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SR&ED deadlines: federal and Alberta

When the T661 has to reach CRA, when Alberta's Schedule 29 has to reach TRA, why they differ, and the dates for common year ends.

There are two deadlines, they are 3 months apart, and neither can be extended.

The federal deadline: 18 months after year end

Your T2 return is due 6 months after the end of the tax year. Form T661 and Schedule 31 — the SR&ED claim — can be filed up to 12 months after that, which is 18 months after year end. Expenditures that have not been reported on a T661 by then are permanently out: you cannot amend them in later, and there is no relief provision.

A tax-exempt corporation has no grace period; its SR&ED deadline is the return due date itself.

The Alberta deadline: 21 months after year end

The AT1 is due 6 months after year end, and Schedule 29 must be received by Alberta TRA within 15 months after that. It is a receipt deadline, not a postmark or transmission date. Miss it and the Innovation Employment Grant is not available for the year, even though the federal claim may already be in.

Why it matters that they differ

The Alberta window stays open 3 months longer than the federal one. That sounds generous, but the Alberta grant is computed from the federal figures — so a corporation that has missed the federal deadline has nothing to put on Schedule 29. In practice the federal date is the one to plan around, and the Alberta schedule goes in with the AT1.

The dates for common year ends

Year endT2 dueFederal SR&ED deadlineAT1 dueAlberta Schedule 29 must be received by
December 31, 2024June 30, 2025June 30, 2026June 30, 2025September 30, 2026
March 31, 2025September 30, 2025September 30, 2026September 30, 2025December 31, 2026
June 30, 2025December 31, 2025December 31, 2026December 31, 2025March 31, 2027
September 30, 2025March 31, 2026March 31, 2027March 31, 2026June 30, 2027
December 31, 2025June 30, 2026June 30, 2027June 30, 2026September 30, 2027
March 31, 2026September 30, 2026September 30, 2027September 30, 2026December 31, 2027
June 30, 2026December 31, 2026December 31, 2027December 31, 2026March 31, 2028

These dates are computed by the same code that puts the deadline on a SREDDY status card, from the rule above; a year end on the last day of a month lands on the last day of the target month. For a year end not listed, count forward the same way — or connect SREDDY and it will show the date with the days remaining.

What SREDDY does with this

Once it knows your year end, SREDDY works out all four dates, keeps them on your status card with a countdown, and refuses to quote a figure for a year whose window has already closed. It never files anything: you, or your accountant, send the T2 and the AT1 in the usual way, and the SR&ED schedules go with them.

Where this comes from

Income Tax Act s.37(11) and s.162(5.1) · Guide T4088, filing requirements · Alberta Corporate Tax Act; AT1 Schedule 29 instructions · Alberta TRA Information Circular IEG-1R5

Rates and limits are read from SREDDY's parameter table at build time, last verified against the published sources on August 13, 2026. This page explains the rules; it is not tax, legal or accounting advice, and CRA and Alberta TRA decide every claim on its own facts.

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