Tax Credits
Federal Government
The Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) Tax Credit is a federal tax incentive program to encourage Canadian businesses of all sizes to conduct research and development that will lead to new, improved, or technologically advanced products or processes. Claimants can apply for tax credits for expenditures such as wages, materials, machinery, equipment, some overhead and SR&ED contracts. Advance-Tek Consulting Inc. is a local company that assists businesses with applying for SR&ED credits.
The National Research Council Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) provides technical and business advisory services, coupled with funding opportunities for Canadian small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The program also offers networking opportunities as well as partnerships and collaboration. The NRC-IRAP offers financial assistance for research and development activities by:
- Providing funding contributions to Canadian SMEs interested in using technology to commercialize services, products and processes for Canadian and international markets
- Investing, on a cost-shared basis, in research and in pre-competitive development technical projects.
- Providing financial support indirectly through contributions to regional and national partner organizations that supply technical and research assistance to Canadian SMEs.
- Offering internship funding that enable SMEs to hire recent postsecondary graduates with the specific skills and expertise needed to advance innovative projects.
Provincial Government
The Manufacturing and Processing Investment Tax Credit (ITC) is available to manufacturing and processing corporations. It is a refundable tax credit, designed to encourage plant and equipment investment. This income tax credit applies as 5% of total capital cost of eligible new and used manufacturing and processing building, machinery and equipment purchases, including installation costs.
Complementing the SR&ED tax credit is the Saskatchewan Research and Development Tax Credit. This tax credit is equal to 15% of the qualifying research and development expenditures incurred in Saskatchewan. Operations research, engineering, design, and computer programming are eligible if these activities support the research or experimental design. The credit reduces corporate income taxes, and unused amounts may be carried forward ten taxation years, or carried back three taxation years.
The Saskatchewan Market Assessment of Research and Technology (SMART) Program provides access to specialists in the emerging field of competitive intelligence. The SMART Program gives small- and medium-sized businesses access to industry specialists who will find and analyse information on the marketplace and emerging technologies in order to help companies make strategic business decisions. The company must be eligible for NRC-IRAP funding and approved as a NRC-IRAP client; and have developed or be developing a new product, process or system based on an innovative application of science and technology; or acquired technology, which is not currently in use in Saskatchewan, from another company or university through a technology transfer process
