Atlantic Canada SR&ED Tax Credit Programs
Most of the Atlantic Provinces in Canada offer provincial variants of the Canadian federal Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax credit program.
Tax Credit Amount
Each of the Atlantic provincial variants of SR&ED provide a 15% refundable tax credit that can be stacked with provincial SR&ED tax credits.
Depending on the province where SR&ED activities are carried on, SR&ED claimants may be eligible for the following provincial funding programs. These provincial programs are over and above the federal SR&ED program.
New Brunswick (NB): 15% refundable tax credit;
Newfoundland and Labrador (NL): 15% refundable tax credit;
Nova Scotia (NS): 15% refundable tax credit; and
Prince Edward Island (PE): No provincial SR&ED program in place as of the time of this article. We will update this space when any legislated changes are announced for the province.
Eligible Applicants
In order to qualify, applicants must conduct basic, applied, or experimental research in Canada and develop innovative products, processes, or incremental improvements.
Unlike some of the other Canadian provinces, there are no size tests. Eligible claimants must have a permanent establishment in the Atlantic province they wish to claim in, and have eligible expenditures in the province based on the guidelines established for the Federal SR&ED program.
Eligible Expenditures
Each of the Atlantic provincial variants of the SR&ED tax credit program share their eligibility criteria with the Federal SR&ED eligible expenditures as long as the expenses are carried out in the province.
Program Deadline
Each SR&ED variation in Atlantic provinces have their own application deadline, which can vary from 12-18 months after a corporation’s taxation year-end.
New Brunswick (NB): If a federal SR&ED claim is filed within 18 months of the taxation year-end, no deadline (available for any open tax years);
Newfoundland and Labrador (NL): 12 months after filing deadline for the corporate tax return;
Nova Scotia (NS): 18 months subsequent to the corporation’s tax year-end; and
Prince Edward Island (PE): Not applicable as this province does not have a SR&ED provincial variant. This space will be updated if any legislative changes are announced.
To determine whether your business is eligible for benefitting through the Federal or Atlantic provincial SR&ED tax credit programs, consider speaking with the Ryan team of Canadian government SR&ED experts.
