Quebec offers refundable R&D tax credits administered by Revenu Quebec through the Quebec corporate income tax return. Unlike the provinces whose credits sit on T2 schedules, Quebec collects its own corporate income tax, so a company with research in Quebec prepares two claims: Form T661 and Schedule 31 for the CRA, and the Quebec claim for Revenu Québec. For taxation years beginning after 25 March 2025, the main Quebec measure is the tax credit for R&D, innovation and pre-commercialization, known by its French initials as the CRIC.
Overview
| Item | Tax credit for R&D, innovation and pre-commercialization (CRIC) |
|---|---|
| Replaces | The former tax credit for scientific research and experimental development (the salary credit), the credit for university research and research by a public research centre or research consortium, the credit for private partnership pre-competitive research, the credit for fees and dues paid to a research consortium, and the credit for technological adaptation services |
| Rate | 20% of qualified expenditures above the exclusion threshold, increased to 30% on up to C$1 million of those expenditures |
| Refundable | Yes |
| Exclusion threshold | The greater of C$50,000 and the sum of the R&D employees threshold and the pre-commercialization employees threshold |
| Who can claim | A corporation, other than an excluded corporation, that operates a business in Quebec, has an establishment there and undertakes R&D or pre-commercialization activities in Quebec, or has them undertaken on its behalf in Quebec under contract |
| Base | Salaries or wages of employees, 50% of subcontract amounts for work carried out in Quebec, 50% of payments to an eligible public research centre, research consortium or university entity, and certain property acquisition costs |
| How it is claimed | Form RD-1029.8.CR-T, attached to the Quebec corporate income tax return |
| Administered by | Revenu Québec |
Who can claim
Alberta and Quebec administer their own provincial incentives, with filing requirements outside the federal T2 schedules. A corporation qualifies for the CRIC where it carries on a business in Quebec through an establishment in the province and the eligible work is done in Quebec, whether by its own staff or under contract. Partnerships can also qualify: a member corporation, other than an excluded corporation, can claim a 20% credit on its share of the partnership's expenditures above the exclusion threshold.
The CRIC covers more than R&D. Pre-commercialization activities, meaning tests and studies to obtain an initial registration or certification needed to commercialize a product or process, and product design, qualify where they continue R&D carried out in Quebec. Unless the same work is also SR&ED, these activities appear in the Quebec claim only.
Rate and calculation
The Quebec base is built differently from the federal one. Subcontracts count at 50% rather than the federal 80% of arm's length contract payments, there is no prescribed proxy amount, and the exclusion threshold is deducted before the rate is applied. The CRIC is then deducted from the federal base, because provincial R&D tax credits are government assistance that reduces the qualified expenditures on which the federal investment tax credit is calculated, under subsection 127(18). Quebec has also carried over to the CRIC the rules that reduce expenditures where a contribution or similar benefit is received.
Illustrative example. Laurentide Materials Inc., a hypothetical CCPC with a December year end, has its first taxation year under the CRIC. It pays C$1,200,000 of salaries for R&D carried out in Quebec and C$200,000 to a Quebec subcontractor, and its exclusion threshold is assumed to be C$100,000. Its federal qualified expenditures for the same work, before the Quebec credit, are C$2,000,000.
| Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| Salaries | C$1,200,000 |
| Subcontract C$200,000, at 50% | C$100,000 |
| Less exclusion threshold | (C$100,000) |
| Expenditures above the threshold | C$1,200,000 |
| CRIC at 30% on the first C$1,000,000 | C$300,000 |
| CRIC at 20% on the remaining C$200,000 | C$40,000 |
| Total CRIC, refundable | C$340,000 |
| Federal qualified expenditures after the CRIC | C$1,660,000 |
| Federal credit at 35% | C$581,000 |
How to claim
- Prepare the federal Form T661 project descriptions and costs, recording which work was done in Quebec.
- Build the Quebec base separately: employee salaries, subcontracts and research entity payments at 50%, and eligible property, together with the time each employee spent on R&D and pre-commercialization for the exclusion threshold.
- Complete Form RD-1029.8.CR-T and file it with the Quebec corporate income tax return.
- Enter the CRIC as government assistance in the federal calculation and recompute the federal qualified expenditures.
- File the federal claim with the T2 return within the federal reporting deadline, 12 months after the filing due date of the return.
Working with the federal claim
Revenu Québec describes eligible R&D in the same three parts as the federal definition: basic research, applied research and experimental development. Revenu Québec reviews CRIC claims under its own rules, so the two files should tell the same story about each project.
The practical rule is one project list. Use the same project names and the same evidence for both governments, keep a reconciliation between the federal and Quebec bases, and keep the employee time records that support the exclusion threshold as well as the salary claim.
Common questions
Can we still claim the old Quebec salary credit? Not for a taxation year beginning after 25 March 2025; the CRIC replaces it. Earlier years follow the former rules.
Can we claim the CRIC and another Quebec credit on the same cost? No. The same expenditure cannot support the CRIC and another Quebec tax credit.
Related pages
Official sources
- Tax creditsRevenu Québec
- Tax credit for R&D, innovation and pre-commercializationRevenu Québec
- Form RD-1029.8.CR-TRevenu Québec
- Tax credit for research, innovation and commercialization (CRIC)Gouvernement du Québec
- Information Bulletin 2025-6Ministère des Finances du Québec
- Income Tax Act, subsection 127(18)Justice Laws Website
Educational content only, not tax advice. See the disclaimer.