Practical templates for evidence-first SR&ED claims
Start with these guides, then move your project into the app workspace for structured drafting and audit-ready evidence trails.
🔍 What is SR&ED T661?
🔍 What is SR&ED?
SR&ED stands for Scientific Research and Experimental Development — it’s Canada’s largest federal R&D incentive program.
If you’re doing technical work that involves overcoming uncertainty or testing new approaches, you might be eligible to claim tax credits or refunds through SR&ED.
📄 What is the T661 Form?
The T661 is the official CRA form used to submit an SR&ED claim. It asks for both technical descriptions and financial data. Here is the template for T661 submitted to CRA:
Engineers are typically involved in preparing:
- Line 242: Describe the technical uncertainty you faced
- Line 244: Explain the work you performed (experiments, prototypes, analysis)
- Line 246: Summarize what new knowledge or capability was gained
You don’t need to write the final report — just clearly document your R&D work by following the
🔧 Engineer’s Handbook for Identifying and Preparing R&D for SR&ED Claims.
This will give the SR&ED Writer Chatbot or your SR&ED consultant everything they need to complete the claim.
💰 What’s the Benefit?
Eligible companies can receive:
- Refundable tax credits (cash back)
- Or non-refundable credits (reduce taxes owed)
Typical returns:
- 35% federal credit for eligible expenditures (for CCPCs)
- Up to 70% recovery on qualifying salary and contractor costs
- Additional provincial top-ups (e.g., Ontario, Quebec)
This can be a significant funding source for R&D-heavy companies.
🧪 What Counts as SR&ED Work?
You may be doing SR&ED if you:
- Built or tested a new algorithm, sensor integration, or control system
- Developed a prototype or did extensive trial-and-error
- Encountered technical uncertainty that required structured experimentation
- Wrote custom software for performance, integration, or scale
It’s completely OK if the work didn’t succeed — the goal of SR&ED is technical learning, not commercial success.
To help you get started:
- 💡 Use the Potential-Projects-Brainstorm-Sheet to explore possible claimable work
- 📁 Check out SR-ED-Project-Examples-by-Industry for real-world inspiration
🛠 How You Can Help
You don’t need to be a tax expert. We just need your input on:
- What problem you were trying to solve
- Why it wasn’t straightforward
- What tests, experiments, or iterations you tried
- What you learned (even partial or failed results count!)
We’ll take it from there and draft the technical narrative for the T661.
👉 To start documenting each project, use the SR-ED-Claim-Preparation-Template
💰 What Costs Are Eligible?
You can claim internal labour + other R&D expenses, including:
| Eligible Cost Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| 👷 Salaries & Wages | Time engineers spent on experimentation or analysis |
| 💻 Subcontractor Costs | Canadian R&D contractors, consultants, or testing labs |
| ⚙️ Materials Consumed | Parts, chemicals, or raw inputs used in prototypes or tests |
| 🧾 Overhead (proxy method) | A % of admin and facility costs (no receipts needed) |
| 🧪 SR&ED-specific equipment | Only in rare, specialized experimental setups (case-by-case) |
🏁 Where to Start
- A step-by-step guide to help you capture the right technical details for your project:
🔧 Engineer’s Handbook for Identifying and Preparing R&D for SR&ED Claims - 💡 Need help spotting claimable work? Check out our Potential-Projects-Brainstorm-Sheet
- 📁 See real SR-ED-Project-Examples-by-Industry
- 🛠 Ready to document your work? Use the SR-ED-Claim-Preparation-Template
- ⏱️ Log your time spent on SR&ED-related tasks to support payroll-based claims:
SR-ED-Engineer-Timesheet-Template