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The Canadian government maintains a business initiative known as the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) program. Even though this government strategy is designed to generously reward businesses that invest in research and development, many companies don’t take advantage of its benefits. Partnering with an SR&ED consultant can pave the way.
1. Assistance Navigating SR&ED Guidelines
The guidelines surrounding the SR&ED program are notoriously complex. In fact, they are complicated enough so that filing business taxes is less of a challenge than the SR&ED regulations are. In order to submit a claim, the company must include costing, technical reports, and supporting documentation. If these items aren’t organized correctly when the claim is reviewed or if specific details are not included in the SR&ED report due to inexperience, the result can be benefits that are delayed or lost altogether.
2. Claiming All Applicable Activities to Maximize Benefits
As if the prospect of gathering all the necessary documentation and writing a report that includes the items required isn’t daunting enough, there is also the task of determining precisely what activities, failures and the like can be eligible for SR&ED. Because everyday activities and routine actions might not seem like they meet the parameters set by the SR&ED program, many businesses miss out on taking advantage of generous tax benefits. An SR&ED consultant possesses the expertise and experience necessary to be aware of the kinds of actions that meet the parameters of the tax benefits.
3. Changing the Perception of Failure
In reality, every time a business fails after implementing a project, it deserves a fresh look. Rather than calling it a failure, such actions should be referred to as an experiment. It is this perception that makes all the difference when it comes to qualifying for SR&ED benefits. By their nature, experiments are innovative actions designed to spur change. The act of trying something new is what is important — even if the results weren’t what the company was expecting. An SR&ED consultant can determine which aspects are a qualified loss.
Indeed, a company does not have to partner with an SR&ED consultant to take advantage of the program’s benefits. Doing so, though, not only sets up the business to have larger payouts, but also enables the focus to remain on running the business successfully.
Easly works with a select group of consultants across Canada, so let us know if you need help finding one that fits your needs.
