When a company makes a decision to invest in R&D and innovation, there needs to be a certain level of confidence that there will be a future benefit. Government funding encourages businesses to take on R&D risk and reduces the cost burden, which increases cash flow and it is cash flow that drives investment. The federal and provincial governments recognize the benefits to the overall economy by encouraging Canadian businesses to invest more resources into R&D and foreign businesses to perform their R&D work in Canada. As such, the SR&ED tax credit program is among the most generous R&D incentives in the world.
Eligible Activities
Below are some project activities that could be eligible for R&D and innovation related funding:
- Developing new technology
- Adapting existing technologies
- Advancing unproven technologies
- Developing new products in existing or new end markets
- Modifying product design
- Improving processes in production and testing
- Extending machine capabilities beyond standard processing parameters
- Improving product reliability
