SR&ED Pre-Claim Approval 2026: Who Can Apply, How It Works and the 90-Day Review Track

For most of the SR&ED program's history, you found out whether the CRA agreed your work was eligible only after you had done the work, spent the money and filed the claim. SR&ED pre-claim approval changes the order. Since April 1, 2026, eligible businesses can ask the CRA to look at a planned or recently started project and give a decision before the claim is filed.

The process came out of Budget 2025, which described it as "an elective pre-claim approval process to provide businesses with an up-front technical approval". The practical payoff is time: a refundable claim selected for review that contains only projects with pre-claim approval is on a 90-day track instead of 180 days.

This guide covers who can apply, how many projects you can include, the timelines, how the approval connects to your claim, what it does not do, and how to prepare a request the CRA can assess quickly. If you need the basics first, read our SR&ED explainer.

SR&ED pre-claim approval at a glance

What pre-claim approval is

The CRA calls it "a new optional process that helps eligible small and medium businesses find out if their projects qualify." You describe a project you plan to carry out, or have just started, and the CRA assesses whether it qualifies as SR&ED before you claim it.

The approval is technical. It is about whether the work meets the eligibility test, which the CRA's guidelines frame as two requirements: the work must be carried out to achieve a scientific or technological advancement (the "Why"), and it must be a systematic investigation or search by means of experiment or analysis (the "How"). Our SR&ED eligibility guide covers both in detail.

Pre-claim approval is not the same as the CRA's older pre-claim consultation, which its "Get ready to claim" page still points to, and it is not the First-Time Claimant Advisory Service, which happens only after a claim is filed. If you are unsure which service fits your situation, the CRA's Fall 2026 newsletter says individual sessions on pre-claim approval are available, covering the eligibility requirements, the application process and expected timelines. You book one by email at OESCPB-SVEDGPO@cra-arc.gc.ca.

Who can apply

From the CRA's apply page, your business must:

• "Be either a Canadian-controlled private corporation or other Canadian corporation, or a partnership"
• "Have a gross business income of less than $25M"
• "Be in good standing with the CRA"

And each project must:

• "Not have been included in a previous SR&ED claim"
• "Not involve issues that may be currently under litigation"

The CRA's April 2026 announcement describes the income test as "an annual gross income of less than $25 million". The apply page uses "gross business income", and that is the wording to work from.

Timing: when to apply and how long approval lasts

The CRA's pages describe two entry points. You can apply "before you begin your planned work", and "If you have only recently begun your work, you may still apply for pre-claim approval."

The CRA's April 2026 announcement says you can request pre-claim approval for up to three projects, and that an approval is valid for up to three years. That makes pre-claim approval most useful for multi-year development programs, where one decision can sit behind several years of claims for the same work.

How the process works

1. Request a case number from the CRA
2. Complete the application, describing each project
3. Submit it: "Upload your application in My Business Account in your CRA account"
4. Meet with the CRA. The CRA's announcement says you meet a CRA SR&ED specialist "within four weeks of submitting your application". Its after-you-apply page says that for existing SR&ED claimants in good standing, the RTA may request a meeting, and "All other businesses will have a mandatory meeting with their RTA". The CRA estimates the meeting at 2 to 5 hours, and the technical expert who performs or understands the planned work should be available
5. Receive the decision. "The CRA will provide you with a decision within 8 weeks of submitting your complete pre-claim approval application."

Notice the word "complete" again. As with the claim service standards, the 8-week clock is tied to a complete application, so missing information costs you time.

How it ties to the 90-day review standard

The CRA's standard service levels are 60 calendar days for claims not selected for review and 180 calendar days for refundable claims selected for review, both counted from a complete claim. Pre-claim approval adds a shorter track for the second group.

• Only approved projects in the claim: a refundable claim selected for review takes up to 90 days. The CRA's April 2026 announcement describes this as processing "cut in half from 180 days to 90 days."
• Any project without approval, or one that materially differs from what was approved: the claim takes up to 180 days

This is the "faster refund" people search for, and it is specific. The 90-day track applies to refundable claims that are selected for review and that contain only approved projects. It does not mean every claim is processed twice as fast. One unapproved project in the same claim puts the whole claim back on the 180-day track.

What pre-claim approval does not do

• It does not replace the claim. You still file Form T661 and the investment tax credit form, such as T2 Schedule 31, with your return, including project descriptions and expenditure calculations
• It does not move the reporting deadline. The claim is still due within 12 months after your return's filing due date, about 18 months after year-end for a corporation, and the CRA cannot extend it
• It does not cover work outside what was approved. A project that materially differs from the approved version loses the 90-day track. If you make material changes during the approval period, the CRA encourages you to contact your RTA
• It does not replace your records. The CRA still expects documentation that is "dated, signed, and specific to the work performed" for the work you claim

For the full filing sequence, see our guide on how to claim SR&ED in 2026.

Who it suits, and who should skip it

This section is GovMoney's practical reading, not CRA guidance.

Likely a good fit

• Companies about to commit budget to a new technical project who want an eligibility answer before they spend
• Refundable claimants for whom review timing affects cash flow, and whose claims are concentrated in up to three projects
• Multi-year development programs, where an approval of up to three years covers more than one claim
• Companies new to SR&ED, or returning after a gap, who want to hear the CRA's view of their framing early
• Teams that can describe the uncertainty and the plan clearly before the work starts

Probably skip it

• Businesses that do not meet the eligibility rules: gross business income of $25 million or more, not in good standing, or a project already claimed or under litigation
• Work that is well advanced, where a claim filed on the normal schedule is the more practical route
• Companies with many small projects in each claim, where one unapproved project would put the claim back on the 180-day track anyway
• Teams that cannot set aside time for a meeting of up to 5 hours and for a complete application
• Work that is mostly routine engineering, where the better use of time is rethinking whether there is SR&ED at all

How to prepare a strong pre-claim request

The CRA has not published a scoring guide for applications. What follows is GovMoney's view of what makes a request easy to assess, built on the CRA's eligibility guidelines.

1. Write the project description as if it were Part 2 of the T661

The CRA's guidance for the Form T661 project description limits the uncertainties to 350 words, the work to 700 words and the advancements to 350 words. Working to the same discipline in your application forces clarity, and it gives you a head start on the claim. Our technical narrative guide shows how to structure each part.

2. Pin down the technological uncertainty

State what you do not know and why the knowledge available within your business is not enough. The CRA's guidelines list signs that knowledge may be insufficient, including:

• "Existing design methods are not applicable"
• "Too many variables or unknowns"
• "Parameters or conditions are outside of the normal operating range"
• "There are interlocking constraints"
• "Data is not readily available"

If the answer can be found by applying known methods, the CRA's guidelines treat that as a workaround, not SR&ED.

3. Show the plan

The CRA describes a systematic investigation as defining the problem, advancing a hypothesis towards resolving it, planning and testing it, and drawing logical conclusions. Your request should show each of those steps for the planned work: the hypothesis, the tests, what result would confirm or reject it, and who will do the work.

4. Set up records from day one

An approval covers the project as described. Your claim later has to show the work you actually did. Set up dated test logs, design notes and time tracking by project before the work starts, so the records match the approved scope.

5. Keep the scope honest

Leave out commercial production, routine testing and other excluded work. An application that includes them invites questions, and a project that later grows beyond its approved shape can lose the 90-day track.

Timeline example

Illustration only, using the CRA's maximum timelines. Actual dates depend on the CRA and on your file.

1. November 2, 2026: a company with a December 31 year-end uploads a complete application covering two projects that start in January 2027
2. By November 30, 2026: meeting with the CRA, where one is held (November 2 + 4 weeks = November 30)
3. By December 28, 2026: decision (November 2 + 8 weeks = December 28)
4. January to December 2027: the work is done and documented as it progresses
5. By June 30, 2028: T2 filed with Form T661 and Schedule 31, with the pre-claim approval case number entered (six months after the December 31, 2027 year-end)
6. If selected for review: up to 90 days from a complete claim, because the claim contains only approved projects
7. June 30, 2029: SR&ED reporting deadline for the 2027 year (June 30, 2028 + 12 months)

Common mistakes

• Treating approval as a guaranteed refund. The CRA describes it as technical approval, and expenditures can still be reviewed
• Applying for a project that was already included in an earlier SR&ED claim
• Submitting an incomplete application, which delays the 8-week decision clock
• Mixing approved and unapproved projects in one claim and expecting the 90-day track
• Letting the project drift from the approved version without noticing that it now materially differs
• Assuming the approval moves or replaces the reporting deadline
• Describing the product rather than the uncertainty and the plan to resolve it
• Forgetting to enter the pre-claim approval details on the claim

How pre-claim approval fits with the forms

The approval sits alongside the normal claim, not in place of it. The CRA's instructions for the updated 2026 Form T661 add a pre-claim approval checkbox at line 212 and the case number at line 214, both in Part 2, so the reviewer can connect your claim to the approval.

Everything else stays the same: T661 Part 2 descriptions for your projects, the expenditure calculations, T2 Schedule 31 for the credit, Schedule 49 if you are in an associated group, the Ontario schedules where they apply, and Part 9 if a paid preparer helped. All of it must be complete and filed by the reporting deadline.

Frequently asked questions

What is SR&ED pre-claim approval?

It is an optional CRA process, launched April 1, 2026, that lets eligible businesses find out whether a planned or recently started project qualifies for SR&ED before they file a claim. Budget 2025 described it as an up-front technical approval.

Who is eligible for CRA pre-claim approval?

Canadian-controlled private corporations, other Canadian corporations and partnerships with gross business income of less than $25 million that are in good standing with the CRA. The project must not have been included in a previous SR&ED claim and must not involve issues currently under litigation.

How many projects can I submit for pre-claim approval?

Up to three projects, according to the CRA's April 2026 announcement.

How long does SR&ED pre-approval take?

The CRA's announcement says the meeting with a CRA SR&ED specialist takes place within four weeks of submitting your application. Most applicants have a mandatory meeting; for existing claimants in good standing, the RTA may request one. The CRA will provide a decision within 8 weeks of a complete application, and an approval is valid for up to three years.

Does pre-claim approval mean a faster refund?

It can shorten reviews. A refundable claim selected for review that includes only projects with pre-claim approval takes up to 90 days instead of 180. If any project in the claim lacks approval or materially differs from what was approved, the claim takes up to 180 days.

Does pre-claim approval guarantee my SR&ED refund?

No. The CRA describes it as a technical approval of the project. Its pages do not say the approval covers your expenditures, and claims with approved projects can still be selected for an expenditure review.

Do I still have to file a T661 if my project is pre-approved?

Yes. You still file Form T661 and T2 Schedule 31 with your return by the SR&ED reporting deadline, which is 12 months after your return's filing due date. The revised T661 includes lines for the pre-claim approval checkbox and case number.

Can I apply if my project has already started?

Yes, if you have only recently begun. The CRA says you can apply before you begin the planned work, and that if you have only recently begun your work you may still apply.

How do I apply for SR&ED pre-claim approval?

Request a case number, complete the application, and upload it in My Business Account in your CRA account. The CRA also offers individual sessions on pre-claim approval, booked at OESCPB-SVEDGPO@cra-arc.gc.ca.