SR&ED Clinic

You can no longer claim capital expenses associated with SR&ED. For example you can’t claim the computers you bought for your software developers and engineers who are conducting SR&ED (you used to be able to but that ended in 2013).

Here is a list of specific activities you cannot claim:

• Market research or sales promotion
• Quality control or routine testing of materials, devices, products or processes
• Research in the social sciences or the humanities
• Prospecting, exploring or drilling for, or producing, minerals, petroleum or natural gas
• The commercial production of a new or improved material, device or product or the commercial use of a new or improved process
• Style changes
• Routine data collection

Some of these are obvious, such as market research, on the other hand, technology to aid the process of market research may well be SR&ED. Others, such as style changes and routine data collection are harder to interpret under some circumstances, which is the reason a SR&ED consultant such as SR&ED Clinic is very helpful to guide you towards claiming all legitimate expenses and  staying out of trouble.