--- title: "GST/HST Filing Services for Vancouver Small Business" url: https://www.everstonecpa.com/gst-hst-filing-vancouver description: "GST filing services for Vancouver small business: GST/HST and B.C. PST returns, place of supply, 13% into Ontario and zero-rated exports. Ask a CPA." type: service-in-a-city updated: 2026-10-08 summary: "GST/HST is charged at the rate applying to the place of supply, which generally follows the customer rather than the seller. A Vancouver business charges 5% on a BC sale, 13% into Ontario and 15% into the participating Atlantic provinces, while exports are commonly zero-rated. GST/HST filing is included in monthly bookkeeping from $325 a month." faq_count: 7 publisher: EverStone CPA Inc., a Chartered Professional Accountant firm registered with CPA British Columbia and CPA Alberta service_area: British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba language: en-CA contact: info@everstonecpa.com · https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online --- [Home](https://www.everstonecpa.com/) Vancouver GST/HST & PST · Vancouver # GST/HST filing in *Vancouver* The rate you charge is not set by where your office is. It is set by where the customer is, which means a Vancouver business selling nationally is running four or five sales tax regimes through one invoice template. EverStone handles GST/HST and [PST](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/taxes/sales-taxes/pst) for [Vancouver businesses](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-vancouver) remotely, on a written scope. [Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online)[Ask a Free Question](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) **Quick answer:** GST/HST is charged at the rate applying to the place of supply, which generally follows the customer rather than the seller. A Vancouver business charges 5% on a BC sale, 13% into Ontario and 15% into the participating Atlantic provinces, while exports are commonly zero-rated. GST/HST filing is included in monthly bookkeeping from $325 a month. The work covers the GST/HST return (the GST34), input tax credits, the filing frequency, instalments where they apply and the notice of assessment that follows. The rate follows the customer, not the office that issued the invoice. ## The rate follows the customer The most common sales tax error in a Vancouver business that grows nationally is charging everyone 5% because that applies at home. GST/HST is charged at the rate for the **place of supply**, which generally follows the customer. Ontario sales carry 13% HST; the participating Atlantic provinces 15%, or 14% for Nova Scotia since April 1, 2025; Alberta 5% only; and sales within British Columbia 5% GST plus, where applicable, a separately administered 7% PST. Undercharging is the expensive mistake: the business owes the uncollected difference, usually across years of invoices by the time a review finds it. Overcharging is not free either; tax collected in error is not the seller’s to keep. Rules differ for goods, services and intangibles, and services generally turn on the recipient’s address obtained in the ordinary course of business. Our guide to the [place of supply rules](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/gst-hst-place-of-supply-rules-canada) covers each category. ## Exports and non-resident customers Selling outside Canada changes things again. Many exports of goods and services are **[zero-rated](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/publications/rc4022.html)**: taxable at 0%, with full [input tax credits](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/publications/rc4022.html) on everything used to make them. The relief is conditional on the circumstances of the supply and, for goods, on evidence the property left the country. Zero-rating on a foreign billing address without export evidence relies on an assumption, not a rule. Supplies to non-residents who are in Canada, or who have some connection here, are treated differently again. For a Vancouver business with international customers, this is a determination worth making once per customer arrangement and documenting, rather than deciding invoice by invoice. Our note on [exports and non-residents](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/gst-hst-on-exports-and-non-residents) covers the ground. ## BC PST does not follow the federal rules at all None of the above tells you anything about provincial tax, because British Columbia never harmonized. The 7% PST is administered by the BC Ministry of Finance under its own rules, registered separately, filed separately, and generally not recoverable by the purchaser. There is no PST input tax credit. It also reaches outward: businesses located outside British Columbia can be required to register and collect BC PST on sales into the province in defined circumstances. That is the mirror image of the problem a Vancouver seller has going the other way. The rates and administrators are tabled on the [BC tax facts page](https://www.everstonecpa.com/bc-tax-facts), and the [PST guide](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/bc-pst-small-business-guide) covers registration. ## What is covered - Place of supply determined for each category of sale you make - Correct rate applied by province in your invoicing and point of sale - Export and non-resident treatment assessed and documented - GST/HST returns prepared and filed on your reporting period - Input tax credits claimed across all activity, including zero-rated sales - BC PST registration and returns where the province’s rules apply - Returns reconciled to the sales ledger by jurisdiction rather than in total ## Remote, from outside the city The same service covers Burnaby and the rest of Metro Vancouver. The work is done remotely, so which municipality the business sits in changes nothing about how it runs. EverStone has no Vancouver office. It is a sole practitioner CPA practice serving Vancouver businesses online by video, secure document exchange and e-signature. For a company selling across provinces and countries, where its accountant sits rarely matters. One CPA holds the file, so place of supply decisions made when a market opens are the ones applied at filing. About this article **EverStone CPA** Prepared and reviewed by a CPA at EverStone CPA, serving businesses in BC, Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba. Updated September 2026 . [About the firm](https://www.everstonecpa.com/about) · [Send an enquiry](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online) ## Sales tax that applies to a Vancouver business Sales tax that applies to a Vancouver business Sales tax in British Columbia | Tax | Rate | Administered by | | GST | 5% | Canada Revenue Agency | | PST | 7% | BC Ministry of Finance | | HST | Not applicable | — | Source: [British Columbia tax facts](https://www.everstonecpa.com/bc-tax-facts). General information, not advice. [GST return and payment dates](https://www.everstonecpa.com/gst-filing-deadlines) for every reporting period are kept on one page. In Vancouver, EverStone also works with [restaurants](https://www.everstonecpa.com/restaurant-accountant-vancouver) and [tech startups](https://www.everstonecpa.com/tech-startup-accountant-vancouver). ## Who this is for, and who it is not This fits a Vancouver business that is registered, or about to be, and wants the return filed on the right frequency with the input tax credits actually claimed. It is not the right fit if you want someone to press submit on figures nobody has reconciled: a GST return is only ever as good as the books behind it. Filing and the bookkeeping behind it are both on [the published fee list](https://www.everstonecpa.com/pricing). ## Remote GST/HST filing The firm serves Vancouver remotely. **There is no Vancouver office and no staff based there.** Everything runs by video, phone and secure document exchange. Returns come from the same bookkeeping as the corporate return, so sales on the GST return and in the financial statements agree. Businesses that also want [the Vancouver personal tax page](https://www.everstonecpa.com/personal-tax-accountant-vancouver) can have both quoted together. The companion page on [Vancouver](https://www.everstonecpa.com/bookkeeping-vancouver) and [Corporate tax accountant for Vancouver corporations](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-vancouver) covers that side of the work. Common questions ## Multi-province and export questions **What rate do I charge a customer in Ontario?** Generally 13% HST, because the rate follows the place of supply rather than the seller’s location. A Vancouver business selling into Ontario charges the Ontario rate, into the participating Atlantic provinces the higher rate that applies there, and into Alberta just the 5% federal component. [Ask about your case →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) **What happens if we charged 5% on sales into HST provinces?** The business generally owes the difference on those sales even though it was never collected from the customers. Because invoicing templates repeat, the error tends to run across years rather than appearing once, which is what turns a small rate mistake into a material assessment. **How is place of supply determined for services?** For many services it turns on the address of the recipient obtained in the ordinary course of business rather than where the work was actually performed. The rules differ across goods, services and intangibles, so a business selling more than one of those needs the determination made by category. **Are exports zero-rated?** Many are, meaning the supply is taxable at 0% while input tax credits remain fully claimable. The relief is conditional on the circumstances of the supply and, for goods, on evidence that the property left Canada. A foreign billing address on its own is not export evidence. **Does BC PST apply to what I sell outside the province?** BC PST is territorial and follows its own rules rather than the federal place of supply analysis. It can also reach in the other direction — sellers located outside British Columbia can be required to register and collect on sales into the province in defined circumstances. **Is there an EverStone office in Vancouver?** No. The firm serves Vancouver businesses entirely remotely by video call, secure file exchange and e-signature. For a company already selling into several provinces, an accountant’s address is not usually a factor in how well the work gets done. **Do you work with businesses outside Vancouver itself?** Yes. Registrants in Burnaby, Richmond, North Vancouver and the rest of Metro Vancouver file on the same schedule and at the same fee as Vancouver businesses; nothing about the service depends on the municipality. ## Related services and local guides Nearby cities, the rest of what we do for Vancouver businesses, and the reference pages behind this one. [Realtor accountant in Vancouver](https://www.everstonecpa.com/realtor-accountant-vancouver) [Financial statements for Vancouver companies with outside shareholders](https://www.everstonecpa.com/financial-statements-vancouver) [GST/HST Filing Tracker A free spreadsheet tracking GST/HST collected and input tax credits by period, calculating the net owing so filing becomes transcription, not archaeology.](https://www.everstonecpa.com/gst-hst-filing-tracker) [Bare trusts in Canada: the arrangement and the filing question](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/bare-trust-reporting-canada) [Trades accountant in Vancouver](https://www.everstonecpa.com/trades-accountant-vancouver) [A GST/HST audit: what the CRA actually checks](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/gst-hst-audit-what-cra-checks) [Payroll in Vancouver](https://www.everstonecpa.com/payroll-services-vancouver) [CFO services in Vancouver](https://www.everstonecpa.com/cfo-services-vancouver) [Accounting & CPA services in Vancouver CPA services for Vancouver businesses](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-vancouver) [GST/HST hub](https://www.everstonecpa.com/gst-hst-hub) [GST/HST calculator Work out the tax on any amount](https://www.everstonecpa.com/gst-hst-calculator) [Accountants across British Columbia](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-british-columbia) [British Columbia tax facts](https://www.everstonecpa.com/bc-tax-facts) [E-commerce accountant in Vancouver](https://www.everstonecpa.com/ecommerce-accountant-vancouver)[GST/HST filing in Victoria](https://www.everstonecpa.com/gst-hst-filing-victoria) ### 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 included** from $325 a month *This page* - **Payroll, remittances, T4s and ROEs** included in monthly bookkeeping - **Books, payroll and the year-end T2 together** $500–$700 a month - **Corporate year-end and T2 return** fixed fee, quoted in writing - **Personal tax return (T1)** from $125; self-employed or rental $275–$500 - **Catch-up bookkeeping** from $2,200 per year of records - **Controller or CFO support** controller from $1,650, CFO from $2,750 a month - **One-off advice call with a CPA** $225 plus GST [Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=monthly#enquiry-form) --- Source: https://www.everstonecpa.com/gst-hst-filing-vancouver Prices: https://www.everstonecpa.com/pricing · Contact: info@everstonecpa.com · https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online