Consultation on proposed enhancements to the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) Program
Status: Closed
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) recognizes the critical role the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) Program plays in Canada’s innovation strategy. The CRA is committed to hearing how we can continuously evolve how we administer the program to meet the changing needs of businesses.
Consultation process
Phase 1: Introducing a pre-claim approval process and streamlining the claim review process.
Throughout fall 2025, the CRA invited 22 SR&ED claimants, industry associations and tax professionals from across the country to give feedback on the SR&ED program. They participated in virtual discussions to help ensure the CRA runs the SR&ED program in a way that results in tangible improvements for businesses.
Participants provided feedback on proposed program improvements, including:
- introducing a pre-claim approval process to give businesses early certainty through an upfront technical approval of eligible research and development (R&D) projects
- streamlining the claim review process by removing unnecessary steps and reducing information requirements that create an undue administrative burden
Phase 2: Discussing key steps of the SR&ED pre-approval process.
Throughout Winter 2026, the CRA hosted virtual meetings with five businesses, three industry associations and the tax professionals' communities who participated in Phase 1 to present the draft pre‑approval pathway application process and to gather further feedback.
What we learned
Participants shared a wide range of experiences with the SR&ED program, and most were positive. They emphasized that the SR&ED program helps them conduct research and development in Canada.
Pre-claim approval
Four key themes emerged from the consultations with participating businesses:
- Clarity: Businesses need a process that is accessible, with clear eligibility criteria and straightforward application requirements
- Simplicity: Businesses prefer a process that minimizes the administrative burden and lets them use existing documents
- Timeliness: Businesses want a quicker process and to receive responses within weeks
- Relationship‑building: Businesses want to able to connect with a single SR&ED representative who will take the time to understand their work and build a relationship
Streamlining the claim review process
- Many participants described the claim review process as transparent, educational, and predictable
- Some small businesses found it difficult to align their internal documents with CRA requirements and expressed some dissatisfaction with long gaps between communications from the CRA
Updating Form T661, Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) Expenditures Claim
- Businesses said that explaining scientific uncertainty is the most difficult part of Form T661 to complete
- Many businesses were not using available tools such as the client portal self-assessment and learning tool or the pre-claim review workbook (some were unaware of these tools, while others preferred to use a claim preparer or in-house process)
What's next
The pre-claim approval process will launch on April 1, 2026, marking an important step in supporting businesses more effectively. The CRA designed this process with adaptability in mind, and it will continue to evolve over time. We are committed to incorporating ongoing feedback from businesses and insights gained through internal monitoring by the CRA.
The CRA will continue exploring ways to make the claim review process faster and more consistent to better support businesses, including by:
- developing a standardized checklist
- making the eligibility criteria for the tax incentives easier to understand
- better promoting existing tools and resources, such as the client portal and the pre-claim workbook, through its SR&ED outreach
- assessing opportunities to develop new tutorials and guidance materials for difficult areas of Form T661, particularly around describing scientific uncertainty
The CRA would like to thank all participants for their valuable feedback. These findings highlight participants' desire for more positive, client-centric experiences with the SR&ED program, as well as a pre‑claim approval process that is easy to use, timely, and supportive.