SR&ED pre-claim approval: how it works in 2026

What is SR&ED pre-claim approval?

It is a written CRA determination that a project you are about to start meets the definition of scientific research and experimental development. Normally, you find out whether work qualifies only after you file a claim, sometimes a year or more after the money is spent. PCA moves that technical question to the start.

The process came out of Budget 2025, which committed the CRA to an elective pre-claim approval process giving technical approval of projects before work begins. It is an administrative process run by the CRA's SR&ED Program, not a change to the Income Tax Act.

What it approves: that the planned work, as you described it, is eligible SR&ED: there is a real scientific or technological uncertainty, existing knowledge cannot resolve it, and your plan is a systematic investigation.

What it does not approve: your expenditures. Salaries, contractors, materials and overhead are still checked when you claim. PCA also does not lock in a refund amount or exempt you from filing.

Pre-claim approval at a glance (as of October 2026)

Who can apply for pre-claim approval?

Canadian corporations and partnerships with gross business income under $25M, in good standing with the CRA, applying for new projects. The CRA's criteria are:

• Business type: a Canadian-controlled private corporation (CCPC), another Canadian corporation, or a partnership.
• Size: gross business income of less than $25M.
• Standing: in good standing with the CRA (filings up to date, no unresolved compliance problems).
• New work: the project has not been included in a previous SR&ED claim and has not already received a CRA eligibility determination.
• No disputes: the project does not involve issues currently under objection or in litigation.
• Timing: ideally before work starts. If you have only recently begun, you may still apply.

Each application covers up to three projects. Not sure where you stand? Our PCA eligibility checker walks through these questions in a couple of minutes.

How do you apply for pre-claim approval?

You request a case number, complete Form T1322 with your supporting documents, then an authorized signing officer submits everything through My Business Account. For a field-by-field walkthrough, see our Form T1322 guide.

1. Request a case number

   Fill in the CRA's short web form. Existing claimants in good standing hear back through My Business Account within 2 business days; other businesses get a phone call within 5 business days. Put your own technical or finance lead on the form, since that is who the CRA contacts.

2. Complete Form T1322

   Part 1 identifies the business and case number. For each project, Part 2 has four sections: A (title, start date, estimated total SR&ED expenditures, technical contact), B (the uncertainty in up to 500 words, due diligence in up to 700, and planned work and hypotheses in up to 900), C (who prepared Section B, including any outside consultant) and D (supporting documents).

3. Gather Section D documents

   The CRA requires documentation created by your business: a project plan or timeline, your planned internal controls for tracking SR&ED time and costs, key references from your due diligence, and a list of team members and their expertise.

4. Sign and submit

   An authorized signing officer (or authorized partner) signs and dates Part 3. The application goes in through "Submit documents" in My Business Account with the case number: up to 10 files. Plan to upload everything in one session: progress is not saved if the session expires, and the CRA warns that delays may lead to the application being denied as incomplete.

The business is responsible for what the application says, whoever drafted it.

What happens at the CRA meeting?

After you submit, the CRA assigns a Research and Technology Advisor (RTA), who meets with your team for an estimated 2 to 5 hours, virtually or on site. The meeting is mandatory for every business except existing SR&ED claimants in good standing; for them, the RTA may still request one.

The CRA asks you to bring the technical expert who will actually do the planned work. The contact person named in Section A, or someone else with the relevant knowledge, must attend. Expect to walk through the uncertainty, what you already tried or researched, and how you will run and record your experiments. A virtual tour of a lab or facility may come up.

This is a technical conversation, not a sales pitch. Engineers who can explain why the obvious approaches will not work, in their own words, make the strongest case.

What happens when you file the claim?

You still file Form T661 and Schedule 31 as usual, but a claim made up only of approved projects gets a faster, expenditure-focused review if one is needed. On the updated T661, you tick line 212 for each approved project and enter the case number on line 214.

For refundable claims, the CRA's service standards are:

• 60 days if the claim is accepted as filed;
• 90 days if it is selected for review and includes only projects with pre-claim approval, in which case the CRA may do an expenditure-only review;
• 180 days if it includes a project without PCA, or one that materially differs from what was approved. Then both the work and the costs can be reviewed.

Two practical consequences. First, your cost records matter as much as ever, which is why the CRA asks about internal controls up front. Second, if the project changes direction materially during the approval period, the CRA encourages you to contact your RTA rather than wait for claim time.

PCA does not change the filing deadline or how much you can claim. For the current enhanced limit, see the 2026 SR&ED expenditure limit.

What if pre-claim approval is refused?

There is no formal objection process for a PCA refusal. Your RTA explains the reasons. You can then resubmit under a new case number with a revised project, or go ahead with the work and file a regular SR&ED claim afterwards. A refusal is not a bar to claiming, but you lose the head start, so it pays to get the application right the first time.

Is SR&ED pre-claim approval worth it?

It is worth it when certainty and faster processing matter more than the up-front effort: the application itself, the supporting documents and a meeting of up to 5 hours. It is optional, and plenty of companies will do better skipping it.

The CRA had not published PCA application or approval counts as of October 23, 2026, so there is no track record to judge approval rates by yet.

How is PCA different from the Pre-Claim Project Review, pre-claim consultation and SALT?

The older services were advisory; PCA is a formal written determination that carries through to how your claim is processed.

• Pre-Claim Project Review (PCPR): discontinued in 2016, when the CRA introduced the pre-claim consultation in its place.
• Pre-claim consultation: a free, on-demand discussion with the CRA about whether work was eligible. It did not give you a formal determination or a faster review track. Practitioners report it was discontinued on January 1, 2026, ahead of pre-claim approval's launch; the CRA has not published a notice, and its 2026 newsletters promote pre-claim approval instead.
• Self-Assessment and Learning Tool (SALT): an online questionnaire that helps you judge whether work may qualify and what records you need. It does not save or send anything to the CRA, so it has no effect on your claim. The CRA says new features are coming later this fall.

In short: SALT is for learning, PCA is for certainty.

How ClearSRED helps with pre-claim approval

We are an independent firm, not affiliated with the CRA. We prepare; your company reviews, signs and submits.

• Scope: we help you choose which projects (up to three) have a real technological uncertainty and are worth putting forward.
• Draft: we draft T1322 Part 2 Sections A to C from your own records (repositories, tickets, design docs and an interview with your technical lead), and an experienced SR&ED reviewer checks every draft.
• Assemble: we organize your Section D documents, including a practical time-and-cost tracking plan, so the package is submission-ready for your signing officer to upload.
• Prepare: we run your team through the kinds of questions an RTA asks, so the meeting goes smoothly.
• Carry through: when the year ends, we use the same records to prepare your annual T661 claim. Read how to file an SR&ED claim for that step.

We charge a flat fee agreed up front, not a percentage of your refund.

This page is general information, not tax advice. Lire en français : approbation préalable (T1322).