You already did the work. You just never got paid for it.
If some of your staff spend time working through technological problems where a solution is not readily apparent, developing a new product or process, or improving one you already have, there is a good chance the work is fully or partially eligible for SR&ED credits. The program refunds 68% of eligible salary costs and 35% of eligible subcontract and materials costs, in cash, even if you paid no tax.
Of eligible salary costs refunded, plus 35% of eligible subcontract and materials costs. The limit on eligible spend doubled to $6 million in 2026.
Paid out by the CRA every year to roughly 20,000 companies. Three in four are small businesses.
After your fiscal year end to file. Last year's work is very likely still claimable.
What counts as SR&ED
Not research in a lab, and you do not need an R&D department. Product development, process development, improving an existing product or process, any of it counts if your team hit a technical problem and had to work out the answer by trial, measurement and iteration.
Software
New architectures, performance or scaling limits you had to engineer around, integrations that did not behave as documented, machine learning models that needed real experimentation to get right.
Hardware, manufacturing, process
Prototypes, new materials, tooling and process changes where the first approach did not work. Capital equipment used for R&D is eligible again as of 2026.
Projects that failed
Work that did not pan out still qualifies. Proving an approach will not work is, in the CRA's own terms, a technological advancement.
How it works
We handle all the work to do with your SR&ED application. First, we complete the technical write up, framing your work in the best possible light for the CRA. We also complete all the paperwork, administrative procedures and tax forms required, at no charge until you get paid.
You reach out
An email or a short call. We identify your projects and the technical problems inside them, and tell you whether it is worth proceeding.
We write the claim
A senior consultant with an engineering or science background drafts the technical report. You review it, we revise it, nothing is filed you have not read.
We handle the numbers and filing
Payroll allocation, contractor and material costs, then filing with your accountant or directly with the CRA as an amendment if your return is already in.
The CRA pays you, then we get paid
Most claims are processed in 60 to 90 days. Our fee is a percentage of what you receive and is invoiced after the money lands.
Why companies hand this to us
No fee until you are paid
No retainer, no hourly billing. If the claim is not approved, you owe nothing.
No clawback risk
Any CRA review happens before payout, never after. If your claim is reviewed, we prepare the documentation and sit in on the call with you.
SR&ED is the only thing we do
Not a side service of an accounting firm. Our consultants write SR&ED claims full time, across software, hardware and manufacturing.
Written by technical people
Reviewers at the CRA are engineers and scientists. The person writing your claim is too, and nothing is outsourced.
Common questions
What does it cost?
A percentage of the credit you receive, agreed up front, invoiced after the CRA pays you. We quote the rate once we know the size and shape of the claim.
We already filed our corporate return. Is it too late?
No. You have 18 months from fiscal year end. We file an SR&ED amendment directly with the CRA without reopening the rest of your return.
We did not keep detailed records.
Very few companies do. We build the claim from what you have, including code commits, tickets, emails and design notes, and the CRA accepts reasonable time estimates when the work itself is clearly SR&ED.
What if the CRA reviews the claim?
Roughly one claim in five is reviewed. It is a documentation request followed by a video call, usually two to three hours, where you explain the work. We prepare you for it and attend. This happens before any payment, so there is no scenario where money is paid and later taken back.
Reach out. Even if you are not sure it applies to you.
The fastest way is a plain email to matthew@cannationalsred.ca
Or use the form. Describe what you built or tried to build, in a sentence or two. We reply within one business day.