Canada’s Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax credit program is an often-untapped resource for startups.
However, it offers the potential for businesses to recoup SR&ED-eligible R&D expenses that might otherwise have been lost. Many businesses don’t realize that their work could qualify. “Scientific research and experimental development” sounds like medical or computer-related work, but businesses in other sectors can also file an SR&ED claim:
- Agriculture
- Automotive & Aerospace
- Breweries and Wineries
- Cannabis
- CleanTech
- Cosmetic Science and Personal Care
- Dental
- HealthTech
- Life Sciences
- Manufacturing
- Pharmaceuticals
- Printing
- Telecommunications
For start-ups, the federal SR&ED tax incentive program may offset some of the financial strain of researching, designing, and developing products or services or even internal projects that may not have market value.
Identifying SR&ED Potential Work for Startups
Our skilled SR&ED consultants can help your startup identify projects or activities that potentially qualify as SR&ED. If you have spent time developing products, services or modifying machinery, there is a potential for SR&ED-eligible expenses to be claimed.
Your start-up could receive refundable tax credits for SR&ED-related expenses, such as wages, contractors’ fees, materials wasted, and even parts of machinery that have been modified in non-standard ways or in ways not recommended by the manufacturer.
If experimentation renders materials unusable (ie: you had to dump a batch of beer you experimented with, or you modified a piece of equipment that is now sitting on a shelf collecting dust), SR&ED offers an opportunity to potentially recoup some of those losses.
SR&ED tax credits can be part of your start-up’s comprehensive financial plan. Let SRED Unlimited show you how it can work for your business.