SR&ED: 15 Essential Questions to Maximize Your Tax Credits in Canada

15 Most Frequently Asked SR&ED Questions from Executives

SR&ED (Scientific Research and Experimental Development) is one of the most powerful tax programs in Canada. But every year, companies miss out on hundreds of thousands of dollars because they don’t know the rules of the game.

Here are the 15 most frequently asked questions from executives, the ones that come up in every review and make the difference between an accepted claim… or a rejected one.

Question #1. What exactly is SR&ED?

It is systematic, planned and documented research aimed at resolving a scientific or technological uncertainty.

Question #2. What types of activities are eligible?

Question #3. What activities are automatically excluded?

Question #4. What are the 5 key questions from the Canada Revenue Agency to decide if it’s SR&ED?

Question #5. What are the 3 mandatory eligibility criteria?

Question #6. What is a technological uncertainty?

Question #7. Innovation = eligible?

Question #8. Does achieving objectives influence eligibility?

Question #9. Are optimization works eligible?

Question #10. Is the “trial and error” approach eligible?

Question #11. What documentation must be produced?

Question #12. What is the difference between a business project and an SR&ED project?

Question #13. When does an SR&ED project begin?

Question #14. When does an SR&ED project end?

Question #15. What support work is eligible?

The CRA’s Golden Rule for SR&ED

No uncertainty = no SR&ED.

Even if your projects are innovative, they must demonstrate genuine technological advancement and be accompanied by solid documentation.

Contact Us

At Avinova, we help companies like yours every year transform their technical projects into accepted claims, without unnecessary paperwork.

Contact us now to assess your eligibility.

Book Your Consultation

Did you know that as a company, you are entitled to several grants and tax credits?

Did you know that as a company, you are entitled to several grants and tax credits to help you with your projects?

However, to take advantage of them, you must fill out all kinds of forms and applications, as well as meet several criteria that can be very complicated.

You have your specific area of expertise; we have ours.

Let us help you demystify grant and tax credit applications, and thus, you avoid many hours of work.

What You Need to Know About SR&ED

Every year, more than 20,000 Canadian companies receive financial incentives from the SR&ED (Scientific Research and Experimental Development) tax credit. Indeed, companies in all sectors can benefit from it provided they meet certain criteria. And if your company conducts projects with activities related to pure research, applied research, or experimental development, you may be entitled to it.

The decision-making entity, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) in this case, ensures that claims are verified and requires contemporary documentation of the work performed, i.e., a register of hypotheses developed and tested, test reports, and timesheets, to name just a few. So make sure you have everything in your possession and document your process as much as possible during the work and not after the fact.

To learn more about the specifics of this tax credit, feel free to consult our dedicated SR&ED page.

Learn More About SR&ED

Maximize Your Returns with Professionals

The financial world can be very complicated, especially if it’s not an integral part of your daily life. That’s why working with professionals for your SR&ED tax credit application or any other grant is also synonymous with peace of mind. Indeed, Avinova experts trained as engineers, scientists and financial analysts allow you not to break your head with the jargon of the financial world. Thanks to their expertise, knowledge and experience, our experts are able to analyze your business needs and ongoing projects to maximize your returns on available grants and tax credits. Here are some advantages of working with professionals for your SR&ED credit applications.

1. Complete and Error-Free Applications

They are able to fill out your applications for you, so there are no errors and no documentation missing to send. Each grant and each tax credit is extremely specific and requires very rigorous attention to avoid inaccuracies or omissions. If an application is refused by the decision-making entity, the process will become even more complex. That’s why it’s very advantageous to entrust this task to professionals, who have all the necessary tools to fill out these applications properly, and thus, ensure you a return. At Avinova, 99% of applications filled out by our experts are accepted as claimed.

2. Maximization of Returns

Once applications are filled out according to current criteria, our experts push the task even further to maximize the returns you can benefit from. Indeed, they are in a position to analyze your applications to get the highest profit. To do this, they will conduct an exhaustive study of your expenses, whether direct or support, and will try to maximize your returns on the SR&ED tax credit.

3. Pairing with Other Incentives

In addition to securing more than $4M in SR&ED credits each year, our experts are able to pair this application with several other incentives. If the SR&ED credit is not the most optimal for your needs, they can target other incentives that, combined with SR&ED, could prove more beneficial to your company.

Book Your Consultation

Contact Avinova Experts: The Solution to Guarantee Maximum Returns

At Avinova, our experienced team of experts is able to assist you with your tax applications, whether SR&ED or any other tax credit or grant application. With a complete and well-filled application, you are assured of having maximum returns. Benefit from all the incentives available to you and don’t let the nuances or complications of applications intimidate you: we are here to help. Book a free consultation with one of our advisors now and let’s discuss your project. We definitely have the tools to support you.