Form T661 (13) – Questions and Answers

Date: March 31, 2014

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Part 9 – Claim preparer information was added to Form T661 (13) as a result of the 2013 federal budget announcements. For more information on the announcements, see Budget 2013 – SR&ED program – Questions and Answers and the Department of Finance Canada’s Budget 2013.

1. How do I complete the new Part 9 – Claim preparer information of Form T661?

Form T661 (13), Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) Expenditures Claim, has been revised to include a new section: Part 9Claim preparer information. Form T661 (13) must be fully completed, including Part 9, and sent to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) with the income tax return for the year. The onus is on the claimant to file on time all the required forms containing all the required information.

To complete the new Part 9, you must include the following:

If a claim preparer has concerns about the confidentiality of the information requested in Part 9, Part 9 can be filed separately. See the SR&ED T661 – Revised optional filing measure for Part 9.

2. If I want to amend a previous claim, what version of Form T661 should I use?

Starting January 1, 2014, the CRA will accept only Form T661 (13) for all tax years, including for amended SR&ED claims.

3. Will my SR&ED claim be disallowed if any of the information requested in Part 9 of Form T661 (13) is missing, incomplete, or inaccurate?

No, the SR&ED claim will not be disallowed for these reasons. However, if any of the information in Part 9 is missing, incomplete, or inaccurate, a $1,000 penalty may be applied.

4. If any of the information in Part 9 of Form T661 (13) is missing, incomplete, or inaccurate, will I have to pay the penalty or will my claim preparer(s) have to pay the penalty?

The claim preparer information in Part 9 of Form T661 (13) is prescribed information and, therefore, Part 9 has to be completed. The claim preparer(s) and the claimant will both be liable if any of the information is missing, incomplete, or inaccurate.

If, however, it can be shown that a claim preparer exercised the degree of care, diligence, and skill that a reasonably prudent person would have exercised in comparable circumstances, the claim preparer will not be liable for the penalty.

5. If a tax practitioner only enters the data into the tax preparation software, does the information about that tax practitioner need to be included in Part 9?

No. If a tax practitioner does not prepare or help prepare Form T661 (13), their information does not have to be included in Part 9.

6. If a claim preparer has concerns about the confidentiality of the information requested in Part 9 of Form T661 (13), can Part 9 be sent to the CRA separately?

Yes, Part 9 of Form T661 (13) can be filed separately.

The claim preparer information in Part 9 is prescribed information. Prescribed information is information that has to be provided on a form as authorized by the Minister of National Revenue.

For the CRA to process an SR&ED claim, a claimant must file with the CRA:

However, if a claim preparer has concerns about the confidentiality of the information requested in Part 9 of Form T661 (13), Part 9 can be filed separately. See the SR&ED T661 – Revised optional filing measure for Part 9.

If the CRA does not receive Parts 1 and 9 for each claim preparer involved in preparing the SR&ED claim, the CRA may apply a $1,000 penalty.

7. If I use more than one claim preparer to complete Form T661 (13) (for example, one claim preparer to prepare the technical/scientific information and another to complete the financial information), whose information do I provide in Part 9?

You have to provide information for all preparers involved in preparing the SR&ED claim in Part 9 of Form T661 (13).

If a claim preparer has concerns about the confidentiality of the information requested in Part 9, Part 9 can be filed separately. See the SR&ED T661 – Revised optional filing measure for Part 9.

8. If the penalty for not providing claim preparer information is applied, do I have any recourse?

The Minister may grant relief from a penalty or interest when a taxpayer was prevented from meeting their tax obligations. For more information about the circumstances that warrant relief from a penalty or interest and how to make a request for taxpayer relief, see Taxpayer relief provisions.

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