Innovation Employment Grant (IEG)
No fixed amount
Grant
Description:
The Innovation Employment Grant encourages economic growth by supporting small and medium-sized businesses that invest in research and development (R&D) with a grant worth up to 20% of qualifying expenditures.
The program promotes investment and diversification by rewarding all R&D spending in Alberta, regardless of the industry, and complementing the Job Creation Tax Cut by focusing on small and medium-sized firms in the earlier stages of operation, when they might not yet be profitable.
Comments on Funding:
The grant provides qualified corporations with:
1. An 8% payment for eligible R&D spending carried out in Alberta, up to the corporation’s base level of spending.
2. An enhanced 20% payment for eligible R&D spending that exceeds the corporation’s base spending level.
–A firm’s base level of spending is determined by calculating the corporation’s average qualifying R&D spending over the previous 2 years.
The grant provides benefits on up to $4 million in annual R&D spending.
Continuous Intake
Eligibility:
Applicants must:
1. Be available to corporations that undertake R&D in Alberta.
2. The grant will phase out incrementally for firms with between $10 million and $50 million in taxable capital to ensure the support targets small and medium-sized companies.
2. Be firms with $50 million or more in taxable capital are not eligible for the grant.
3. Have expenditures that incurred in Alberta after December 31, 2020 and match those that qualify for the federal Scientific Research and Experimental Development Tax Incentive Program.
Application Steps:
Applicants must:
1. Be eligible corporations to claim the Innovation Employment Grant.
2. Complete and file a Schedule 29 to the Alberta Corporate Income Tax Return (AT1), in addition to the AT1 for the respective taxation year.
As this grant is based on expenditures that also qualify for the federal SR&ED program, payments will not be processed until qualifying expenses have been verified by the Canada Revenue Agency and are confirmed to have been undertaken in Alberta by Tax and Revenue Administration.
Documentation Needed:
Applicants must:
1. Submit a completed Listing of SR&ED Projects Carried Out in Alberta (Form AT4970)
2. Submit a completed Innovation Employment Grant – AT1 Schedule 29” (Form AT29)
Other Things to Note:
About the author
Maurice
