CRA Strike: Your SR&ED Refund May Be Delayed

It’s official, the Public Service Alliance of Canada, which represents many employees working for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), is on strike as of April 19th, 2023. While we hope for a swift resolution to the CRA strike, we must consider the impact it will have on the companies that depend on the timely delivery of their SR&ED refunds. The SR&ED program provides businesses conducting eligible R&D work with refundable and non-refundable tax credits, depending on a few characteristics of the business. For those businesses that accrue refundable SR&ED tax credits, their refunds provide a substantial inflow of cash that is relied upon to fund various endeavours.

We reached out to our consulting partner at NorthBridge Consultants for their expert opinion on how the strike may affect SR&ED claims. Here’s what their Vice President of Operations, Jenn Mahon had to say,

“Based on recent conversations with Financial Reviewers and Research and Technology Advisors from the SR&ED division at the CRA, we do not expect the strike to substantially affect the frequency or progression of any claim reviews, but it could significantly affect closing of files following the review process and subsequent receipt of any refunds.”

Although it is still unclear what impact the strike will have on SR&ED claims, mitigating uncertainty is key. Don’t get caught off guard; advance your accrued SR&ED credits with Easly today and see cash in your bank account in as little as two weeks. Even without strike action, SR&ED refunds can take months to hit your bank account after making your claim. There’s no need to wait an undefined period before accessing your accrued SR&ED tax credits – use Easly Advances instead.

Easly has always made it simple to turn your distant lump-sum SR&ED refund into cashflow throughout the year. With this strike underway and uncertainty around refund timelines, Easly is here to do what we do best – provide you with tomorrow’s refund today.

Don’t let this strike slow your business down – get in touch with us to see how we can help.