BC Scientific Research & Experimental Development Tax Credit

Who is eligible?

• Qualifying corporations with a permanent establishment in British Columbia.
• Canadian-controlled private corporations (CCPCs).
• Eligible Canadian public corporations (ECPCs), subject to the proposed changes for tax years that begin on or after December 16, 2024 and legislative approval.
• Corporations that are members of a partnership, for their proportionate share of the partnership's credit, if they are qualifying corporations and are not specified members.

Who is not eligible

• Individuals.
• Corporations exempt from tax under section 27.
• Corporations controlled directly or indirectly by one or more persons whose taxable income is exempt from tax under section 27 of the Income Tax Act (British Columbia) or Part I of the federal Act.
• Small business venture capital corporations registered under section 3 of the Small Business Venture Capital Act.
• Employee venture capital corporations registered under section 8 of the Employee Investment Act.

Eligible expenses

• BC qualified expenditures incurred in respect of scientific research and experimental development carried on in British Columbia.
• Eligible repayment amounts included in the corporation's SR&ED qualified BC expenditure.

Ineligible Costs and Activities

• Expenditures incurred by an individual or trust.
• Expenditures incurred outside British Columbia.
• Expenditures incurred when the corporation had no permanent establishment in British Columbia.
• Expenditures incurred in the course of earning exempt income.
• Current expenditures for SR&ED contract paid or payable to, or for the benefit of, a person or partnership that is not a taxable supplier in respect of the expenditure.

• Complete Form T666, British Columbia Scientific Research and Experimental Development Tax Credit.
• Attach the form to the top of the corporation's T2 Corporation Income Tax Return for the year.
• File the form no later than 18 months after the end of the tax year in which the qualified expenditures are incurred.

• All claims accepted as filed are processed within 60 calendar days after the date a complete claim is received.
• Refundable claims selected for review or audit are completed within 180 calendar days after the date a complete claim is received.
• The CRA aims to meet these service standards 90% of the time.
• Claims submitted complete before April 1, 2018 are subject to the previous SR&ED service standards.
• Processing times do not include delays beyond the CRA's control, including incomplete claims, claims filed without the corresponding income tax return, no response to CRA information requests or a proposal letter, postponed or impossible meetings with the CRA, or prior-year SR&ED reviews or audits affecting the current-year claim.

• Budget 2026 proposes to remove the expiration date for this tax credit.
• Budget 2026 also proposes to expand refundable-credit eligibility to eligible Canadian public corporations (ECPC) for tax years that begin on or after December 16, 2024, subject to approval of the legislature.
• Questions about program eligibility can be directed to the ministry by phone at 250-387-3332 or 1-877-387-3332, or by email at ITBTaxQuestions@gov.bc.ca.