In a continued effort to simplify the SR&ED program, The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has just announced that it will release a revised version of Form T661, “SR&ED Expenditures Claim”, in October 2013 that will come into effect starting January 1, 2014.
The new T661 form will consolidate former Sections B (Experimental Development) and C (Basic or Applied Research) in Part 2 so that you can answer the same three questions in Section B.
In the current version of the T661, there are separate sections to describe the project work in Part 2. If you are filing an Experimental Development claim, you are required to complete Part B of the form which includes – Line 240: Technological Advancements, Line 242: Technological Uncertainties and Line 244: Description of the work performed during the tax year. If you are filing a Basic or Applied Research claim, you are required to complete Part C of the form, which includes – Line 250: Advancements in scientific knowledge sought and Line 252: Description of the work performed during the tax year.
The new form will merge these two sections. Given over 95% of all SR&ED claims fall under Experimental Development, this change should have a minimal impact on the filing process.
The revised version of Form T661 (13) (revision code 1301) will be effective as of its publication date. You can submit the T661(12) version of the form until December 31, 2013; however, starting January 1, 2014, only the T661(13) version of the form will be accepted for all tax years.
