SR&ED Tax Credit Calculator (2026)
Estimate your combined federal + provincial Scientific Research and Experimental Development tax credit. Built for Canadian-Controlled Private Corporations (CCPCs).
Total salary + benefits for employees who do work that could qualify (engineers, scientists, technicians).
What share of those employees' time involves resolving technical uncertainty through systematic experimentation? Typical: 30–70% for product teams, 60–95% for early-stage R&D shops.
Estimated SR&ED refund
$202,200
Federal (35%)
$130,200
Quebec (30.0%)
$72,000
Effective recovery rate on R&D salary: 84%
Quebec R&D tax credit on salaries — fully refundable for CCPCs
Want help filing? Fruxal's SR&ED specialists handle the technical narrative, documentation, and CRA submission on contingency.
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Disclaimer: This calculator provides an educational estimate. Actual SR&ED refunds depend on documentation quality, technical narrative acceptance by CRA reviewers, and individual corporate circumstances. This is not tax advice. Consult a qualified SR&ED specialist before filing.
How the SR&ED credit works in 2026
The federal SR&ED program returns 35% of qualifying expenditures as a refundable tax credit for CCPCs, on the first $3M of qualifying expenditures per year. Above $3M, the rate drops to 15% non-refundable.
Qualifying expenditures include salaries (for employees performing R&D), 80% of arm's-length contractor invoices for R&D work, and a proxy overhead allowance (55% of qualifying salary, in lieu of tracking actual overhead).
Provincial credits stack on the federal rate. Quebec adds 30% on R&D salary, creating a combined rate up to 65% on qualifying salary for Quebec CCPCs. Ontario, BC, Manitoba, and the Atlantic provinces all have meaningful provincial credits.
What qualifies as SR&ED
SR&ED requires three things: (1) a technical uncertainty that a competent professional could not resolve with publicly known techniques; (2) a systematic investigation — hypothesis, experiment, observation; and (3) documentation of the work done.
Most engineering teams, custom software shops, manufacturing process work, and product iteration work qualify in part. The bar is whether the outcome was uncertain at the start — not whether you ultimately succeeded.
Further reading
SR&ED Tax Credit in 2026: Who Qualifies and How Much You Can Claim →8-min read · Eligibility examples CRA has accepted, federal + provincial stacking math, the 18-month deadline, why most eligible CCPCs never file.
Estimate looks promising?
Fruxal's SR&ED specialists handle the technical narrative, documentation, and CRA submission. The diagnostic is free; once you decide to engage us on the claim, a small engagement fee starts the work and Fruxal takes 30% of every confirmed recovery dollar — only after CRA pays out. If your claim isn't approved, no contingency is charged.
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