Guide
SR&ED claim deadline: 18 months, Form T661 and Schedule T2SCH31
Updated
SR&ED is one of the few tax filings where being a day late means the claim is simply gone. The deadline is generous and absolutely fixed, which is a bad combination for busy founders.
The deadline
CRA's Filing Requirements Policy sets the SR&ED reporting deadline at 12 months after the claimant's income tax return filing due date for the year the expenditure was incurred. A corporation must file its T2 within six months of year end, so in practice the SR&ED deadline is 18 months after the tax year end (CRA).
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Tax year end | 31 March 2026 |
| T2 return filing due date | 30 September 2026 |
| SR&ED reporting deadline | 30 September 2027 |
What has to be in by then
CRA's policy is that "a claimant must file prescribed forms containing prescribed information in respect of the expenditure and the ITC earned on the expenditure, on or before the SR&ED reporting deadline". For a corporation that means Form T661 identifying the SR&ED expenditures and Schedule T2SCH31 claiming the investment tax credit. Prescribed information means the technical narratives and the expenditure detail, not a placeholder.
Why the date bites
- It is per year, not per project. Work spanning three tax years needs three claims, each with its own deadline, and a project written up late loses the earliest year first.
- Amendments are inside the same window. Changes to the prescribed information have to be made on or before the reporting deadline, so a claim filed at 17 months leaves almost no room to improve it.
- Contemporaneous records win reviews. Time sheets, lab notes, issue trackers and design decisions recorded as the work happened are what CRA reviewers ask for, and they are far harder to assemble 17 months later.
Before the deadline, get the numbers right
- Establish the expenditure limit that applies to you: the group's prior year taxable capital, and any allocation agreement across associated corporations. See the expenditure limit guide.
- Deduct government assistance, non government assistance and contract payments from the expenditure pool. Provincial R&D credits reduce the federal base as well.
- Split the pool at the expenditure limit and apply 35% and 15% to the two slices.
- Check refundability against your corporation's status, then file T661 and T2SCH31 before the deadline.
This is a summary of published CRA rules, not tax advice on your claim. SR&ED policies and forms are being updated to match the legislation that received Royal Assent on 26 March 2026, so confirm the current forms with CRA or your adviser before filing.