Government R&D programs often sound modest, a few pilot grants here, a tax break there. SR&ED is not that kind of program. It is the single largest federal program supporting business research and development in Canada, and the scale behind it surprises most business owners the first time they see the numbers.
So how big is Canada’s SR&ED program? In fiscal year 2024 to 2025, it delivered $4.5 billion in investment tax credits to more than 19,000 claimants, spread across more than 22,000 claims. That is not a niche incentive tucked into the tax code. It is billions of dollars flowing every year to Canadian businesses that take on real technical risk, from small teams building a first product to established companies pushing an existing one further.
The program is expanding, not contracting. For the year ending March 31, 2026, the Canada Revenue Agency reported $4.9 billion in credits claimed and $4.6 billion allowed. Credit value has climbed nearly 50 percent since fiscal 2022. Combined with the 2026 changes that widened eligibility and raised the maximum refundable credit, SR&ED is becoming a larger part of how Canada funds innovation, not a smaller one.
A program this large and this established is not a temporary grant that could disappear next year. It is a stable, growing pillar of federal R&D funding, and more than 19,000 businesses already use it every year. If your company has not filed, the scale of the program is a reason to look closer, not a reason to assume you would be lost in the noise.
For the full picture of how the program works and what changed in 2026, see the State of SR&ED 2026 report. And when you are ready to put a claim together, our flat-fee pricing means the size of your credit does not change what you pay to prepare it.
SR&ED is the single largest federal program supporting business research and development in Canada. In fiscal year 2024 to 2025, it delivered $4.5 billion in investment tax credits to more than 19,000 claimants across more than 22,000 claims.
More than 19,000 businesses claimed SR&ED in fiscal year 2024 to 2025, filing more than 22,000 claims between them.
Yes. For the year ending March 31, 2026, the CRA reported $4.9 billion claimed and $4.6 billion allowed, and credit value is up roughly 50 percent since fiscal 2022.
Yes. SR&ED is the single largest federal program supporting business research and development in Canada.
Sources: Canada Revenue Agency SR&ED program statistics; State of SR&ED 2026 report.
About the Author
Jude Brown is a co-founder and CEO of SRED.ca. He has helped Canadian businesses recover millions in SR&ED refundable tax credits and writes on SR&ED policy and how Canada’s R&D incentive program works in practice.
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