Important Changes to PST Exemptions that B.C. Businesses Need to Know

New B.C. PST regulations will go into effect on October 1, 2026

Earlier this year, the British Columbia (B.C.) government announced that changes regarding provincial sales tax (PST) exemptions would go into effect this fall. If you own a business in B.C. that has previously been exempt from charging PST, it's imperative that you are aware of these changes and understand how the new regulations may affect you.

If you have any questions about how these changes impact your business, we encourage you to reach out to your accountant as soon as possible.

Read on for a high-level summary of the upcoming PST regulations, including effective date, affected industries and services, and the new tax amounts.

Effective date of the new B.C. PST rules

The B.C. PST changes will go into effect on October 1, 2026. However, affected businesses can register with eTaxBC at any time.

Industries, services, and items that will be affected

The following industries, services, and items will no longer be exempt from PST. Affected businesses will be required to charge this tax and register with the government.

SERVICES	SCOPE INCLUDES
Accounting	Preparing accounting records, assurance work, bookkeeping, billing, cost/financial/forensic/management/tax accounting, and account reconciliation Providing advice, preparing documents or providing representation in relation to: Taxes (including tax legislation, tax applications, tax appeals, administrative penalties, penalty equivalents, commission, interest, security, or any other matter related to taxes) Grants relating to property taxes (such as home owner grants)
Architectural	Defined by reference to B.C. professional regulatory legislation and are expected to cover a wide range of regulated professional work, such as: Schematic design Design development Construction documents Bidding or negotiation Construction contract administration services Generally included in phases 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of AIBC's schedule of architectural services with fee guideline (pre-design and post-construction services in phase 1 or 7 are still exempt)
Engineering and geoscience	Defined by reference to B.C. professional regulatory legislation and are expected to cover a wide range of regulated professional work, such as: Schematic design services Design development and contract document services Tender services Generally included in categories of service 2, 3, and 4 of ACEC-BC's budget guidelines for engineering services
Security	Armored car guard service Private investigator Security alarm service Security consultant Security guard service
Non-residential real estate	Trading services Rental property management services Strata management services Real estate commissions and fees on the sale or lease of non-residential real estate are taxable as non-residential real estate services Not included in this category are services: Relating to residential property only Relating to real property outside B.C. Provided by an employee to an employer in the course of employment Where the provider is not required to be licensed under the Real Estate Services Act

Other affected services and items include:

Clothing patterns, yarn, natural fibres, synthetic thread, and fabric commonly used to make or repair clothing
Services related to clothing and footwear, except basic laundry services
Basic cable television services
Residential landline telephone services
Toll-free telephone services

New tax amounts for affected services

Accounting services	7%
Architectural services	7% of 30% of sales (effective rate of 2.1%)
Engineering and geoscience services	7% of 30% of sales (effective rate of 2.1%)
Security services	7%
Non-residential real estate services	7%

What this means for your business

Required registration by October 1, 2026

Affected companies must register for PST prior to the October 1 implementation date. Registration and filings are done online through eTaxBC. If you are already registered with eTaxBC for other filing requirements, you can add a PST number to your existing account.

Invoicing and record keeping updates

Starting October 1, 2026, affected businesses will need to start charging the applicable PST for their services. This means updating the following to ensure that new filing requirements are met:

Invoicing
Accounting recording practices for collected PST
Bookkeeping practices

How Loren Nancke can support you

If you require guidance with these changes, our firm is available for consultation. Please reach out to our team if you would like to learn more about how we can support you with:

Determining whether your business is affected by the new legislation
Updating related business practices affected by the applicable changes
Completing the PST registration process
Identifying a PST filing frequency that works best for your business
Guidance on the necessary changes to your bookkeeping

Get in touch with our CPA firm to learn more about how we can support you and your business through this transition.

To review the most up-to-date information regarding these changes, please visit the B.C. government website.

By Jacob van Gaalen

Jacob van Gaalen, CPA, BBA, Associate at Loren Nancke

Jacob Van Gaalen, CPA, BBA, is an Associate with Loren Nancke. As a senior accountant with a background in Business and IT Administration, he uses his experience to mentor and train the up-and-coming accountants at the firm.

Learn more about Jacob and the rest of our team.