SR&ED Tax Credit Estimator
This is a preliminary estimator, not an SR&ED eligibility determination. Enter eligible salaries, arm's-length contractor payments, materials and an overhead method to see an estimate of the qualified SR&ED expenditure pool, the federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC), and the provincial SR&ED credit for British Columbia or Ontario, split into refundable and non-refundable portions for the 2026 tax year. Whether a project actually qualifies as scientific research and experimental development, and whether specific costs are eligible expenditures, is determined by the CRA (and, for Ontario or BC, the province) based on the real facts of the work — not by this calculator. Alberta eliminated its own provincial SR&ED tax credit in 2020; Alberta claimants only see the federal ITC estimate here, with a note about the separate, non-SR&ED Alberta Innovation Employment Grant.
Estimate only for the 2026 tax year. Not tax, accounting or financial advice. Talk to RN Canada about your situation.
How it works
The estimator builds a qualified SR&ED expenditure pool from eligible salaries, an accepted proportion of arm's-length contractor payments, materials and either a prescribed proxy overhead amount or the traditional method, then reduces the pool by any government assistance received. It applies the enhanced, refundable federal ITC rate to a CCPC's pool up to the expenditure limit (reduced for higher taxable capital) and the basic federal rate above that limit or for non-CCPCs, then adds the applicable BC or Ontario provincial credit on top; Alberta has no provincial SR&ED credit.
What the result includes
Results show the qualified SR&ED expenditure pool build-up, the federal ITC estimate split into its enhanced and basic-rate portions, the provincial credit estimate (BC SR&ED credit or Ontario's OITC/ORDTC, zero for Alberta), the combined refundable versus non-refundable split, and the total estimated credit — it does not include a project-eligibility opinion.
Assumptions
Assumes arm's-length contractor payments qualify at the CRA-accepted proportion, that the traditional overhead method is not separately estimated by this tool (only the proxy method computes an overhead amount), and that the taxable-capital range selected is used as a simplified proxy for the federal expenditure-limit grind rather than an exact figure. Some 2026 federal and provincial rate/threshold values used are marked unverified pending accountant confirmation.
Frequently asked questions
No. SR&ED eligibility is a technical and financial determination made by the CRA based on whether the work meets the definition of scientific research and experimental development and whether the claimed costs are eligible expenditures. This tool only estimates the dollar value of a credit assuming the claim is accepted.
Alberta eliminated its provincial SR&ED tax credit for taxation years ending after 2019. Alberta claimants can still claim the federal ITC; the separate Alberta Innovation Employment Grant (IEG) is a different, non-SR&ED program and is not calculated here.
The proxy method lets a claimant use a prescribed percentage of eligible salaries to estimate SR&ED overhead instead of tracking actual overhead costs; the traditional method requires tracking and allocating actual overhead expenses, which this preliminary estimator does not calculate.
Government assistance received for the SR&ED work (grants, other tax credits, etc.) reduces the qualified SR&ED expenditure pool dollar for dollar before the federal and provincial credit rates are applied.
A CCPC's enhanced-rate federal ITC and, where applicable, the BC or Ontario refundable credit portion within the expenditure limit are typically refundable in cash; amounts above the limit, non-CCPC claims, and Ontario's ORDTC are generally non-refundable and instead reduce tax payable or carry forward.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-19. Sources: Canada Revenue Agency — SR&ED tax incentive program, Alberta — Innovation Employment Grant, Government of BC — SR&ED tax credit, Ontario — Corporations tax credits and incentives