--- title: "Victoria Sales Tax: GST and PST Filing for Victoria, BC" url: https://www.everstonecpa.com/gst-hst-filing-victoria description: "Sales tax in Victoria, B.C. is 5% GST plus 7% PST, on two returns. We file both, including invoices to the Province and the Quick Method. Ask a CPA." type: service-in-a-city updated: 2026-10-08 summary: "A Victoria business charges 5% GST. British Columbia’s 7% PST is a separate tax with its own registration and its own return, and there is no HST here. Invoicing a ministry or a Crown corporation does not exempt you from charging GST. EverStone files remotely at a fixed fee. GST/HST filing is included in monthly bookkeeping from $325 a month." faq_count: 9 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/) Victoria GST/HST & PST · Victoria # GST/HST filing in *Victoria* Victoria businesses ask two questions about GST more than any others: whether to charge it when the customer is the Province, and whether the Quick Method is worth taking. EverStone prepares and files GST returns for [Victoria businesses](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-victoria) remotely. [Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online)[Ask a Free Question](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) **Quick answer:** A Victoria business charges 5% GST. British Columbia’s 7% PST is a separate tax with its own registration and its own return, and there is no HST here. Invoicing a ministry or a Crown corporation does not exempt you from charging GST. EverStone files remotely at a fixed fee. GST/HST filing is included in monthly bookkeeping from $325 a month. Victoria GST filing comes with 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. Two taxes, two registrations, two returns. Only one is recoverable. ## Invoicing the Province does not exempt you from GST This is the single most common misunderstanding we hear from Victoria consultants and suppliers, and it is expensive when it goes uncorrected. Provincial ministries, health authorities and Crown corporations pay GST on what they buy in the same way any other customer does. There is no general exemption for selling to government, and a supplier who leaves GST off a year of invoices on the assumption that there is has not saved the client anything. They have simply failed to collect a tax they still owe. Recovering it afterwards means going back to a procurement department with amended invoices, which is a conversation nobody enjoys and one that occasionally cannot be won. ## When registration stops being optional A business is generally a small supplier, and may choose not to register, while worldwide taxable revenue stays at or below $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters. Passing that figure triggers registration, and the timing is stricter than most people expect: exceeding it in a single quarter changes your obligations almost immediately rather than at the next year end. Registering voluntarily below the threshold is often the better decision anyway for a business with real costs, because registration is what lets you recover the GST you pay on your own purchases. For a consultancy with few inputs, the calculation runs the other way. [The GST filing service](https://www.everstonecpa.com/gst-hst-filing-services) covers how the engagement runs. ## The Quick Method, and who it actually suits The Quick Method lets an eligible small business remit a prescribed percentage of its GST-included sales instead of tracking [input tax credits](https://www.everstonecpa.com/glossary) transaction by transaction. The rate CRA prescribes is lower than the 5% collected, and the difference is what compensates for giving up most input tax credit claims. That trade is a good one for a service business with low purchases — which describes a great many incorporated consultants in the Capital Region — and a poor one for anyone buying inventory, equipment or significant subcontracted work. It is an election with conditions attached, and it is worth calculating rather than assuming. [The Quick Method comparison](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-method-vs-regular-calculator) runs both sides on your own numbers. ## PST is a different tax, not a second rate British Columbia’s 7% [PST](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/taxes/sales-taxes/pst) is administered by the provincial Ministry of Finance, not CRA, with a separate registration and a separate return on its own schedule. The crucial practical difference is that PST generally cannot be recovered. GST you pay on business purchases comes back as an input tax credit; PST you pay on software, telecommunications and equipment does not, and stays inside your costs permanently. Many service businesses never charge PST but pay a good deal of it, and the ones that do sell taxable goods have to register for both. [The BC PST guide](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/bc-pst-small-business-guide) sets out which sales and purchases are caught. ## Clients on the mainland, and clients outside Canada Place of supply rules decide which rate applies, and they generally follow the customer rather than the supplier. A Victoria consultant billing a client in Ontario is usually charging 13% HST on that invoice, not 5%, and remitting it through the same GST/HST return. A client in Alberta attracts 5%. Services genuinely supplied to a non-resident are often zero-rated, meaning GST is charged at 0% while input tax credits on the costs of providing them remain claimable. That is a materially better outcome than being exempt, and the distinction is worth getting right. Each of these is a rule about the customer’s location, so a growing client list changes the return. ## How often you file, and the instalments nobody expects Filing frequency follows revenue. Smaller registrants generally file annually, larger ones quarterly, and the largest monthly, with the option to file more often than required if that suits cash flow better. Many small businesses prefer quarterly precisely because an annual return produces one large payment. An annual filer above a revenue threshold is also required to pay quarterly instalments through the year, which is the part that surprises people, because the instalment obligation arrives without the return that would have prompted it. [The GST deadlines page](https://www.everstonecpa.com/gst-filing-deadlines) lists the dates, and [the filing tracker](https://www.everstonecpa.com/gst-hst-filing-tracker) keeps them visible. ## Fully virtual EverStone is a fully virtual, one-CPA firm. There is no Victoria office. The return is prepared from your books, reconciled against what was actually collected and paid rather than accepted from a software summary, and filed electronically. Where the books are ours the two jobs fit together and nothing has to be re-explained; where they are yours we work from what you have. Either way the whole engagement runs online, which for a Victoria business is the only sensible arrangement. A GST return is only as good as the ledger underneath it, which is why the two are usually quoted together — [bookkeeping in Victoria](https://www.everstonecpa.com/bookkeeping-victoria) covers that side. For [fractional CFO in Victoria](https://www.everstonecpa.com/cfo-services-victoria), where sales tax sits inside a wider cash plan, the scope and the fixed-fee approach are the same. Businesses that also want [corporate tax in Victoria](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-victoria) and [payroll in Victoria](https://www.everstonecpa.com/payroll-services-victoria) can have both quoted together. About this article **EverStone CPA** Prepared and reviewed by a Chartered Professional Accountant at EverStone CPA, a CPA firm working with small and midsized 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 Victoria business Sales tax that applies to a Victoria 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. In Victoria, EverStone also works with [consultants](https://www.everstonecpa.com/consultant-accountant-victoria), [contractors](https://www.everstonecpa.com/contractor-accountant-victoria) and [realtors](https://www.everstonecpa.com/realtor-accountant-victoria). Common questions ## Victoria GST and PST questions **Do I charge GST when I invoice a ministry?** Yes. Provincial ministries, health authorities and Crown corporations pay GST like any other customer. There is no general exemption for selling to government, and leaving it off the invoice does not remove the obligation to remit it. [Ask about your case →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) **Is there HST in Victoria?** No. British Columbia charges 5% federal GST and 7% provincial PST as two separate taxes with separate registrations and separate returns. You would charge HST on a sale into an HST province, based on the customer’s location. **When do I have to register for GST?** Generally once worldwide taxable revenue passes $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters. Exceeding it within a single quarter changes your obligations sooner than most people expect, so the threshold is worth watching rather than reviewing annually. **Is the Quick Method worth it?** Often yes for a service business with few purchases, and usually no for anyone buying inventory, equipment or significant subcontracted work, because you give up most input tax credit claims in exchange for the lower remittance rate. It is worth calculating on your own numbers. **What do I charge a client in Ontario?** Generally 13% HST rather than 5% GST, because place of supply rules usually follow the customer rather than the supplier. It is reported through the same GST/HST return. **Do you have a Victoria office?** No. EverStone works online and files GST returns for Victoria businesses remotely. The return is prepared from your books, reconciled and filed electronically. **What is the sales tax in Victoria, B.C.?** 5% GST, plus 7% B.C. PST where PST applies — 12% combined, the same as anywhere in the province. They are separate registrations and separate returns; the [GST/HST and PST calculator](https://www.everstonecpa.com/gst-hst-calculator) adds both. [Ask about your case →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) **How do I calculate GST on an invoice?** 5% of the pre-tax amount for a B.C. client, so $1,000 of work carries $50 GST. A client in another province may need HST at their rate instead; the [calculator](https://www.everstonecpa.com/gst-hst-calculator) does either, and backs tax out of a total. [Ask about your case →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) **Do you work with businesses outside Victoria itself?** Yes. Registrants in Saanich, Langford, Oak Bay, Esquimalt and the Westshore file on the same schedule and at the same fee as Victoria businesses; nothing about the service depends on the municipality. ## Related services and local guides The rest of what we do for Victoria businesses, and the reference pages behind this one. [Quick Method or regular GST A free calculator comparing the two on your own revenue and purchases.](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-method-vs-regular-calculator) [GST/HST filing tracker A free tracker for periods, due dates and what has actually been filed.](https://www.everstonecpa.com/gst-hst-filing-tracker) [BC PST for small business Which sales and which purchases attract provincial sales tax.](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/bc-pst-small-business-guide) [GST/HST calculator Rates by province, and the arithmetic on a single invoice.](https://www.everstonecpa.com/gst-hst-calculator) [GST/HST hub Every GST and HST guide on the site in one place.](https://www.everstonecpa.com/gst-hst-hub) [Accountant in Victoria Every service for Victoria businesses](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-victoria) [Corporate tax (T2) in Victoria T2 filing for Victoria corporations](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-victoria) [Bookkeeping in Victoria Bookkeeping for Victoria businesses](https://www.everstonecpa.com/bookkeeping-victoria) [Payroll in Victoria Payroll for Victoria employers](https://www.everstonecpa.com/payroll-services-victoria) [Financial statements in Victoria Year-end statements for Victoria companies](https://www.everstonecpa.com/financial-statements-victoria) [Personal tax in Victoria T1 preparation for Victoria owners](https://www.everstonecpa.com/personal-tax-accountant-victoria) [GST/HST filing in Vancouver The same GST engagement, serving Vancouver](https://www.everstonecpa.com/gst-hst-filing-vancouver) [GST filing deadlines Periods, due dates and instalments](https://www.everstonecpa.com/gst-filing-deadlines) [Accountants across British Columbia Remote CPA service throughout British Columbia](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-british-columbia) [British Columbia tax facts Current rates and thresholds for British Columbia](https://www.everstonecpa.com/bc-tax-facts) [PSB risk assessment A free tool that walks the factors CRA weighs for an incorporated contractor](https://www.everstonecpa.com/psb-risk-assessment)[GST/HST filing service](https://www.everstonecpa.com/gst-hst-filing-services) ### 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) ## Who this is for, and who it is not This fits a Victoria 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). ## What happens when you get in touch GST/HST is federal, so a Victoria filing runs the same way as one filed from anywhere else. - **A free thirty-minute conversation.** What you sell, where your customers are, and what [reporting frequency](https://www.everstonecpa.com/gst-filing-deadlines) the CRA currently has you on. - **Frequency and method checked.** Whether your reporting period still suits your revenue, and whether [the quick method](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/gst-hst-quick-method-canada) would leave you better off than claiming credits line by line. - **Filed on time, every period.** The return prepared from reconciled books and filed before the deadline, with instalments tracked if you are an annual filer. [Send an enquiry](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online), or [ask one GST question](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) and get an answer from a CPA. ## GST behind, or never quite certain? Get the registration, the method and the filing schedule reviewed by one CPA, at a fixed fee agreed up front. [Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online)[Ask a Free Question](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) ★★★★★ “…We switched to him last year for both our personal and small-business taxes — responsive, knowledgeable and quick.” Heather Powers · Google review --- Source: https://www.everstonecpa.com/gst-hst-filing-victoria Prices: https://www.everstonecpa.com/pricing · Contact: info@everstonecpa.com · https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online