopening are: there are leftover funds (€232 of the €300 million were distributed), there is express regulatory authorisation to reinvest them, and there is European pressure to spend the Next Generation funds to the maximum before the milestones of the Recovery Plan.

The factors of uncertainty are: no timetable has been published, the procedures for reassigning surpluses may take time, and the final decision depends on the planning of Red.es and the Ministry. My reading, as a consultant who follows these calls closely, is that it is reasonable to expect movement, but it would be irresponsible to commit to dates. The only reliable source will be the official publication on acelerapyme.es and on the Red.es electronic headquarters.

If you want to form your own picture, it helps to understand how these decisions are usually taken. The reassignment of surpluses is not automatic: it requires the administration to approve the specific procedure, decide how much money it allocates to a new round, define whether it keeps the same company segments and service categories, and prepare the processing platform. Each of those steps takes time and depends on political priorities and a budgetary calendar that are not always public. That is why two truths coexist: the intention not to lose funds is clear in the rule, and at the same time no one can assure you today of either the when or the how.

My practical recommendation: set up alerts on the official channels and, if your company fits the profile (10 to fewer than 250 workers), have the documentation ready. Grants of this type are usually awarded on a first-come, first-served basis until the budget is exhausted, so the decisive factor is not the quality of your project, but the speed with which you submit a complete and error-free application on the day the period opens. Whoever arrives prepared starts with a real and measurable advantage over whoever begins gathering papers once the starting gun has already gone off.

Differences from the situation of the Kit Digital

As the Kit Consulting and the Kit Digital were amended almost at the same time and share a logic, it is easy to mix them up. It is worth being clear about the differences, because they condition what you can do today with each one.

The Kit Digital funds the implementation of specific technological solutions: website, e-commerce, social media management, CRM, cybersecurity, electronic invoicing, secure workstation, and so on. It is designed for a very wide range of companies, including the self-employed and micro-enterprises without staff in some of its segments. The Kit Consulting, by contrast, funds specialised advice (the work of an expert who diagnoses and designs the strategy) and is limited to SMEs of 10 to fewer than 250 workers. They are not competitors: they are complementary pieces. The ideal is usually to use the Consulting to define the roadmap and the Digital to execute the solutions that roadmap recommends.

As for the regulatory status, both follow a parallel pattern: their original calls closed and, at the start of 2026, two separate orders (TDF/38/2026 for the Consulting and TDF/39/2026 for the Digital) enabled the reinvestment of surpluses "until the funds are exhausted". In other words, both are in a similar situation of "framework open, call to be confirmed". The practical consequence is the same for you: it is worth watching the official sources of both programmes and not taking as valid any date that does not come from the BOE or Red.es. I develop the detail of the sister programme in my guide to the Kit Digital 2026.

What to do in the meantime: active alternatives

Waiting around for a reopening with no date is the worst strategy. While it arrives (or does not), you have active routes to advance your digital transformation:

• Kit Digital: for the technology implementation side (website, e-commerce, CRM, ERP, cybersecurity). Its original calls closed, but Order TDF/39/2026 enables the redistribution of surpluses. Details in my guide to the Kit Digital 2026.
• Regional grants: in Castilla y León, the DigitalICE programme of the ICE and the calls to modernise local retail remain active (see my guide to the Kit Digital in Castilla y León); in Canarias, the regional government's schemes.
• Cybersecurity advice: if your goal was to get certified in ISO 27001 or to align with the ENS, that work need not wait for a grant. I address it in the Kit Consulting for cybersecurity and ISO 27001 and in the guide to ISO 27001.
• Advance planning: carry out the digital maturity diagnosis now and design the roadmap, so that when a grant window opens you only have to execute.

There is a practical argument for not sitting on your hands that goes beyond mere haste. Much of the work the Kit Consulting would fund (the digital maturity diagnosis, the identification of priorities, the action plan) has value in itself, whether the grant exists or not. If you do that work now, when a possible call opens you will arrive with clear ideas about which service to request and why, instead of improvising against the clock. And if the call does not arrive, you will have made progress anyway on something your company needed. In both scenarios you come out ahead, which is exactly the situation worth seeking when there is so much uncertainty about the deadlines.

A realistic timeline: what to watch month by month

As there are no official dates, the sensible thing is not to wait for a specific announcement, but to set up a simple monitoring system so you find out on day one if anything moves. This is what I recommend following:

• The BOE: any real call is published here. You can set up keyword alerts ("Kit Consulting", "Red.es") in the Bulletin's own search engine. It is the source of maximum reliability.
• acelerapyme.es and the Red.es headquarters: this is where digitalisation grants are announced and processed. Check the Kit Consulting section fairly regularly and, if they offer a notification subscription, activate it.
• Your data prepared: have your company's valid digital certificate to hand, your tax-census status and your tax and Social Security obligations up to date, and a clear idea of the advisory area that interests you. These formal requirements are usually the bottleneck that delays an application.

The underlying idea is to reverse the usual order. Instead of discovering the call once it has been open for days and then rushing to gather documentation (with the risk that the budget runs out before you finish), arrive with your homework done and spend the time of the period submitting, not searching for papers. For a programme that awards on a first-come, first-served basis, that difference in preparation can be, literally, what separates obtaining the grant from being left out by a few days.

How to spot a reopening without falling for hoaxes

The internet fills up with "imminent reopening" announcements every time there is regulatory movement. To avoid falling for false information, follow these rules:

• Always the official source: a real call is published in the BOE and on the Red.es electronic headquarters. If a website announces dates without linking to one of those sources, be suspicious.
• Distinguish a rule from a call: an order that amends the governing rules (like TDF/38/2026) is NOT a call; it merely prepares the ground.
• Beware of formalisation deadlines: news about new deadlines usually affects already-awarded beneficiaries, not new applicants.
• Check the segment: the Kit Consulting has never been for the self-employed without staff; any announcement that mixes both audiences is confusing the Kit Consulting with the Kit Digital.

An added piece of advice: be especially wary of pages that ask for your contact details in exchange for "notifying you of the reopening" before any call exists. That information, if it comes, will be public and free on the BOE and on acelerapyme.es; you do not need to leave your email with any intermediary to find out. Having a consultancy help you prepare the application is perfectly legitimate and useful, but the bait of an invented date to capture contacts is the very opposite of the transparency that should surround a public grant.

Conclusion and how I can help you

To sum up honestly: as of June 2026, the Kit Consulting has no open call, but the regulatory framework (Order TDF/38/2026) leaves the door open to reinvesting surpluses in future windows. There is no confirmed date. The sensible strategy is not to wait idly: advance with the active alternatives and arrive prepared for a possible reopening.

As an independent consultant with offices in Castilla y León and Canarias, I help SMEs to get ahead: we leave the diagnosis done and the documentation ready to apply swiftly, and in the meantime we advance with the grants that are available. My commitment is always the same as in this article: to tell you what the rules really say, without promising you dates that no one has confirmed, and to help you make decisions with reliable information rather than with headlines.

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Author: Ángel Ortega Castro, independent consultant in strategy, quality and digitalisation for SMEs.

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Authorship: Ángel Ortega Castro · independent consultant in strategy, quality and digitalization for SMEs.

Frequently asked questions

Will the Kit Consulting reopen in 2026?

As of June 2026 there is no open call and no new application deadlines published. Order TDF/38/2026 amended the rules so that the programme remains in force until the funds are exhausted and allows surpluses to be reinvested, which makes a new call possible, but it neither confirms it nor sets a date. You will need to watch the BOE and acelerapyme.es.

When did the Kit Consulting call close?

The application period, opened on 18 June 2024, ended on 31 March 2025 after several extensions. Since then the programme has been in the justification phase.

What does Order TDF/38/2026 say about the Kit Consulting?

Published in the BOE of 28 January 2026, it amends the rules so that the programme applies until the total exhaustion of the funds (removing the fixed deadline) and adds that Red.es will reinvest any unspent budget surplus, even after 2026. It creates the framework for a possible reopening, but it is not in itself a call.

Are there leftover funds from the Kit Consulting?

Yes. Of the €300 million total budget, between June 2024 and May 2025 more than €232 million were distributed in over 16,600 grants, so surpluses remained. The 2026 rules expressly enable their reinvestment.

Does news about new deadlines mean the programme is reopening?

Not necessarily. In 2026 deadline adjustments were published for formalising agreements that affect beneficiaries who already had the grant awarded (for example, formalising before 31 May 2026), not new applicants. Easing deadlines for those who already have the voucher is not the same as reopening the programme.

What can I do while I wait for a possible reopening?

Advance with active alternatives: the Kit Digital for the technology side, the regional digitalisation grants (DigitalICE in Castilla y León, schemes of the Government of Canarias), the cybersecurity and ISO 27001 work that does not depend on grants, and have the diagnosis and the documentation done so you can apply swiftly when a window opens.

How will I know for certain if a new call opens?

Only through official sources: publication in the BOE and on the Red.es electronic headquarters, in addition to the notices on acelerapyme.es. Be suspicious of any website that announces dates without linking to a published official call, and remember that an order amending the governing rules is not a call.

Brain marketing is more predictable than opinion marketing. — Ángel Ortega Castro