SR&ED documentation requirements
SR&ED is won and lost on documentation. The most common reason good work gets denied isn't that it wasn't eligible — it's that there was nothing contemporaneous to prove it happened.
Here's what to keep, why it matters, and how to make evidence collection painless.
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Why documentation matters
The CRA gives the most weight to contemporaneous evidence — records created as the work happened, not reconstructed at filing time. Contemporaneous documentation is the difference between describing experiments and proving them.
Types of evidence that work
- Project planning: proposals, objectives, hypotheses, design documents.
- Experimental records: test plans, results, measurements, iteration notes.
- Source control history, commit logs, issue trackers and design tickets.
- Lab notebooks, prototypes, photos and engineering drawings.
- Time records tying people and hours to specific SR&ED work.
- Emails and meeting notes that show problems being worked through.
How to track SR&ED time
Time is usually the largest cost in a claim, so it needs the strongest support. Ideally, people log SR&ED hours against specific projects and activities as they work. Where that's not possible, you can reconstruct allocations from other records — but they must be reasonable and tied to evidence. SREDlog turns timesheets and dev logs into traceable allocations, each linked back to the document that supports it.
How long to keep records
Keep your SR&ED documentation for at least six years from the end of the tax year it relates to, in case the CRA reviews the claim. Store it somewhere organized and retrievable — a review request usually comes with a tight deadline.
Common documentation gaps
- Time that isn't recorded against specific SR&ED work.
- Narratives with no underlying evidence to support them.
- Evidence that was created at filing time rather than as the work happened.
- Costs that can't be reconciled to payroll, contracts or invoices.
Frequently asked questions
There's no single mandated format, but you need contemporaneous evidence that the work happened and met the three criteria — planning, experiments, results, time records and cost support.
At least six years from the end of the relevant tax year, in case of a review.
Formal timesheets are ideal, but reasonable allocations supported by other evidence (commits, tickets, project records) can also work. The key is a defensible link between hours and SR&ED work.
You can summarize at filing time, but the CRA gives far more weight to records created as the work happened. Reconstructed-only evidence is a red flag.
It analyzes your uploaded evidence, links it to projects, people and claimed amounts, and assembles an indexed, audit-ready binder — so the trail is built as you work.
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This guide is general information, not tax advice — SR&ED rules, rates and limits change, so confirm the current figures with the CRA or your advisor before you file.