Funding For Innovative Business Activities

Innovative business activities require adequate financing in any industry. This financing can come in a variety of forms, including equity investments, business loans, tax credits or grants. Any Canadian company undertaking research and development should look into the following options.

Federal Government Tax Credits

Boost your business with the SR&ED tax credits offered by the Canadian Revenue Agency. Qualifying companies must have adequate documentation to support their claim in order to provide the regulatory body with a convincing case that the firm fully satisfies the requirements. Despite the stringent conditions,  the credits are well worth the extra work. The CRA presently offers a tax offset of up to 35% of qualifying expenditures including materials, salaries and capital costs. While preparing an SR&ED claim is time consuming, hiring an external R&D consultant ensures that disruption to the business is minimal and that a claim is correctly filed.

Provincial and Territorial Tax Credits

R&D tax credits differ between the various provincial and territorial governments. All are administered by the CRA except for Quebec and Alberta. A summary of the provincial and territorial R&D tax credits can be found on the Government of Canada‘s website, with details of claim deadlines, eligible applicants, refund rates and more.

R&D Grants

Your business may qualify for federal government grants. Many of these grants depend on the type of industry that your company is in. The Canada Business Network provides a wide range of information about grants for specific industries.

For further information about how to claim funding for innovative business activities, contact Swanson Reed R&D Tax Advisors today.