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PricingService areasAll services →SR&ED Claims for Software Companies
Your developers solve technical problems every sprint. Some of that work is SR&ED, and it is often hidden inside roadmap tickets, re-architecture and scaling work rather than anything labelled "R&D". T-Ledgers finds it, documents it and prepares the full claim: eligibility review, T661 narratives, per-developer time allocation, Schedule 31 and Ontario credits on your T2, e-filing and CRA review support.
A CPA-led accounting firm led by Wajahat Ajmal, CPA, FCCA, practising since 2020.
Software work that can qualify
← Swipe to compare →
| Area | Can qualify when… | Usually routine when… |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture changes | Splitting a system raises consistency or latency problems no known pattern solves | Refactoring with documented patterns |
| Performance and scale | Targets can't be reached by standard tuning, so new algorithms or data structures are tested | Adding indexes, caching or hardware |
| Machine learning and data | Model or pipeline behaviour is uncertain and must be tested experimentally | Training an off-the-shelf model on clean data |
| Integrations | Undocumented or conflicting system behaviour needs systematic investigation | Connecting to a documented API with its SDK |
| Security and privacy | Requirements exceed what standard libraries can do | Applying standard OAuth or OWASP practice |
| Legacy migration | Data fidelity or live cutover needs experiments to prove | Rewriting equivalent logic in a new language |
Building features, UI styling, bug fixing with known methods, and content work are generally not SR&ED, even inside a qualifying project.
Law: ITA s.248(1)
2026 rates for software companies
- Federal: 35% refundable ITC for qualifying CCPCs on the first $6 million of qualified spending a year (tax years starting after Dec 15, 2024), phased out between $15M and $75M of prior-year taxable capital, or average revenue if elected. 15% basic rate above that.
- Ontario OITC: 8% refundable on up to $3 million of Ontario spending, reduced at $500K–$800K of prior-year taxable income.
- Ontario ORDTC: 3.5% non-refundable against Ontario tax.
Venture-funded companies should check CCPC status early: control by non-residents or public companies can remove the enhanced rate.
Sources: CRA: SR&ED ITC Policy · ontario.ca: OITC · CRA: ORDTC
Law: ITA s.127(9) · ITA s.127.1 · Taxation Act, 2007 (Ontario) s.96 · Taxation Act, 2007 (Ontario) ss.38(2) and 39(1) (Ontario R&D tax credit)
Costs software companies can claim
- Developer wages for time on qualifying work, by person and project
- Technical leads and managers for hands-on technical time, not admin
- Contractors in Canada doing qualifying work (claimed at a reduced share)
- Cloud and test environments consumed in the experimental work, separated from production
- Overhead by the proxy or traditional method
IRAP and other assistance reduce the costs claimed.
Law: Income Tax Act s.37 · ITA s.127(9)
Time allocation: where software claims win or lose
Blanket percentages (“everyone spent half their time on R&D”) are the weakest support. We build allocations per developer, per project and per sprint from your ticket system (Jira, Linear, GitHub Issues), commits and pull requests, and payroll, then check them with your leads. We can also add a simple SR&ED tag to your tickets so next year’s evidence builds itself.
Our end-to-end process
- Engineering review: roadmap, sprint boards, design docs and post-mortems
- Interviews: short sessions with your tech leads per project
- T661 narratives: one consistent framework for every project
- Calculation: wages, contractors, cloud, overhead, assistance
- T2 filing: Schedule 31, OITC and ORDTC, e-filed together
- CRA review support: preparing your engineers for an RTA meeting and answering the financial side
Deadline
The T661 is due within 12 months after the T2 filing due date, usually 18 months after year-end. Companies with early-year year-ends are most at risk of missing it.
Law: ITA s.37(11)
Pricing
← Swipe to compare →
| End-to-end SR&ED claim | T-Ledgers |
|---|---|
| Eligibility review | ✓Included |
| Technical narrative and Form T661 | ✓Included, written by us with your team |
| Expenditure calculation and Schedule 31 | ✓Included |
| Ontario credits (OITC and ORDTC) on your T2 | ✓Included |
| E-filing, reviewed by a CPA | ✓Included |
| CRA review support | ✓Included |
| Price | Quoted after consultation. Book a free consult |
Pricing depends on the claim: the number of projects, the size of your engineering team, how your work is tracked and whether past years are included. You get a quote after a free consultation, before any work starts.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. SR&ED is not limited to new products. Scaling, re-architecture and hard integrations on a mature product can qualify.
Usually not on its own. It qualifies when a feature needs work to resolve a technological uncertainty that known methods can’t solve.
It can, when model or pipeline behaviour is uncertain and you test approaches systematically. Using a standard model on clean data usually does not.
Routine debugging does not. Investigating a defect whose cause is technologically unknown can be part of a qualifying project.
Qualifying CCPCs earn 35% refundable federally on the first $6 million of qualified spending, plus Ontario’s 8% refundable OITC on up to $3 million and the 3.5% ORDTC.
Possibly not, depending on who controls the company. We check status before estimating the claim.
Yes. IRAP and similar assistance reduce the eligible costs of the related work.
Generally no. SR&ED must be carried on in Canada, with limited exceptions.
Costs consumed in experimental and test environments can be, once separated from production. Tagging environments helps.
Their hands-on technical time on qualifying work can. Administrative and people-management time cannot.
Per developer, per project and per sprint, using tickets, commits and payroll, confirmed with your leads.
Canadian contractors doing qualifying work can be, at a reduced share of the cost.
Yes. We prepare SR&ED claims end to end, including the technical narratives, the calculation, Schedule 31, the Ontario credits and e-filing.
Usually a short interview per project with the lead, plus a review of the draft narrative.
Yes. We add an SR&ED tag to your ticket workflow and project coding to your books.
We help prepare your engineers for the RTA meeting, organise the evidence and answer the financial questions with you.
Pricing depends on the claim. We quote after a free consultation, once we have seen your projects and tracking. Book a free consult.
After the free consultation. You get a quote before any work starts.
Yes, if you are still within 18 months of that year-end, roughly. We confirm the exact date.
Book a free consultation and bring your roadmap and year-end date.
Claim SR&ED on your software work
Book a free consultation with a CPA-led accounting firm that prepares SR&ED claims end to end. Pricing depends on the claim and is quoted after the consultation.
Reviewed by Wajahat Ajmal, CPA, FCCA. Updated October 14, 2026.
Related services: SR&ED tax credit claims · SR&ED-ready bookkeeping · Corporate tax (T2)
Rates and thresholds change, so we link to the official sources for current figures.
Disclaimer: The articles, calculators and other content on this website are general information only, not tax, accounting, legal or financial advice. Calculator results are estimates based on the rates and assumptions shown and may not match your situation. Tax rules change and depend on your province, business structure and the facts of your case, so speak with a CPA, and a lawyer where legal matters are involved, before acting. T-Ledgers accepts no liability for decisions made based on this information. Book a free consult with T-Ledgers.