Upon receipt of the SR&ED claim, CRA examines it, first to make sure the claim is complete (i.e.: specific forms filed) and that the claim appears to be for eligible activities.

 

Many times, CRA will elect, especially if it is a first claim for the taxpayer or the first one in a few years, to examine source documents and other evidence of the activities and related expenditures. The primary purpose of this examination is to determine the taxpayer’s competency to identify and judge the eligibility of activities as SR&ED. We find that a minority of the first time claims we are involved in are subjected to this extra CRA work, but we also keep in mind that if CRA chooses not to do this work, it doesn’t mean that they will not later. 

 

Once the claim is reviewed, it is approved, or varied, or denied. We usually find them approved as filed. 

 

Having the credit approved does not guarantee payment of it. Because the credit is subject to offset by tax related liabilities, failure to file GST returns or Corporation Income Tax Returns will usually result in holding of the refund until these delinquent returns are filed and associated taxes paid.

 

Assuming that there are no offsets, the time elapsed from filing to payment will usually be somewhere between 10 weeks and 4 months.