For the research and development industry in Canada, claiming SR&ED is an essential part of operations; the tax refunds and credits you earn are key savings that may be small, but largely useful in funding the next phase of your research.

In reality, though, claiming SR&ED for the first time, or on your own can be overwhelming, especially if you’re uncertain if the work you did is eligible under SR&ED, or the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) asks for a lot of supporting documentation when your claim is audited. For this, it helps to work with SR&ED consultants in preparing, filing, and processing your claim.

As part of the services offered by the CRA, we now include the self assessment and learning tool (SALT) that as been altered to reflect Ontario’s tax changes in the past year. Provincial income tax reductions can make things challenging to find ways to maximize your revenue. That’s why, with the help of a SR&ED company, it’s easier to adapt to the changes in your province to do with the tax laws, allowing you to navigate the new intricacies of the claims process.

The SALT tool exists to help claimants understand the SR&ED program and calculate Income tax credits (ITC).

You must download 2 interactive pdf files to complete:

The first estimates if there is SR&ED in the project and creates a report on the likeliness of eligibility

The second calculates the ITCs the claimant is entitled to. Only then can you effectively prepare your SR&ED claim.

As part of our free consultation we can make a case for your claim without just banking on your past successes. For this, we will want to walk you through the SR&ED claims process, as outlined by the CRA, and tell you what to expect, step by step.

A turning point in every SR&ED claim is the site visit conducted by the CRA. How the visit goes and the CRA’s findings through the Research Technological Adviser assigned to review your claim can arguably make or break the results. During the site visit, you may have been asked to provide additional information, and first off, good job for making it through the visit. Now, it’s time to gather the additional documentation required, and with the ongoing support of your SR&ED firm and its consultants in Toronto, you can better understand how the CRA communicates, reports, and finalizes the results of your SR&ED claim.

After completing the review process, the CRA will then send you their findings. This includes documents completed by both the RTA and the Financial Reviewer (CRA), which are: a proposal letter with a summary of proposed adjustment to claimed expenditures; a copy of the SR&ED Review Report; and recommendations and requests for future claims, usually concerning your company’s books and records.

These can either be presented to you by the RTA and FR in a meeting, discussed over the phone, or sent to you, which you can go over with your SR&ED consultant for better understanding.

If you and your SR&ED consultant find that you disagree with the RTA’s decisions, you can register these disputes with the CRA. For this, the CRA’s commitment is to resolve disputes at appropriate levels, escalating claims only to the Assistant Director for SR&ED at the final stage.

CI Solutions will work with you through every step of the SR&ED process from helping to identify SR&ED eligible projects to when you receive your tax refund. However, how you spend your refund is completely up to you!