--- title: "Moving Your Corporation to Another Province: BC Continuance" url: https://www.everstonecpa.com/moving-corporation-to-bc description: "Moving a corporation to BC: continuance against extra-provincial registration, what happens to the CRA accounts, and the tax-side checklist. Ask a CPA." type: service-or-info updated: 2026-10-05 summary: "A corporation formed elsewhere can operate in BC two ways: register extra-provincially (it stays an Alberta/Ontario/etc. corporation doing business here) or continue into BC (it legally becomes a BC corporation). The paperwork is a lawyer’s job; the tax side is ours. Federal CRA accounts follow the corporation either way." faq_count: 6 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/) [Resources](https://www.everstonecpa.com/resources) Moving to BC Structure # Your corporation is moving to BC. *Two different doors.* Updated September 2026 . [Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=corporate-tax#enquiry-form)[Ask a Free Question](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) **Quick answer:** A corporation formed elsewhere can operate in BC two ways: [register extra-provincially](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/employment-business/business/managing-a-business/permits-licences/businesses-incorporated-companies/incorporated-companies) (it stays an Alberta/Ontario/etc. corporation doing business here) or continue into BC (it legally becomes a BC corporation). The paperwork is a lawyer’s job; the tax side is ours. Federal CRA accounts follow the corporation either way. Provincial obligations, which province’s corporate tax, [BC’s PST](https://www.everstonecpa.com/bc-tax-facts), payroll-related registrations — turn on where business is actually carried on, not on the certificate. Published fees start at $325 a month for bookkeeping and $125 for a personal return. For a one-owner BC corporation moving its accounting, monthly bookkeeping, payroll and the year-end T2 with statements usually cost from $500 to $700 a month all-in. The year-end covers the T2 with Schedule 1 and Schedule 50, the CCA schedule, the small business deduction, T4 or T5 slips for the owner’s pay, and the instalments for the year ahead. Which door you take decides which returns you file for years afterwards. [Ask us before you choose](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=corporate-tax#enquiry-form). What this covers, at a glance. ## Door one: extra-provincial registration The corporation stays in its home jurisdiction and registers in BC: simpler, faster, common for a transition year. But income follows your permanent establishment: move yourself and the operation here and BC taxes it, whatever the certificate says. ## Door two: continuance into BC The corporation legally emigrates and becomes a BC corporation, same legal person, history intact: cleaner for a permanent move, with one registry and one annual report. It needs home-jurisdiction authorization and a corporate lawyer; see our [lawyer-partner page](https://www.everstonecpa.com/for-lawyers). ## The tax-side checklist, either door - **CRA program accounts** continue, but addresses, and payroll’s provincial dimension, need updating so remittances and slips report the right province of employment. - **PST is new to most arrivals**: BC’s PST is its own system, not an HST — registration turns on what you sell and to whom. Coming from Alberta (no PST) or an HST province, this is the trap. Start at the [BC tax facts](https://www.everstonecpa.com/bc-tax-facts). - **The year of the move** allocates income between provinces by the rules, not by vibes — worth doing deliberately in the first year-end after the move. - **WorkSafeBC** and other province-tied registrations restart here even though federal accounts do not. ## Choosing between the two doors It usually turns on whether anything stays in the old province. If owner, staff, equipment and customers all move west, continuance is tidier. If part stays, or it is a trial year, extra-provincial registration keeps options open at the cost of two sets of filings. For anyone searching “moving corporation to another province”, the choice is the same two doors: extra-provincial registration or continuance. Moving your corporation to another province does not, on its own, change the business number, CCPC status or year-end; the registry and its rules are what change. That means where the [CCPC](https://www.everstonecpa.com/glossary#ccpc) files its annual report, which registry can strike it off, and whose rules govern shares and records. Those are legal questions first; we cover the tax side beside your lawyer. ## Coming from Alberta Alberta corporations are the most common arrivals, and the move changes more than the rate table suggests. On active business income eligible for the small business deduction, the combined rate is 11% in both provinces. On general income it rises from 23% in Alberta to 27% in BC, which matters for a company earning above the $500,000 small business limit. The bigger shift is administrative. Alberta owners have never registered for, charged or absorbed PST; BC adds 7% PST to the 5% GST, with its own registration and return. The Alberta AT1 corporate return stops once income is no longer allocated there. Our Ontario guide covers companies keeping a presence there. ## Coming from Ontario Ontario charges a single 13% HST, all recoverable through input tax credits. In BC the 5% GST is still recoverable, but 7% PST on inputs is generally a cost. A company used to recovering all its sales tax should budget for that in its first BC year. Ontario also has its own employer health tax and its own registry annual return, filed directly with the province. Once the corporation continues out, that return stops; while it remains registered there, it does not. The provincial tables cover the side you are leaving. ## The first year-end after the move The year the business moves is the year most likely to be filed wrongly. Income is allocated between provinces by where the corporation had a permanent establishment and by the salaries and gross revenue attributable to each one. A year split between Calgary and Kelowna, for example, is usually allocated to both provinces, not wholly to the new one. That allocation sets the provincial tax, so base it on records kept through the year. The T2 is still due six months after year-end, with any balance usually due two or three months after it; the [T2 deadline calculator](https://www.everstonecpa.com/t2-deadline-calculator) gives both dates. ## Payroll after the move Source deductions follow the province of employment. An employee who moves with the company switches to BC tables from the first pay after the move, and the T4 must show the right province, or the employee’s return is off even if the total remittance was right. On the employer side, BC employer health tax applies once annual BC remuneration exceeds $1,000,000, and WorkSafeBC coverage is a fresh registration with its own classification. The [payroll deduction calculator](https://www.everstonecpa.com/payroll-deduction-calculator) is a quick check on the new withholding. ## Keeping the books through the move Protect yourself with books tagging revenue, wages and assets by province from the day the move is decided. That supports the allocation, PST return and payroll switch, so the first BC year-end is a confirmation. Our [accounting services](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accounting-services) page covers ongoing work. Fees are fixed before anything starts. Bookkeeping starts at $325 a month with GST filing included, a personal return from $125, and a single Advice Call is $225 + GST. The corporate return is quoted after we review your enquiry, and the [pricing page](https://www.everstonecpa.com/pricing) sets out what each level covers. [Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=corporate-tax#enquiry-form)[Ask a Free Question](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) Fastest first step: email what you’re facing to info@everstonecpa.com — reply within one business day, and we take it from there by email. General information, not tax advice. The document in your hand and its own dates govern. ## Other business advisory work The rest of what this covers, and the page each one is on. [Incorporate or not Sole proprietor or incorporate? Compare tax, liability, cost and paperwork](https://www.everstonecpa.com/incorporation-advice) [Setting up properly Just incorporated in BC? The 12-step setup checklist](https://www.everstonecpa.com/incorporation-checklist) [Closing or selling Closing or selling a corporation both fail on order: final returns, then clearance before…](https://www.everstonecpa.com/closing-or-selling-your-corporation) [All business advisory Advisory services on incorporating, structuring, moving a corporation and winding one up, from the…](https://www.everstonecpa.com/advisory-services) ## Common questions about moving to BC **Do I need to incorporate a new company in BC?** Usually no — that is the point of both doors. A new incorporation means transferring assets and contracts to a new legal person, which is the most disruptive option and rarely necessary. Continuance preserves the same corporation. [Ask about your case →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) **Does my corporation’s tax rate change?** Provincial corporate tax follows where income is earned via permanent establishment, not the incorporation province. Once the operation is genuinely in BC, BC’s rates apply to the BC-allocated income — whichever door you used. **Can EverStone handle the whole move?** We handle the tax side — accounts, payroll province, PST analysis, the allocation year-end — and we work beside your corporate lawyer on the continuance itself. If you do not have one, we can point you at the conversation to have. **When in the move should I involve an accountant?** Before the move date is chosen, ideally: the date interacts with year-ends and allocation. Email the shape of the move to info@everstonecpa.com and we will flag what the date decides. **What does an accountant cost for a British Columbia moving corporation to business?** Monthly bookkeeping starts from $325 a month and a personal return from $125; a corporate return is quoted after we review your enquiry. A single question can go to a 45-minute Advice Call, a flat fee of $225 + GST. Every fee is fixed in writing first. [See the published fees](https://www.everstonecpa.com/pricing). **Which parts of British Columbia do you serve?** All of it. The work is done remotely, so a business in Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna, the Fraser Valley and the rest of the province gets the same service, the same fixed fees and the same firm. ## Moving is the easy part Email the shape of your move — we will map what changes on the tax side before the date is set. Email us — info@everstonecpa.com[Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=corporate-tax#enquiry-form) ★★★★★ “…have been completing my bookkeeping, taxes and financials for the last 2 years and they have been amazing. Thank you!” R. H. · Google review ## If you are moving or registering a corporation [Federal or provincial incorporation](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/incorporating-federally-vs-provincially-canada) [Corporate annual return: BC vs federal](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/corporate-annual-return-bc-vs-federal) [BC corporate tax rates](https://www.everstonecpa.com/bc-tax-facts) [Accountants across British Columbia](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-british-columbia) [Corporate tax hub T2 filing, deadlines and planning in one place](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-hub) ### Moving between Alberta and BC Alberta collects its own corporate tax on the AT1 and charges no PST; British Columbia's corporate tax rides on the T2 and adds PST. A corporation moving either way changes both. See the [Alberta tax reference](https://www.everstonecpa.com/alberta-tax-facts) or [Alberta accounting](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-alberta). See also: [BC PST guide](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/bc-pst-small-business-guide) · [accountant in Vancouver](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-vancouver) · [year-end guides](https://www.everstonecpa.com/year-end-hub). --- Source: https://www.everstonecpa.com/moving-corporation-to-bc Prices: https://www.everstonecpa.com/pricing · Contact: info@everstonecpa.com · https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online