Eligible vs. Non-Eligible SR&ED Work: A Founder's Checklist
Not every hour your engineering team spends qualifies for SR&ED. Here's a practical checklist to separate qualifying R&D from routine development, maintenance, and commercial work.
The 30-second eligibility test
For any project or task, ask three questions: (1) Were we trying to advance technology in a way that wasn't publicly available? (2) Did we encounter uncertainty that required experimentation? (3) Did we systematically investigate — form hypotheses, test them, and record results? If all three are yes, the work likely qualifies. If any are no, it probably doesn't.
Routine development — bug fixes, feature implementation using known methods, UI polish, devops maintenance — does not qualify. The work must push beyond existing knowledge in your field.
Work that typically qualifies
- Developing algorithms where no established solution existed for your constraints
- Building novel system architectures that required prototyping and testing
- ML model development where training approaches weren't documented for your data type
- Integration work across systems where standard connectors failed and custom approaches were needed
- Performance optimization that required experimental benchmarking beyond documentation
Work that typically does not qualify
- Routine bug fixes and patching using established methods
- Feature implementation following standard SDK or framework documentation
- UI/UX design and frontend styling without technical uncertainty
- Data entry, content creation, or business logic that follows known patterns
- DevOps maintenance, monitoring setup, and standard CI/CD configuration
- Commercial activities: market research, customer interviews, product roadmap planning
Turn this guide into a claim package
SREDY.IO walks you through eligibility, project narratives, supporting costs, and evidence so your CPA has a cleaner file to review.
More guides
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DocumentationThe Evidence Habit: What to Save Before Year-End
SR&ED claims are significantly easier to defend when you've been saving the right artefacts throughout the year. A practical pre-year-end checklist for Canadian tech companies.
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