Saskatchewan Research and Development
Tax Credit (Provincial SR&ED)
Receive Retroactive Research Tax Credits on R&D Projects.
The Saskatchewan (SK) Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit is the Saskatchewan provincial variant of the Canadian federal Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) program. Businesses eligible to apply for the federal SR&ED program may also be eligible to apply for funding through the Saskatchewan provincial SR&ED program. Funding through the federal and provincial programs can be stacked.
Funding Amount
The tax credit may be refundable or non-refundable, depending on a corporation’s circumstances and expenditures.
Eligible Applicants
The corporation or partnership has a permanent establishment in Saskatchewan and is performing approved SR&ED activities in this province.
Saskatchewan Research and Development Tax Credit (SR&ED)
Amount of Tax Credits
The Saskatchewan R&D tax credit follows the federal SR&ED rules for eligible expenses and activities.
- CCPC’s may earn a refundable Investment Tax Credit (ITC) at the rate of 10% on qualified SR&ED expenditures of up to $1 million per annum (expenditure limit).
- A 10% non-refundable tax credit may be claimed by CCPC’s for expenditures in excess of the expenditure limit.
- The expenditure limit is equal to one third of the federal expenditure limit
- Other corporations (non-CCPC’s) may claim a 10% non-refundable credit.
- The SK R&D tax credit is considered government assistance and will reduce the federal pool of deductible SR&ED expenditures and qualified SR&ED expenditures.
- Any unused portion of the tax credit may be carried back 3 tax years and/or carried forward 10 tax years.
Saskatchewan Research and Development Tax Credit (SR&ED)
Eligible Applicants
The Saskatchewan R&D tax credit is available to corporations (including coprorations that are members of a partnership and corporations that are beneficiaries of a trust) that have a permanent establishment in Saskatchewan. The eligibility requirements for the program require that the business is eligible for tax credits through the federal SR&ED funding program:
- Corporations and active members of partnerships (other than specified members), performing either basic research, applied research, or experimental development in Saskatchewan; and
- Applicants should be developing new products, processes, or making incremental improvements to them.
- Expenditures incurred by an individual do not qualify.
Saskatchewan Research and Development Tax Credit (SR&ED)
Eligible Expenditures
The Saskatchewan R&D tax credit follows the federal SR&ED rules for eligible expenses and activities. Many of the expenses shown here are similar to the expenses that the business can get funded through the federal SR&ED funding program. The SK R&D Tax Credit can be stacked with the federal SR&ED program.
- Labour: Based on time spent on eligible activities in Saskatchewan.
- Contractors: Portion of contract related to SR&ED performed on the business’ behalf. Must be a Canadian contractor and work must be performed within the province of Saskatchewan.
- Third Party Payments: Payments (money or in-kind) to an entity to carry on SR&ED in the province of Saskatchewan.
- Materials: Materials can be purchased from outside Saskatchewan but must be used in the prosecution of SR&ED in Saskatchewan.
- Overhead: Calculated using the Proxy (Quick) or Traditional (Detailed) method.
Saskatchewan Research and Development Tax Credit (SR&ED)
Program Deadlines
The Saskatchewan R&D tax credit is available for all open tax years. The program is administered by the CRA and applicants should have filed a federal SR&ED claim within 18 months of tax year end.
To determine whether your Saskatchewan business is eligible for benefitting through the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax credits, consider speaking with the Mentor Works team of Canadian government funding experts.