SR&ED for Manufacturing & Hardware

Yes, when improving the process required resolving a technological uncertainty through experimentation. Applying known techniques or buying better equipment doesn't qualify on its own.

Yes. Materials consumed or transformed in SR&ED can be claimed as eligible expenses, as long as they're tied to the eligible work.

They can, if they were planned to test hypotheses and the results were recorded. Trials run as part of normal production don't qualify.

Not necessarily. Even contract manufacturers and OEM suppliers can claim SR&ED if they are undertaking eligible experimental work as part of their own business activities. What matters is whether you are bearing the technological risk and conducting the investigation — not whether you own the resulting product or process.

Under Bill C-15, tangible property — equipment, machinery, testing apparatus — acquired or available for use after December 15, 2024 and used directly in SR&ED activities is once again eligible. This reverses the 2014 removal of capital expenditures from the program. If equipment also serves commercial production, a proration is applied. SoftInventors can identify and calculate eligible equipment costs in your claim.

Yes. SR&ED eligibility is not dependent on commercial success or whether the prototype was ever sold. Experimental prototypes built to test hypotheses and resolve technological uncertainties are strong candidates — in fact, documentation of what failed and what you learned is often the clearest evidence of eligible work.