Pre-Claim Reviews and Consultations

With the announcement of Pre-Claim Review, CRA now has two services that appear broadly similar - Pre-Claim Review (PCR) and Pre-Claim Consultation (PCC). So what’s the difference? 

PCC will “let you know whether any of your work is SR&ED” before you submit your claim. The consultation will be about work in progress, and the reviewer will follow up with a written report on eligibility, but not on the extent of eligible work or allowable expenditures. It will provide “advice and recommendations”, including on the supporting documentation which is to be kept. Participation in this service is at CRA’s discretion. There has been criticism that the service offers little benefit to claimants, since a positive review is not binding on CRA, but a negative one would mean a claim would be unlikely to succeed. 

In contrast, PCR will provide “certainty that your claim will be accepted as filed when it is received by the CRA”. It appears that this will be esssentially a regular review, performed while the work is in progress. It is not available for first-time claimants, or for companies with a claim under objection or in litigation. Self-Assessment Learning Tool (SALT) reports must be provided for each project. 

PCR is currently a pilot program accepting a limited number of participants. It is to be rolled out across the country over the next few months.