GST/HST and PST filing services in BC
Updated
Sales tax is the filing most owners get wrong, because it is the one where money you collected was never yours and the deadline arrives whether the books are ready or not.
Quick answer: We prepare and file GST/HST returns on your assigned reporting period, and PST returns where the province has its own tax. That includes claiming input tax credits with the records to support them, reconciling the sales tax accounts to the ledger, and keeping the registrations right when you start selling into another province.
On this page
- What is included
- The part that catches people about GST/HST
- Filing frequency is assigned, not chosen
- What goes into a GST/HST return, line by line
- Who this is for, and who it is not
- The forms and the dates
- Who this is for in the Fraser Valley
- Other corporate tax work
- GST/HST filing by city
- GST filing in Alberta
- Common questions about sales tax filing
What is included
- The return prepared and filed on your reporting period, monthly, quarterly or annual.
- Input tax credits claimed and supported, because a claim without records is a claim that gets reversed.
- The sales tax accounts reconciled to the ledger, so the filed figure and the books agree.
- PST handled where it applies, which in British Columbia is a separate registration on a separate schedule.
- Instalments tracked for annual filers who cross the threshold.
- Registration changes when you begin supplying into a new province.
The part that catches people about GST/HST
GST and PST are separate taxes, and BC businesses usually file both. GST is recoverable as input tax credits; PST generally is not. Mixing them is the most common error we see.
The other is the money itself. Sales tax collected is held on behalf of the government, and a business that has spent it has a specific and dated problem. Cash flow management keeps the remittance on the forecast rather than as a surprise.
Filing frequency is assigned, not chosen
The CRA sets your period by revenue and will not lower it on its own. Filing too often wastes time; too rarely risks compliance. Changing your filing frequency explains how.
What goes into a GST/HST return, line by line
A GST/HST return is short on the page and long in the books behind it. Every figure on it has to trace back to a transaction, and the CRA’s review letters ask for exactly that trail.
| Line | What it reports | Where we take it from |
|---|---|---|
| 101 | Sales and other revenue for the period | The income accounts, reconciled to deposits |
| 103 | GST/HST collected or collectible | The tax coded on each sales invoice, at the rate for the customer’s province |
| 106 | Input tax credits | The GST/HST on business purchases, supported by invoices that show the supplier’s registration number |
| 109 | Net tax | Line 103 less line 106, after adjustments |
| 110 | Instalments paid | The instalments an annual filer paid during the year |
| 113A–115 | Balance, refund or payment | What is left, and which way the money moves |
Two lines trip owners. Line 103 is tax collectible: unpaid invoices count. Line 106 needs paperwork — a credit without a proper invoice is disallowed first.
What we need from you each period
- Access to the bank and card accounts the business uses, or their statements
- Sales invoices, or the sales report from your point-of-sale or invoicing system
- Purchase invoices and receipts, especially for equipment and vehicles
- Anything the CRA has sent about the GST/HST account since the last return
We reconcile, prepare, show you the figure and file electronically. With our monthly bookkeeping from $325 a month, GST/HST filing is included; standalone returns are quoted in writing. See the GST calendar for 2026.
Who this is for, and who it is not
A good fit: a registrant filing GST/HST on any period, and BC businesses filing PST alongside it. It suits owners who are behind, or who have crossed into a new province and are unsure what changed.
Not a fit: a business still under the small supplier threshold with no equipment purchases to recover tax on, where registering adds paperwork without adding a credit. In either case we say so on the first call rather than quoting for work you do not need.
Two free tools go with this service: the GST/HST and PST calculator for any province, and the Quick Method vs regular comparison.
Buying or selling a business? The GST44 election lets the assets change hands without GST/HST where both sides qualify, and the filing deadline falls on the buyer, not the seller. We prepare it with the buyer’s return.
The forms and the dates
Registration is required past $30,000 in four consecutive quarters. The GST34 is filed monthly, quarterly or annually, usually with payment; BC PST has its own return. Credits rely on receipts, so we capture them as bills are paid. See the GST filing deadlines page.
Who this is for in the Fraser Valley
GST is national; PST is not, which trips Fraser Valley files. Abbotsford, Langley and Chilliwack businesses collect 5% GST and 7% PST on different bases, to two agencies, on two cycles. Surrey warehouses selling to Alberta or Ontario add place-of-supply. We set up books so both returns fall out.
Other corporate tax work
The rest of what this covers, and the page each one is on.
GST/HST filing by city
Sales tax is where provinces differ most; each city page covers its own.
- British Columbia: Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Mission, Langley, Surrey, Maple Ridge, Aldergrove, Fraser Valley, Vancouver, Victoria
- Alberta: Calgary, Edmonton
- Manitoba: Winnipeg
- Ontario: Toronto, Ottawa
GST filing in Alberta
Alberta businesses file GST with no provincial sales tax and, for corporations, a separate AT1. City pages: Calgary, Edmonton, Airdrie, Red Deer, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, St. Albert, Sherwood Park, Grande Prairie and Fort McMurray.
Common questions about sales tax filing
When do we have to register?+
We sell into other provinces. Which rate applies?+
What if we are behind on filings?+
Do you handle the Quick Method?+
Do you file GST/HST for businesses outside B.C.?+
What it costs. GST/HST and PST filing is included in monthly bookkeeping from $325 a month; a standalone quarterly filing is quoted in writing after we review your enquiry. Every published fee →
Starting fees
GST/HST and PST filing is included in monthly bookkeeping. Every fee is fixed in writing before any work begins.
- Monthly bookkeeping, GST/PST filing includedfrom $325 a monthThis page
- 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