Farm accountant in Delta
The flat, river-built soil between Ladner, Westham Island and Boundary Bay is some of the most productive farmland in BC, and much of it sits in the Agricultural Land Reserve. EverStone works with the families who farm it, as a Delta small business accountant and an agriculture accountant, at fixed fees, online.
Quick answer: Delta farms can report income on the cash method, sell mostly zero-rated produce for GST and recover the GST on inputs, and buy some farm equipment PST-exempt. Equipment is written off through CCA. Qualified farm property can use the lifetime capital gains exemption and pass to a child through an intergenerational rollover. EverStone handles the farm T1 or T2 and the planning around it, at a fixed fee.
Field crops on the delta flats
Delta farms grow potatoes, vegetables, berries and forage on low-lying land behind the dikes, where drainage and weather decide the year. A wet spring delays planting. A dry August brings an early harvest. A good crop may be sold in one fiscal year and paid for in the next. The accounting has to follow that rhythm rather than a calendar.
Many Delta operations mix enterprises: fields they farm themselves, fields rented out to neighbours, a farm stand in season, and sometimes a greenhouse range or trucking company in the family. Each line needs its own revenue and cost tracking, or nobody can tell which part of the farm pays. The Delta greenhouse page covers growing under glass.
The cash method and its adjustments
Farming is one of the few businesses allowed to report on the cash method. Income counts when the cheque arrives and costs when they are paid. That gives a farmer some control over which year income lands in, and it matches how a crop year actually pays. It is not unlimited. A mandatory inventory adjustment can apply when a cash-basis farm shows a loss while holding purchased inventory, and an optional adjustment can smooth income between years.
Prepaying next year’s seed and fertiliser in December moves a deduction forward, but only within those rules. We plan the year-end with you while there is still time to act, then keep the method consistent. Cash versus accrual accounting explains the difference.
Zero-rated sales and recoverable inputs
Most basic agricultural products are zero-rated for GST. A registered farm charges no GST on potatoes, vegetables or berries, but still recovers the GST it pays on fuel, fertiliser, repairs and equipment through input tax credits. That is why registering usually pays even for a smaller farm. Not everything a farm sells is zero-rated, and a farm stand selling prepared food, crafts or ornamental plants has taxable lines to sort out.
PST is separate. Food for human consumption is generally exempt from BC PST. Qualifying farmers can buy certain farm machinery, equipment and supplies without PST, provided the purchase is documented and used in farming. Zero-rated versus exempt supplies sets out why the GST category matters.
Tractors, harvesters and buildings
Tractors, harvesters, planters, irrigation, storage buildings and coolers are capital assets written off through capital cost allowance at the rate for each CCA class. A potato harvester or a new storage shed is a large purchase on a farm budget, and the first-year claim depends on when it is available for use. Trading in old equipment can bring income back as recapture if the trade-in value exceeds the class balance.
Farm equipment is often shared within a family, with one person owning it and another using it. That has to be recorded properly, with rent charged where it should be. The equipment CCA guide covers the common classes.
Renting land and part-time farming
Land in the ALR is often farmed by someone other than its owner. Cash rent received for a field is generally property income, not farming income, and it is reported differently, usually on form T776 alongside other rental income. The difference matters later, because how land has been used decides whether it qualifies as farm property for the capital gains exemption and the rollover.
An owner who farms part-time alongside another job faces a different limit. If farming is not your chief source of income, farm losses you can deduct against other income may be restricted. The test looks at time, capital and intention, not just the numbers. We review where you stand before a loss year, not after the CRA asks.
Hobby-scale farms on acreage in East Delta raise the opposite question: whether there is a business at all. A few head of livestock or a hay field sold to a neighbour may not be a farming business in the CRA’s eyes. Then the costs are personal, and the land’s status for the exemption can change too.
Passing a Delta farm to the next generation
Many Delta farms are on their third or fourth generation. Qualified farm property can be transferred to a child through an intergenerational rollover that defers the gain, and it can qualify for the lifetime capital gains exemption on a sale. Both depend on years of ownership and use, and on whether the land sits personally, in a partnership or in a corporation. Farm succession and rollovers and the lifetime capital gains exemption go into the detail.
A transfer is also a family decision: which child farms, which does not, and how the parents fund retirement. Starting the plan a decade ahead keeps every option open.
Fixed fees, fully online
One CPA, one fixed fee quoted up front: the farm T1 or T2 and year-end statements, crop and input tracking through the season, CCA schedules, GST registration and refund returns, seasonal payroll, and AgriStability and AgriInvest figures. The firm is in Abbotsford and nothing needs a trip off the farm: papers go up through a secure upload link and returns are signed online. The price is set before the work begins, so a question in the middle of harvest does not come with an invoice. Farm bookkeeping starts from $300 a month with GST filing included. See what it costs or send an enquiry and get a clear written quote by email.
Written and reviewed by a Chartered Professional Accountant at EverStone CPA, an Abbotsford CPA firm working remotely with small businesses and incorporated owners across British Columbia. Updated . About the firm · Send an enquiry
What a farm has to get right
| Item | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Cash vs accrual | Farming is one of the few businesses permitted to report on a cash basis |
| Inventory | Crop and input inventory follow their own rules rather than ordinary stock rules |
| Programs | AgriInvest and AgriStability receipts have to be reported correctly |
| Land and equipment | Capital items with their own treatment on sale or transfer |
| Sales tax where you operate | 5% GST plus 7% BC PST: two registrations, two returns |
Source: Agriculture accounting. General information, not advice.
Delta farm accounting FAQ
Can I use cash-basis accounting on my Delta farm?+
Do I charge GST on what my Delta farm sells?+
Is rent from my fields farming income?+
How is farmland treated when it is passed to the next generation?+
Do you work with businesses outside Delta itself?+
Related services and local guides
Nearby cities, the rest of what we do for Delta businesses, and the reference pages behind this one.
Farming in Delta?
Field crops, berries or a mixed operation — get farm accounting from a BC CPA who understands the seasons. Book a free consult.
Remote farm accounting from Abbotsford
Farm accounting for Delta clients is delivered remotely from Abbotsford. There is no Delta office and no local team. Statements and receipts come in through a secure upload link, meetings run by video around planting and harvest, and the year-end planning conversation happens before the year closes, not after.
Talk to a CPA about this
One Chartered Professional Accountant, start to finish. Fixed fees, quoted in writing before any work begins, and no obligation from a first conversation.
