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PricingService areasAll services →SR&ED Tax Credit Claims, Prepared End to End
T-Ledgers prepares complete SR&ED claims for Canadian corporations: we review eligibility, write the technical narrative and Form T661 with your team, track the costs in SR&ED-ready books, prepare Schedule 31 and the Ontario credits on your T2, e-file, and support you if the CRA reviews the claim. One CPA-led accounting firm handles the technical and financial sides, so the narrative, the numbers and the return agree.
Led by Wajahat Ajmal, CPA, FCCA, practising since 2020.
What counts as SR&ED
The Income Tax Act defines SR&ED as systematic investigation or search carried out in a field of science or technology by means of experiment or analysis: basic research, applied research or experimental development, plus directly supporting work. In practice the CRA looks for three things: a technological uncertainty that standard practice could not resolve, a systematic approach (hypotheses, tests, analysis), and an advance in technological knowledge, even if the project failed.
Work that is usually not SR&ED: routine engineering, quality control, market research, style changes, and commercial production after the uncertainty is resolved.
Law: ITA s.248(1)
Who it suits
- Software and SaaS companies
- Manufacturers improving processes or materials
- Engineering, automation and hardware firms
- Food, cosmetic and product developers
- Clean-tech, agri-tech and life-science start-ups
2026 credit rates
← Swipe to compare →
| Credit | Rate | Key limits |
|---|---|---|
| Federal enhanced ITC (CCPCs and eligible Canadian public corporations) | 35%, refundable for qualifying CCPCs | First $6 million of qualified expenditures a year (tax years starting after Dec 15, 2024). Limit phases out between $15M and $75M of prior-year taxable capital, or average revenue if elected. |
| Federal basic ITC | 15% | Spending above the limit, and other corporations. Generally non-refundable; can reduce federal tax and be carried back 3 / forward 20 years. |
| Ontario Innovation Tax Credit (OITC) | 8%, refundable | Up to $3 million of Ontario expenditures (max $240,000). Reduced when prior-year taxable income is $500K–$800K or taxable capital $25M–$50M. Ontario has not adopted the $6M federal limit. |
| Ontario R&D Tax Credit (ORDTC) | 3.5%, non-refundable | Reduces Ontario corporate tax; carry back 3 / forward 20 years. |
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)
What "end to end" means at T-Ledgers
- Eligibility review. We walk through your projects with your technical lead and screen out routine work early.
- Project and cost mapping. We define each project, its start and end, and the people, materials and contractors involved.
- Technical narrative and Form T661. We interview your team and write the uncertainty, the work done and the advance for each project.
- SR&ED-ready books. Project coding and timesheets so wages, materials and contracts tie to the claim.
- Expenditure calculation. Salaries, materials consumed, contracts, overhead (proxy or traditional method), and reductions for grants such as IRAP.
- Schedule 31 and Ontario credits. Federal ITC plus OITC and ORDTC schedules on your T2.
- E-filing. T2, T661, Schedule 31 and provincial schedules filed together, reviewed by a CPA.
- CRA review support. We prepare your team for a Research and Technology Advisor meeting and answer financial questions with you.
Law: Income Tax Act s.37 · ITA s.127(9)
Eligible expenditures
- Wages of employees directly doing or supervising the work, for the time spent on it
- Materials consumed or transformed in the work
- Arm's-length contracts for SR&ED done in Canada (claimed at a reduced share)
- Overhead, by the proxy method or the traditional method
- Capital expenditures made after Dec 15, 2024, now eligible again
Government and non-government assistance reduces the costs you can claim.
Law: Income Tax Act s.37 · ITA s.127(9)
Records the CRA expects
Records made while the work happened carry the most weight: timesheets by project, test logs, design notes, version history, meeting notes, invoices and payroll. Rebuilding time at year-end is the most common reason a claim is cut. We set up simple tracking at the start so the evidence builds itself.
The filing deadline
Form T661 and the schedules must be filed within 12 months after your T2 filing due date. For most corporations that is 18 months after year-end, and the CRA cannot extend it. Late claims are lost.
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: how many projects you have, how big your team is, the state of your records and whether past years are involved. We give you a written quote after a free consultation, before any work starts.
Why T-Ledgers
- One CPA-led accounting firm for the narrative, the numbers and the T2
- Every claim reviewed by Wajahat Ajmal, CPA, FCCA
- SR&ED-ready bookkeeping, so next year's claim is easier
- Online across Canada, in person by appointment in Etobicoke
SR&ED credits in other provinces
Most provinces add their own R&D credit on top of the federal ITC, claimed with the T2 (Quebec and Alberta through their own corporate returns). Rates and limits change with provincial budgets, so check the CRA’s list of provincial and territorial R&D tax credits and the province’s own page before relying on a figure.
← Swipe to compare →
| Province or territory | Credit | Rate | Refundable? | Notable limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| British Columbia | BC SR&ED tax credit | 10% | Refundable for CCPCs (and eligible public corporations) up to the federal expenditure limit; non-refundable above it and for others | BC aligned with the federal expenditure limit and made the credit permanent in Budget 2026 |
| Alberta | Innovation Employment Grant | 8% on eligible Alberta R&D spending, rising to 20% on spending above your 2-year average (up to $4M of annual spending) | Refundable (a grant through the corporate tax return) | Phases out between $10 million and $50 million of taxable capital. Alberta may revisit the grant after the federal SR&ED changes |
| Saskatchewan | R&D tax credit | 10% | Refundable for CCPCs on the first $1 million a year; non-refundable above that and for others | |
| Manitoba | R&D tax credit | 15% | Half refundable for in-house R&D; the rest non-refundable | Fully refundable for R&D contracted to eligible Manitoba research institutes |
| Ontario | OITC and ORDTC | 8% and 3.5% | OITC refundable; ORDTC non-refundable | See above |
| Quebec | R&D and pre-commercialization tax credit (crédit d'impôt pour la R-D et la précommercialisation) | 30% on up to $1 million above an exclusion threshold, 20% beyond; partnership claims get 20% | Refundable | Covers pre-commercialization work as well as R&D. Replaced Quebec's older R&D credits for tax years starting after March 25, 2025; claimed with Revenu Québec |
| New Brunswick | R&D tax credit | 15% | Fully refundable | |
| Nova Scotia | R&D tax credit | 15% | Fully refundable | |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | R&D tax credit | 15% | Fully refundable | |
| Yukon | R&D tax credit | 15%, plus 5% on amounts paid to Yukon University | Refundable | |
| Prince Edward Island | No provincial SR&ED credit | – | – | Federal ITC only (source: CRA provincial and territorial R&D tax credits page) |
| Northwest Territories | No territorial SR&ED credit | – | – | Federal ITC only (source: CRA provincial and territorial R&D tax credits page) |
| Nunavut | No territorial SR&ED credit | – | – | Federal ITC only (source: CRA provincial and territorial R&D tax credits page) |
Provincial credits usually count as government assistance that reduces your federal qualified expenditures, so we calculate them together. Source: canada.ca provincial and territorial R&D tax credits.
Frequently asked questions
A federal tax incentive, with matching provincial credits, that returns part of what you spend on qualifying research and development through investment tax credits claimed on your T2.
No. Most claims come from offices, shop floors and code repositories. What matters is a technological uncertainty worked through systematically.
Often yes. The test is whether you advanced technological knowledge, and learning why an approach fails can count.
Routine engineering, quality control, market research, cosmetic changes and normal production.
Qualifying CCPCs earn a 35% refundable credit on the first $6 million of qualified expenditures each year, for tax years starting after Dec 15, 2024. Spending above that earns the 15% basic rate.
The 8% refundable Ontario Innovation Tax Credit on up to $3 million of Ontario spending, plus the 3.5% non-refundable Ontario R&D Tax Credit.
Grants and other assistance, such as IRAP funding, reduce the eligible costs. So can prior-year taxable capital, and for the OITC, prior-year taxable income.
Credits you receive reduce your SR&ED expenditure pool or related cost in the following year, so they have tax effects. We model them in your T2.
Yes. We prepare SR&ED claims end to end, from the eligibility review and technical narrative through Form T661, Schedule 31, the Ontario credits, e-filing and CRA review support.
We do, working from interviews with your technical lead and your own records. You review it before filing.
Yes. If you already have one, we can take the financial side only, or take over the whole claim.
If you would like us to. SR&ED-ready books make each year’s claim faster and better supported.
Within 12 months after your T2 filing due date, which is usually 18 months after year-end. It cannot be extended.
Yes, for any year still inside that window. We can rebuild records for those years from payroll, invoices and project files.
Timesheets by project, test results, design notes, version history and invoices, made at the time the work happened.
It depends on the number of projects and how complete your records are. Starting well before the deadline gives the narrative time to be done properly.
Pricing depends on the claim. We quote after a free consultation, once we understand your projects and records. Book a free consult.
After the free consultation. You get a quote before any work starts.
We help you prepare, organise the supporting records and answer the financial questions alongside your team. A review is normal and not an accusation.
Book a free consultation. We will talk about your projects, your year-end and your records, then send a quote.
Ready to claim SR&ED?
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 for software companies · SR&ED-ready bookkeeping · Corporate tax (T2) · Bookkeeping · Catch-up bookkeeping · Payroll services · Incorporation services · Client reviews
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.