SR&ED Tax Credit Calculator

Estimate your federal and provincial SR&ED tax credits in minutes. Enter your R&D expenses to see what you could claim.

Enter Your R&D Expenses

Wages paid to employees directly engaged in SR&ED

80% of arm's-length contractor payments qualify

Materials consumed or transformed in SR&ED

Estimated Results

Enter your expenses to see estimated credits

How SR&ED tax credits are calculated

The calculator uses the same rates applied by the CRA. Here's what drives the numbers.

Federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC)

The federal SR&ED credit is fully refundable for Canadian-Controlled Private Corporations (CCPCs), meaning you receive cash back even if no tax is owing.

  • CCPC — first $6M of qualified spending 35% refundable
  • CCPC — amounts above $6M 15% refundable
  • Non-CCPC (public companies, foreign corps) 15% non-refundable

Provincial credits (selected rates)

Most provinces stack additional credits on top of the federal ITC. Quebec and Ontario have the most significant programs for tech companies.

  • Quebec CRIC (CCPC) 30% / 20% tiered
  • Ontario OITC (CCPC) 8% on first $3M
  • British Columbia / Alberta 10% refundable

What counts as an eligible expenditure?

Employee salaries

Wages paid to employees directly performing SR&ED work. 100% of qualifying salary counts toward qualified expenditures.

Contractor costs

Arm's-length contractor payments qualify at 80%. Related-party contracts follow different rules and may require additional documentation.

Materials

Materials consumed or transformed in carrying out SR&ED. Materials merely used in support of SR&ED, like office supplies, don't qualify.

Overhead (proxy vs. traditional)

The proxy method adds 55% of salaries as overhead automatically. The traditional method requires tracking and allocating actual costs — most companies choose proxy.

Estimates only. Actual SR&ED credits depend on CRA eligibility review and your specific tax situation. Consult a qualified SR&ED advisor before filing.

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Chrono Platform automatically tracks and categorizes your R&D work, making SR&ED claims faster and more accurate.

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