A fixed-fee CPA for Kamloops and the Thompson-Nicola

What Kamloops owners get from a BC CPA

A Kamloops company is not an out-of-province file here. EverStone is in Abbotsford, at the other end of the Coquihalla, and its own clients file BC PST returns, pay WorkSafeBC premiums and keep the BC annual report on the same calendar as the T2. There is nothing to learn about the province before your file can start.

The work is remote, and that suits most Thompson-Nicola owners. A question sent from a job site in Valleyview, a truck stop on the Yellowhead or a ranch past Barnhartvale is answered by the same CPA who prepares the return. Kamloops and Abbotsford share Pacific time, so a video meeting never means an early start for either side.

Where the highways and rail lines meet

Kamloops grew up where the North and South Thompson rivers join, and it is still a junction. The Trans-Canada runs east and west through the city, the Yellowhead heads north up the North Thompson, and the Coquihalla runs south to the coast. Two national rail main lines follow the river valleys through town. That geography is why so much of the local economy moves things: freight, fuel, equipment, parts and crews.

It also explains the shape of a typical Kamloops file. Many businesses carry heavy equipment on their balance sheet, pay crews who work away from home, and buy fuel and parts in volume. Getting the capital cost allowance (CCA) schedule, travel costs and input tax credits right matters more here than in a city of offices.

Two sales taxes on one Kamloops sale

A Kamloops sale can carry two taxes that never meet. The 5% GST is a federal tax filed with the CRA. The 7% PST belongs to the province, with a separate number and a separate return to the Ministry of Finance. On purchases they part ways again: GST you pay is normally recovered through input tax credits, while PST you pay is simply part of what the item cost you.

Each local trade meets the two taxes in its own way. A contractor pays PST on materials it installs into a building, as the consumer, rather than charging it to the owner. A restaurant charges GST on meals while PST generally does not apply to the food. A mine-supply company may collect PST on parts it sells and pay it on the equipment it uses. Whether you need a PST number at all is set out in our guide to BC PST registration.

Five Kamloops industries, five dedicated pages

The Thompson-Nicola work clusters into five trades. Each one has its own Kamloops page on the filings and records it lives with.

• Trucking and logistics: truck and trailer CCA, fuel records, long-haul meal claims and the owner-operator question.
• Construction contractors: T5018 slips, PST on installed materials, WorkSafeBC clearance letters and holdbacks.
• Mining services: crews on rotation, equipment financing, long receivable cycles and travel costs.
• Restaurants and hospitality: tips, liquor PST, point-of-sale reconciliation and a ski-season or summer peak.
• Farms and ranches: the cash method, cattle and hay sales, farm property and passing the operation on.

What a Kamloops corporation files each year

Federal and BC corporate tax travel together on a single T2, so there is no second provincial income tax return. Using the rates on our BC tax facts page, a Kamloops company pays a combined 11% on income that qualifies for the small business deduction and 27% above it. That 11% band covers $500,000 of active business income a year, and associated companies split one limit between them. The return is due six months after year-end, but the tax is due earlier: two months, or three for a qualifying CCPC.

Outside the tax system, the company also owes BC Registries an annual report each year around its incorporation date, and nobody sends a reminder. Then there is how you pay yourself: a salary reported on a T4, dividends on a T5, or some of each. Money drawn from the company that is neither becomes a shareholder loan. If it is still outstanding a year after the year-end, it generally lands on your personal return as income.

Services for Kamloops businesses

The four core services each have a Kamloops page of their own.

• Bookkeeping: monthly reconciliation with GST and PST filing included, from $300 a month.
• Payroll: source deductions, CPP and EI premiums, WorkSafeBC, vacation pay and year-end slips.
• Corporate tax (T2): year-end statements, the T2 itself, and owner-pay planning done while it can still change the result.
• Personal tax (T1): returns for owners, employees, retirees and landlords, with personal tax from $100 a return.

For an incorporated trade or carrier, books, payroll and the year-end T2 together usually come to $450–$650 a month. The full list sits on the pricing page. A T2 without the other services is priced once we have had a free consultation.

Remote accounting from Abbotsford

EverStone works with Kamloops businesses virtually, from a base in Abbotsford. There is no Kamloops office and nobody on the ground there. Meetings happen by video and paperwork moves by secure upload link and e-signature. The CPA who reads your email in the spring is the one who signs off your year-end, so nothing gets lost between people. For the provincial picture, see accounting across British Columbia.