Scientific research and experimental development tax credit

The scientific research and experimental development (SR&ED) tax credit is for qualifying corporations that carry on SR&ED in B.C. before September 1, 2027.

Qualifying corporations that are Canadian-controlled private corporations (CCPCs) may claim a refundable tax credit of 10% of the lesser of:

• The corporation's SR&ED qualified B.C. expenditures for the tax year, or
• The expenditure limit (generally $3 million), as defined in the federal Income Tax Act

A non-refundable tax credit may be claimed for expenditures in excess of the expenditure limit. The non-refundable credit may also be claimed by other qualifying corporations and CCPCs that are not eligible for the refundable credit. The non-refundable credit for a tax year is 10% of the corporation's SR&ED qualified B.C. expenditure for the year less:

• The amount of its refundable credit for that year, and
• Any amount renounced for that year 

The non-refundable credit can be carried forward 10 years or back three years. 

For full details about the SR&ED tax credit, including eligibility requirements, and how and when to claim the credit, see the bulletin British Columbia Scientific Research and Experimental Development Tax Credit (CIT 007) (PDF, 190KB).

Claiming the credit

You can claim the credit by completing the British Columbia Scientific Research and Experimental Development Tax Credit (T666) form and submitting it with your T2 Corporation Income Tax Return. Enter the amount of the non-refundable credit on line 659 and the refundable credit you are claiming on line 674 of Schedule 5, Tax Calculation Supplementary – Corporations.

You must claim the credit no later than 18 months after the end of the tax year in which the qualified expenditures are incurred. 

The deadline to claim this tax credit for claims required to be made between March 13, 2020 and December 30, 2020 was extended to six months from the original due date or to December 31, 2020, whichever was earlier.

Legislation

The following legislation applies to the B.C. SR&ED tax credit:

• Income Tax Act (B.C.) Part 6
• Budget Measures Implementation Act, 2022