Provincial Sales Tax (PST) Changes

We want to make you aware of upcoming changes being implemented to provincial sales tax (PST) in British Columbia (B.C).

The B.C. Provincial 2026 Budget has indicated that there will be an expansion of the goods and services subject to PST, meaning that you will start to see PST being charged on some purchases that were previously exempt. A variety of professional fees will be affected by this expansion, including accounting services. These changes are set to take effect October 1, 2026.

How will this impact me?

As of October 1^st, any invoices that you receive from us will include PST on amounts charged for qualifying accounting services. The Ministry of Finance has determined that the following accounting services will be subject to PST:

1. Preparing accounting records, including:
   • Financial statements and notes to financial statements
   • Journal entries and Journals of accounts
   •  Payroll
   •  Budgets
   • Invoices, bills or statements of account
   • Tax or information returns, and any records related to a tax or information return
   • Applications for a tax credit, rebate or refund
2. Bookkeeping, account reconciliation, and billing
3. Providing advice, preparing documents or providing representation in relation to:
   • Taxes (i.e. tax legislation, applications, appeals, penalties, commission, and interest)
   • Grants relating to property taxes (homeowner grants, etc.)
4. Providing assurance services, including auditing/reviewing accounting records and controls
5. Cost, financial, forensic, management or tax accounting.

For PST purposes, accounting services do not include the following:

• Services provided by a person to their employer in the course of their employment
• Providing in-person accounting training, courses or professional development.

Are there any exemptions?

In most circumstances, the following accounting services will be exempt from PST:

• Services that relate to property, activity, or transactions situated or occurring in a jurisdiction outside of B.C.
• Services provided as a trustee, executor or administrator of an estate of a deceased person
• Services provided as a custodian or trustee in bankruptcy
• Services provided as a liquidator, receiver, receiver manager, trustee or similar person in liquidation or dissolution proceedings
• Services purchased by a First Nations individual or band that relate to property, activity, or transactions situated or occurring on First Nations land.

We will not charge you PST on accounting services that qualify for exemption. Please contact us immediately if you receive an invoice with PST that you believe should have been exempt.

What if I do not live in BC?

Accounting services provided in B.C. to a person who does not reside or carry on business in B.C. are still subject to PST, unless one of the above exemptions applies.

How much will it cost?

Accounting services will be subject to PST at the usual rate of 7%. Thus, your invoice will increase by 7% of the total accounting fees billed.

Can I deduct the PST paid against taxable income on a tax return?

If the accounting fees were incurred to earn taxable income (i.e. if the accounting fees qualify as a deductible expense on your income tax return), you can include the PST paid in the deduction.

Resources:

For further details regarding the updates to PST on accounting fees, please visit the following Ministry of Finance webpage:

www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/taxes/sales-taxes/pst/publications/accounting-services

Should you have any questions, please call us at 250-287-8331.

Please note, the information contained in this blog is based on the facts as outlined by the current law and current administrative practices of the Government of British Columbia and the Ministry of Finance. Should the facts or the rules change, this advice may no longer be valid