🔧 Engineer’s Handbook for Identifying and Preparing R&D for SR&ED Claims

For Technical Writers to Draft T661 (Lines 242, 244, and 246)

Last updated: June 2025

This guide helps engineers document their R&D work in a way that supports a strong, CRA-compliant SR&ED claim. You don’t need to write polished reports — just provide clear technical details using the outline below. Check with your accountant to confirm the fiscal year dates; as long as the project work began or was carried out during this period, it may qualify — even if the project wasn’t completed.

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📍 How to Provide Your Input

You can choose either of the following methods:

✏️ Option 1 — Write it out

Fill out the SR&ED Claim Preparation Template at the end and upload it to the SR&ED chatbot — or compile relevant content from existing test plans, technical reports, JIRA tickets, email communication, or lab records into a single Word document.

🎤 Option 2 — Talk to the chatbot

If it's easier, you can walk through your project verbally with our SR&ED chatbot. It will ask follow-up questions and help structure your answers. This is great for recalling experiments, iterations, or technical decisions on the spot.

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✅ Did your project involve any of the following?

Use this checklist to identify whether a project may qualify as SR&ED. If you check one or more items, there’s likely a claim opportunity. Check all that apply:

• Development of a new product, process, or system
• Modifying an existing system to meet higher or more specific performance targets
• Scaling up a concept from lab to production or field conditions
• Integrating new materials, software, or subsystems with uncertain performance
• Troubleshooting failures or unexpected technical issues not solvable by standard methods
• Designing custom tools, hardware, firmware, or algorithms where no off-the-shelf solution existed
• Attempting to meet challenging environmental, safety, or industry-specific requirements (e.g., low VOC limits, food safety, emissions)
• Technology upgrades triggered by maintenance, repair, or capital investments that required redesign, retesting, or experimental integration
• Replacing obsolete components or equipment that introduced new technical uncertainties or required performance validation
• Contracted or collaborative technical work involving experimentation, testing, or analysis conducted by external vendors, labs, or partners to resolve a specific technical challenge

If you checked at least one, your project may have SR&ED potential. List the potential project in the Potential Projects Brainstorm Sheet. For more inspiration, see SR&ED Project Examples by Industry for common claimable project types by field.

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📌 1. Define the Technical Problem

What technical challenge or limitation were you trying to solve?

Examples:

• Software: “Existing machine learning model had high false positives under low-light images.”
• Biotech: “The protein degraded in solution after 6 hours at room temperature.”
• Agri-tech: “Soil sensors showed inconsistent readings under high-humidity conditions.”
• Materials: “Composite panels cracked under thermal cycling beyond 120°C.”
• Electronics: “Signal noise increased when components were placed on flexible substrates.”

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🎯 2. State the R&D Objective

What specific technical outcome were you trying to achieve?

Examples:

• “Develop a glucose sensor accurate within ±5% across variable temperatures.”
• “Formulate a biodegradable film that resists tearing after 10 days in soil.”
• “Enable the database to scale read/write throughput to 100K ops/sec.”
• “Create a battery enclosure that passes ingress testing without deforming.”

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❓ 3. List the Uncertainties

What technical questions couldn’t be answered without experimenting?

Examples:

• “Would the polymer retain tensile strength after pigment integration?”
• “Could we maintain latency under 50ms after introducing caching logic?”
• “Would CRISPR edits persist through multiple generations in vitro?”
• “How would the solder paste react during reflow at 260°C on flex-PCBs?”

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🧪 4. Describe the Work Performed

What activities did you carry out to resolve those uncertainties?

Include:

• Experiments
• Formulation or design iterations
• Prototyping
• Simulations
• Analysis or modeling
• Performance/stability testing
• Troubleshooting failed results

✅ Structure by phase, round, iteration, or decision point. Examples:

• “Round 1: Simulated load balance across 3-node cluster.”
• “Phase 2: Switched surfactants to reduce protein aggregation.”
• “Iteration 3: Increased tackifier ratio to prevent edge delamination.”

Mention tools or resources used: e.g., fermenters, FEA software, inkjet printers, SEMs, temperature chambers, React libraries, etc.

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🔍 5. Summarize What You Learned

What did you demonstrate, validate, or discover?

This becomes the scientific or technological advancement in Line 246.

Examples:

• “Validated that CRISPR insertions failed in X pathway but succeeded in Y pathway.”
• “Demonstrated the epoxy filler reduced micro-cracking under rapid cure.”
• “Identified algorithmic bottlenecks in the I/O-bound event loop.”
• “Clarified that thermal drift originated from uneven trace width, not from insulation.”

Even if the outcome was partial, describe what was ruled out, refined, or quantified.

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✅ Final Notes

• No need for polished reports — bullets and rough notes are fine.
• Failures count — CRA wants to see experimentation, not just success.
• Be technical — don’t include business outcomes (e.g., cost savings or client benefit).
• Drawings, Excel logs, or whiteboard photos are all valid — just label them.