The Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax credit is the Government of Canada’s largest programme supporting business R&D: the CRA allowed $4.6 billion in investment tax credits on 23,677 claims processed in 2025-26. It is…
A qualifying Canadian-controlled private corporation gets back the enhanced 35% refundable investment tax credit on the first $6 million of eligible current R&D expenditures, which is up to $2.1 million in cash per year, even in…
Reviewed by Logan Hanson, BSc, CPA. Last verified against CRA guidance on August 30, 2026. Some provincial R&D tax credits are refundable, and some are not. It depends entirely on the province and, in most cases,…
Reviewed by Logan Hanson, BSc, CPA. Last verified against CRA guidance on August 29, 2026. The honest answer: there is no single "best" province, because the number that matters is the combined federal-plus-provincial rate on your…
Reviewed by Logan Hanson, BSc, CPA. Last verified against CRA guidance on August 29, 2026. For most small Canadian companies doing genuine technical problem-solving, yes, SR&ED is worth it. A small Canadian-controlled private corporation (CCPC) earns…
Software development qualifies for SR&ED in Canada when it clears three CRA tests. Here’s how the tests work and what a Canadian software claim gets back.
Yes, construction companies can claim SR&ED for the building science, not the build itself. See what qualifies, plus a $105,000 claim approved 100% in audit.
Yes, hardware development can qualify for SR&ED when it involves real technological uncertainty. Here is the test, a worked example, and a first $101,000 claim.
You’ve spent months—maybe years—building something that didn’t exist before. Your team has tested, failed, rebuilt, and tested again. And somewhere along the way, you may have heard that the Canadian government wants to help you recover…
Canadian innovators leave millions on the table every year. The refundable SR&ED tax credit returns a substantial share of qualifying R&D costs, but most companies claim far less than they are entitled to. The difference between…
