Canada: Professional body rules | Research Credit Integrity Alliance

Professional bodies can set rules on how their members charge for work, including tax work. This page summarizes what the code of conduct for chartered professional accountants says about contingent fees, using the version published by CPA Ontario and the guidance published by CPA British Columbia. It then notes the limits of those rules for SR&ED claim preparation.

Who the rules bind

The CPA Code of Professional Conduct published by CPA Ontario was adopted by the Council of CPA Ontario on February 26, 2016, ratified by the members on September 22, 2016, and continued under the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario Act, 2017.1 It applies to members of CPA Ontario and to firms.1

A professional code binds the members of the body that adopts it. The Income Tax Act defines an SR&ED claim preparer by reference to accepting consideration for preparing the claim form, not by reference to membership of any professional body.2 A person who prepares SR&ED claims for a fee and is not a member of a professional body is therefore not subject to that body's code, although the statutory rules on claim preparer information still apply.2

The definition of a contingent fee

The CPA Ontario code defines a contingent fee as a fee calculated on a predetermined basis relating to the outcome of a transaction or the result of services performed by the member or firm.1 The definition excludes a fee fixed by a court or other public authority, fees for insolvency work, and fees for administering trusts or estates that by statute or tradition are based on a percentage of realizations or assets under administration.1

Rule 215: where contingent fees are barred

Rule 215.1 provides that a member or firm engaged in the practice of public accounting, or in a related business or practice, shall not offer or engage to perform a professional service for a contingent fee where the service is:1

Service	Contingent fee allowed?
An engagement requiring independence under Rule 204	No1
A compilation engagement	No1
Preparation of an income tax return	No1
Other professional services	Yes, subject to the conditions in Rule 215.21

CPA British Columbia's guidance on fees describes the same three prohibited categories, noting that the independence category applies mainly to assurance work.3

Rule 215.2: where contingent fees are allowed

For other engagements, Rule 215.2 permits a contingent fee if the client has agreed in writing to the basis for determining the fee before the engagement is substantially complete.1 Two further conditions apply. The fee arrangement must not impair, or in the view of a reasonable observer appear to impair, the professional judgment or objectivity of the member on an engagement requiring independence. And it must not influence, or in the view of a reasonable observer appear to influence, the result of a compilation engagement performed or an income tax return prepared by the member or a partner for the same client.1 CPA British Columbia summarizes this as requiring the client to agree to the contingent fee structure in writing and in advance.3

Guidance on applying Rule 215

The guidance attached to Rule 215 makes several points relevant to tax work.1

A member is entitled to charge fees that the member considers fair and reasonable for the work, and it is generally prudent to set out fees and how they are computed in an engagement letter.
When working for a contingent fee, a member must bear in mind the rules requiring integrity and due care, professional competence, not associating with false or misleading statements, and compliance with generally accepted standards of practice.
The guidance lists commodity tax refund claims and preparing notices of objection to tax assessments and reassessments as examples of services that might be undertaken on a contingent fee basis, where other rules permit.
It lists assisting with income tax appeals among examples of services that, on a contingent fee basis, may be seen to impair objectivity on another engagement for the same client.
Value billing, which can take into account the value of the work to the client, should not be used to justify what is in substance an otherwise inappropriate contingent fee arrangement.
Where another professional body's standards also apply, the higher or more stringent standard must be applied.

How the rule relates to SR&ED claims

Rule 215 and its guidance do not mention SR&ED claims or Form T661.1 Form T661 is filed with the corporation or individual income tax return, and the claim for the investment tax credit is made on a separate schedule or form.4 Whether preparing Form T661 is the "preparation of an income tax return" within Rule 215.1, or another professional service governed by Rule 215.2, is not addressed in the code or in the CPA British Columbia guidance reviewed for this page.13

Other bodies

This page does not yet summarize the code that applies to chartered professional accountants in Quebec, or the rules of the law societies for lawyers who prepare tax claims. The codes of other provincial CPA bodies have not been reviewed separately.

Sources

Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario, CPA Code of Professional Conduct, cover page, Definitions ("contingent fee"), and Rule 215, Contingent fees (Rules 215.1 and 215.2 and Guidance paragraphs 1 to 7). https://assets.cpaontario.ca/members/regulations-guidance/pdfs/CPA-Ontario-Code-of-professional-conduct.pdf (accessed 11 October 2026). Back
Government of Canada, Income Tax Act, RSC 1985, c 1 (5th Supp), subsections 162(5.1), (5.2) and (5.3). https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/I-3.3/section-162.html (accessed 11 October 2026). Back
Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia, Avoiding complaints about fees, CPABC Code of Conduct guidance (last revision 1 March 2018). https://www.bccpa.ca/kbase/kbase-search/cpabc/cpabc-code-of-conduct/guidance/avoiding-complaints-about-fees/ (accessed 11 October 2026). Back
Canada Revenue Agency, Form T661, Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) Expenditures Claim, T661 E (26), page 1 and Part 8, Claim checklist. https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/cra-arc/formspubs/pbg/t661/t661-26e.pdf (accessed 11 October 2026). Back