Scientific Research & Experimental Development Tax Incentive (SR&ED)

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What is SR&ED?

Scientific Research & Experimental Development Tax Incentive Program in Canada

The SR&ED program is administered by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and uses tax incentives to encourage Canadian businesses of all sizes and in all sectors to conduct Research and Development (R&D) in the country. The SR&ED team at Crowe MacKay is made up of Technical Specialists, Financial Specialists, and Tax Specialists who have extensive experience in the Engineering, Life Sciences, and Information Technology sectors.

Our SR&ED team makes your company’s success a priority

At Crowe MacKay, we take the time to learn about your business, your team, and the key drivers that contribute to the success of your operations. We then use this information to establish a foundation to prepare your SR&ED claim. To file a strong claim, we will assist in grouping your eligible work into one or more SR&ED projects and must understand how your company works to develop a claim that is driven by its functions and actions. From the data, we gain a better understanding of what SR&ED projects exist and what should be claimed in CRA's program. We will guide you, identifying any weaknesses in your documentation per our information gathering process and work together to strengthen your claim.

SR&ED Program Benefits

Our objective is to assist you in obtaining the advantages from government incentives. Once SR&ED work has been determined by our specialists, you may be eligible to receive benefits in the form of a refundable Investment Tax Credit (ITC), a reduction of taxes payable, or both. The federal and provincial tax credits you receive may be as high as 64% of your salary-based eligible expenditures.

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Industries we Specialize in:

Agriculture and Agri-food

Aviation

Biotechnology

Construction and Engineering

Consumer Products

Diagnostics

Energy and Natural Resources

Environmental Sciences

Food and Beverage

Life Science

Manufacturing

Marine Engineering

Medical and Healthcare Professionals

Mining

Pharmaceuticals

Oil and Gas

Professional Services Firms

Technology

Veterinary Medicine

Our SR&ED Services

Intellectual Property Consulting

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Intellectual Property Consulting

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SR&ED Claim Process

Identifying qualifying activities and expenditures

We can help you improve your project identification methods. Our SR&ED consultants will train your team on project identification techniques, strategies and documentation needs.

Preparing claims

Our team can assist you with all of your SR&ED requirements.

Some examples of this support include:

Guidance with gathering required information to support the SR&ED claim and develop the framework for the projects being claimed
Development of accurate project descriptions
Review of your own taxpayer prepared SR&ED claim and provide feedback
Assistance with filing your SR&ED claim and amending previous corporation tax filings, if required

CRA compliance

When submitting an SR&ED claim, it's important that it follows the CRA's application process and fulfills the eligibility requirements. Our specialists can help you gather the documentation you need to support your SR&ED claim and create a framework for the projects you're claiming.

A business may encounter discrepancies between its claim and the CRA's eligibility requirements in various cases. Our experts can assist you in negotiating and resolving disputes with the CRA to ensure you receive the maximum return on your SR&ED claim.

The CRA uses its “Five Questions” to determine SR&ED eligibility. These questions are:

Was there a scientific or a technological uncertainty?

Did the effort involve formulating hypotheses specifically aimed at reducing or eliminating that uncertainty?

Was the overall approach adopted consistent with a systematic investigation or search, including formulating and testing the hypotheses by means of experiment or analysis?