Accountant for Duncan and the Cowichan Valley
EverStone CPA serves Duncan and North Cowichan businesses entirely online: corporate tax, bookkeeping, payroll and plain advice from a Chartered Professional Accountant, at a fixed fee agreed before work begins. Chemainus, Crofton, Cobble Hill, Mill Bay and Lake Cowichan are served the same way.
Who we help here: family farms, dairies and vineyards, builders and trades crews, and the shops that serve the whole valley. They need a CPA who knows BC’s two sales taxes and answers by email, without a drive down the highway.
Quick answer: EverStone works with Duncan and Cowichan Valley businesses remotely: corporate tax (T2), personal tax (T1), bookkeeping, payroll, and GST and BC PST filing, all at a fixed fee agreed before work starts. Published fees start at $125 for a personal return and $325 a month for bookkeeping, with GST and PST filing included.
Updated .
On this page
A BC CPA who works entirely online
As a British Columbia firm, EverStone applies PST, GST, WorkSafeBC and the BC employer health tax every filing period. None of it depends on whether you farm a back road or run a shop in town.
You work with one Chartered Professional Accountant who knows your numbers year-round. Questions come by email, meetings run by video, documents arrive through a secure upload link, and returns are e-signed.
Get My Fixed QuoteWhat Duncan owners get
- Corporate tax (T2) & year-end statements
- Personal tax (T1) for owners & families
- Monthly bookkeeping & payroll
- GST and BC PST filed separately
- Farm records, job costing & stock counts
- Fixed fees, confirmed up front
Who we work with in the Cowichan Valley
Duncan is the service and shopping centre of the Cowichan Valley, on the Trans-Canada Highway between Victoria and Nanaimo. North Cowichan surrounds it and takes in Chemainus, Crofton and Maple Bay. The valley mixes farming, forestry, building and trades, retail, and a visitor trade built around food and wine.
Many businesses here are family-run. Farms work to the growing season, trades follow new homes and renovations, and retailers serve the whole valley. For the provincial picture, see accounting in British Columbia.
Which return applies to you
| If you are | You file |
|---|---|
| A sole proprietor | A T1 personal return with form T2125 for the business |
| An incorporated business | A T2 corporate return, with financial statement schedules, and a BC annual report |
| A farmer | A T1 with the farm schedules, or a T2 for a farm corporation |
| Sales tax where you operate | 5% GST plus 7% BC PST: two registrations, two returns |
Source: Should you incorporate? General information, not advice.
What BC adds for a Duncan business
Two sales taxes
BC charges 5% GST and 7% PST as separate taxes with separate returns. A contractor pays PST on materials installed into a home; a restaurant charges none on most food but does on liquor.
Corporate rates
BC taxes active business income under the small business deduction at 2% and other income at 12%, on a $500,000 limit shared by associated corporations. Combined with federal tax, that is 11% on the first $500,000 and 27% above it. Figures: BC tax facts.
Payroll layers
WorkSafeBC registration and premiums for every employer, and the employer health tax once BC remuneration passes $1,000,000. BC vacation pay starts at 4% and rises to 6% after five years.
Farms: cash method, GST and the next generation
Dairy, poultry, vegetable, berry and hay farms, along with vineyards and cideries, are part of the valley’s identity. Farm income can be reported on the cash method, which gives some control over the year a sale is taxed. Many farm products are zero-rated for GST, so a farm can often recover the GST it pays.
Tractors, barns and equipment are claimed through capital cost allowance, and a large purchase is timed with the tax year in mind. Passing land, quota or the farm corporation to the next generation needs planning years ahead, including the capital gains exemption for qualified farm property.
See farm accounting on Vancouver Island’s Saanich Peninsula for more on farm books and tax.
Trades and construction: job costing, holdbacks and PST
Electricians, plumbers, framers, HVAC crews and small builders do much of the valley’s work. They need job costing that shows margin per job.
Holdbacks are tracked so the balance sheet shows what clients still owe. Payments to subcontractors are reported on T5018 slips. A contractor pays PST on materials installed into a home, so purchases are coded with that in mind. Vans, tools and equipment are claimed through CCA.
See trades accounting in Nanaimo, contractor accounting in Nanaimo and construction and trades accounting.
Retail: point of sale, stock and two sales taxes
Shops in downtown Duncan and along the highway charge 5% GST and 7% PST and file each on its own return. Point-of-sale reports, card deposits and cash are reconciled each month, so the sales tax filed matches the sales recorded.
Stock is counted and costed at year-end, because it drives cost of sales and profit. Shrinkage, markdowns and slow stock are reviewed before they distort the margin. See retail accounting in Langford for stock counts and till tax codes.
Payroll for farm, crew and shop staff
Each pay run calculates CPP, EI and income tax, and remittances reach the CRA on time. Seasonal farm hands and summer shop staff get records of employment when they leave.
Every BC employer registers with WorkSafeBC and pays premiums. BC vacation pay starts at 4% and rises to 6% after five years. The employer health tax applies once BC remuneration passes $1,000,000. T4 slips are filed by the end of February. See payroll for Vancouver Island employers.
Year-end timing and paying yourself
Most year-ends were chosen without the season in mind. A farm or shop often does better with a year-end after its busy months. The T2 is due six months after year-end, with the balance owing in two or three.
For an incorporated owner, the mix of salary and dividends affects personal tax, RRSP room and CPP. We plan it before year-end, while a bonus, dividend or equipment purchase can still help. Try the salary vs dividends calculator. If the books are behind, catch-up bookkeeping brings them current first.
Accounting and tax services for Duncan businesses
Corporate Tax (T2)
T2 returns, year-end statements and the small business deduction.
Personal Tax (T1)
T1 returns for owners, families and the self-employed.
Bookkeeping
Monthly reconciliations with GST and PST filing included, for farms, crews and shops.
GST and PST Filing
Separate GST and BC PST returns, filed on time.
Business Advisory
Cash flow, equipment timing, succession and when to incorporate.
Fractional CFO
Forecasting and financing support from $2,750 a month.
Getting set up, entirely online
Send an enquiry
Describe the business and what you need. You get a fixed, written quote before anything begins.
Send your records securely
Records come through a secure upload link, and CRA access is set up through My Business Account.
Stay current all year
Books, GST, PST and payroll stay on schedule, and questions get answered by email at no extra charge.
Common questions from Duncan owners
How much does an accountant cost in Duncan?+
Do you work with farms in the Cowichan Valley?+
Do you work with trades and small builders?+
Do you handle GST and PST for retail shops?+
Does EverStone have a Duncan office?+
Related services and local guides
Nearby cities and the reference pages behind this one.
Starting fees
Every fee is fixed in writing before any work begins.
- Monthly bookkeeping, GST/PST filing includedfrom $325 a month
- Payroll, remittances, T4s and ROEsincluded in monthly bookkeeping
- Books, payroll and the year-end T2 together$500–$700 a month
- Corporate year-end and T2 returnfixed fee, quoted in writing
- Personal tax return (T1)from $125; self-employed or rental $275–$500
- Catch-up bookkeepingfrom $2,200 per year of records
- Controller or CFO supportcontroller from $1,650, CFO from $2,750 a month
- One-off advice call with a CPA$225 plus GST