Complete your application
Describe your planned project(s) by filling out the form and preparing your supporting documentation for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
What form to use
Part 1: General information
Provide some general identification information.
Line 010 - Business name
Enter the registered business name.
If the application is submitted for a partnership, enter the name of the partnership.
Line 012 - Business number
Make sure that you enter all 15 characters of the business number (BN). If you are a partnership that has a BN, enter it here.
Line 014 - Total number of projects for pre-claim approval
Enter the total number of projects for which you are applying for pre-claim approval. You can have a maximum of 3 projects.
For details: Group work into SR&ED projects
Line 016 - Pre-claim approval case number
Enter the case number you received from the CRA to apply for pre-claim approval.
Part 2: Project information
You must complete this part for each project of your pre-claim approval request.
Section A: Project identification
Provide information on the nature and scope of the planned SR&ED work.
Line 020 – Project title
Enter the title of the project. If you have multiple projects and they have similar names, you may want to assign a number with the project title for easier identification.
Line 022 – Anticipated project start date
Enter the anticipated start date of the planned SR&ED project.
The start of the project is defined as the point at which planned work will commence to resolve the identified scientific or technological uncertainty.
Line 024 – Estimated total SR&ED expenditures
Enter the total estimated SR&ED expenditures.
Line 026 – Field of science or technology code
Using Appendix 1 of the T4088 guide, select the field of science or technology that best describes the primary field of your SR&ED project. This may not necessarily be the same as the field of science or technology in which you carry out your regular business.
The field of science and technology you enter on this line is used for statistical and resource management purposes only and not for the purpose of determining eligibility of the work.
Appendix 1 is not an exhaustive list of all eligible fields of science or technology.
Lines 028 to 032 - Information about contact person
Provide the name, position, title, and phone number of the person best suited to provide the supporting technical information for the planned project. This person, or another individual from the business with this knowledge, will be required to attend the meeting with the CRA.
Section B: Project description
Provide detailed information describing your planned SR&ED project.
Your answers should focus on the technical facts of the planned work, use clear, concise language and as needed, terminology from your field of science or technology.
Refer to: SR&ED Glossary
Each question in section B has a strict word limit. Your answers should focus on the technical facts and should be in the technical language and style of the personnel who will carry out the work, or who are familiar with the scientific or engineering concepts of the project. You may include more details in the supporting documents, such as your project plan.
Use existing internal materials and project planning documents generated during the project planning phase to extract the pertinent information to complete this section accurately and concisely.
Line 042 - What scientific or technological uncertainty do you aim to address?
Maximum 500 words
Provide a brief context of your business and the planned SR&ED project.
Clearly state the objective of the project and describe the new scientific or technological knowledge or the new or improved capability you are seeking.
Describe the scientific or technological uncertainty you anticipate will require SR&ED. In other words, clearly state the scientific or technological uncertainty related to achieving the project objective.
Line 043 – What due diligence have you completed to confirm that the scientific or technical uncertainty described in line 042 cannot be resolved using existing knowledge, solutions or approaches?
Maximum 700 words
Briefly explain the existing scientific or technological knowledge base and its shortcomings or limitations. These gaps should show why the scientific or technological uncertainty could not be resolved through standard methods, existing literature, known techniques, or industry expertise.
Describe the specific actions you undertook to determine that the uncertainty could not be resolved using publicly or internally available knowledge, techniques, or methods. This may include reviewing scientific literature, technical publications, patents, industry standards, vendor documentation, or consulting subject-matter experts.
Additionally, outline any experimental work, prototypes, or trials you may have conducted using existing approaches, and explain how the outcomes demonstrated that the available knowledge is insufficient to resolve the identified uncertainty.
Line 044 – What work do you plan to perform, during the pre-claim approval period (up to 3 years) , to overcome the scientific or technological uncertainty described at line 042? Describe the hypotheses, proposed solutions or approaches to be tested by experiment or analysis.
Maximum 900 words
Clearly describe how you intend to overcome the scientific or technological uncertainty that you identified at line 042.
Your description should show that the work is a systematic investigation or search that is carried out in a field of science or technology by means of experiment or analysis. This includes describing:
- The idea you have generated, which will serve as a starting point for further investigation towards resolving your scientific or technological uncertainty and achieving your objective. Your idea may be expressed as a possible solution to a problem, a proposed method, or an approach. This can be referred to as a hypothesis.
- Experiments and/or analyses you conducted to test the idea or hypothesis. The idea or the hypothesis can evolve and change as a result of testing.
Indicate whether external resources, such as contractors or specialized services (such as testing, analysis, or laboratory work) will be involved and their specific roles in the project.
Section C: Additional information
Provide additional information about the person who prepared the project description.
Lines 050 to 060 – Who prepared the responses for Section B?
Provide information on who prepared the project description.
Provide the relevant information on either line 050 or 054.
Section D: Supporting information to be included with the application
You must provide documentation created by your business to support the project descriptions in Section B. Documents must be uploaded through My Business Account using the case number you received from the CRA. This information is required to complete your application for pre-claim approval and may include, for example, documents such as the following:
- Project planning documents
Outline the timeline, key milestones, and major activities or phases.
This may include project plans, Gantt charts, work breakdown structures, schedules, or planning briefs.
- Description of planned internal controls
Outline how you will track SR&ED work and associated expenditures, including documentation practices, and how you will maintain contemporaneous documentation throughout the project.
This may include time-tracking processes, documentation protocols, internal review procedures, or controls for capturing experimental records.
- Key supporting references and documents
Demonstrate evidence of due diligence in determining that existing knowledge, solutions, and approaches cannot address the scientific or technological uncertainty and your hypothesis, proposed solution or approach to address it.
This may include scientific articles and technical papers, meeting minutes, design specifications, system architecture diagrams, photographs, or any other evidence directly related to the eligibility of the proposed project for SR&ED.
- List of project team members
Include names and/or roles of potential or prospective project members.
Indicate their respective areas of expertise and credentials.
Part 3: Certification
Confirm and certify that all the information provided on the form and attachments is true, correct, and complete.
Line 080 and 082 – Authorization and date
Provide the name of the individual, authorized signing officer of the corporation, or authorized partner who has certified the information on the application form and the attachments.
The CRA requires that the pre-claim approval application be signed and dated.
Get support completing your application
Contact us if you have any questions about the SR&ED program or how to prepare your pre-claim approval application.