The SR&ED program is designed to encourage Canadian businesses to conduct research and development in Canada.
Since our inception we have been successfully helping businesses with the preparation and filing of their SR&ED claims. SR&ED “Scientific Research and Experimental Development” refers to the federal tax incentive program. This program is a generous one that rewards companies for conducting research and development activities in Canada.
To qualify for SR&ED work must meet the following criteria:
- must have technological uncertainty,
- must conduct a systematic investigation, and
- must achieve a technological advancement.
SR&ED credits are given as a percentage of the amount spent on qualifying SR&ED activities conducted in Canada. The largest component of this expense is typically wage expenses (or consulting fees if these directly relate to SR&ED work), therefore if your company performs innovation work but does not spend very much in the way of salary or consulting expenses it likely will not be eligible for much in the way of credits. A planning strategy is to ensure that owner managers who are engaged in the SR&ED project work are taking a consistent salary rather than other forms of compensation. There is a limit on eligible salary that can be paid to an owner manager and still qualify for SR&ED tax credit (approximately $250,000 per year). It is also very important to note that development work that outsourced outside of Canada will not generally be eligible for an SR&ED credit.