Calculate your
SR&ED potential

It provides a rough estimate of your combined federal and Ontario SR&ED tax credits based on eligible R&D expenditures. Actual claims depend on which activities qualify, how costs are allocated, your corporation type, and how government assistance is applied.

Use it when your team has developed or improved a product, process, material, software system, or technical method — and had to experiment because the solution was not obvious at the start.

Most claimants use the proxy method instead of tracking actual overhead. CRA adds a prescribed proxy amount equal to 55% of eligible SR&ED salaries to your qualified expenditures. That proxy replaces a separate overhead claim and applies only to salaries — not contractor fees or materials.

Arm’s-length SR&ED contract payments qualify at 80% of the eligible amount. The 55% proxy is not applied to contractors — only to salaries. This calculator assumes contractor fees are arm’s-length.

For Canadian-controlled private corporations (CCPCs), it uses the 35% enhanced federal refundable rate, plus Ontario’s 8% Innovation Tax Credit (OITC) and 3.5% Research and Development Tax Credit (ORDTC). Other corporations use the 15% basic federal rate plus the 3.5% Ontario ORDTC. The estimate assumes work performed in Ontario.

A specialist should confirm your fiscal year, eligible activities, available evidence, and claimable expenses before preparing a file. This calculator is a screening tool — not a final claim amount.

You can use both programs over your company's lifetime, but you cannot double-dip on the same expenditure. IRAP-funded costs must be excluded from your SR&ED claim.