Premier Business Management

SR&ED Tax Credits

The Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) program is administered by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) through legislation contained within the Income Tax Act. There are three main general activities of SR&ED that can be claimed in Canada:

• Basic Research: work undertaken without a specific practical application in mind.
• Applied Research: work undertaken with a specific practical application in mind.
• Experimental Development: work undertaken to achieve a technological advancement of some sort that could result in a new or improved material, product, process or device. The result does not have to be revolutionary or extremely radical, as incremental improvements are also eligible.

Major types of technology within various industrial sectors that is often associated with eligible SR&ED activities includes, but is not limited to such areas as:

• Mechanical engineering or mechanical design;
• Materials capability enhancement or substitution (using unconventional materials to meet increased mechanical demands or reduce cost, weight, etc.);
• Electrical and electronics engineering, and electrical and electronics design; and
• Software engineering and design.

We provide our client’s technical personnel with assistance and guidance on the preparation of the technical project descriptions required to be submitted as part of the SR&ED claim.

We will prepare all financial forms and schedules necessary to be entered into the corporate tax returns by either ourselves or our client’s accountants. We will also undertake to review the completed tax returns prior to filing in order to ensure that the returns accurately reflect the eligible SR&ED activities for the years being claimed.

Once the claims have been submitted we will follow their progress and also attend any meetings, research and prepare any additional information, which might be required, in order to support the claims submitted to CRA.

SR&ED Fees

The fees for our services can be based upon either an hourly rate or on a contingency arrangement.

Under a contingency arrangement our compensation will be based upon a percentage of the tax credits approved by the CRA for our client. Thus we are compensated not on what we claim, but on what we deliver to our client.