The CRA has changed its policy! It no longer asks 5 questions to determine eligibility. The concepts of Technological Uncertainties, Technology Advancements, and Systematic Investigation remain the 3 central foundations of SR&ED, however the CRA’s internal perspective has changed. These are the CRA’s new buzz-words:
- The “Why” Requirement: Your work must generate or discover of new knowledge that advances your understanding of technical issues that present challenges you need to resolve. You must perform experiments by measuring some data to test your hypotheses.
- The “How” Requirement: Work must consist of a systematic investigation through experiments or analyses. Generating a hypothesis consistent with known facts, identifying a possible solution to your problem, performing tests and development of logical conclusions based on experiments and analysis
Previously the CRA required that you be able to answer “YES” to the following questions:
- Was there a scientific or a technological uncertainty?
- Did the effort involve formulating hypotheses specifically aimed at reducing or eliminating that uncertainty?
- Was the overall approach adopted consistent with a systematic investigation, including formulating and testing the hypotheses by means of experiment or analysis?
- Was the overall approach undertaken for the purpose of achieving a scientific or technological advancement?
- Was a record of the hypotheses tested and the results kept as the work progressed?
