Realtor accountant in Vancouver

One-owner Vancouver realtor’s PREC clients: bookkeeping, payroll and the T2 from $500 a month. 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.

For the national view, see the accounting page for realtors. Rental property held alongside the licence is covered by accounting for real estate investors.

The hub for realtors, PRECs and brokers explains what makes commission income different and links to every related guide and calculator.

Commission income is lumpy, and tax is not

A strong quarter is not a strong year, but instalments set from one act as if it were. Commission also arrives gross: splits, desk fees, marketing and vehicle costs come out later, so the deposit is rarely the taxable figure. We plan instalments on your real pattern and keep expenses current, so the tax position reflects reality.

Working through a personal real estate corporation

A PREC changes where income lands. It is earned in the corporation and paid out deliberately, which opens the salary-versus-dividend decision and the option of leaving profit in the company. It also brings a corporate return, more formal bookkeeping and real record-keeping. Whether it pays turns less on gross commissions than on how much you draw. Our salary-versus-dividends calculator is a starting point.

The expenses realtors most often under-claim or over-claim

Vehicle, home office, marketing, client meals, dues and technology are all live questions for a realtor. The two common failures are opposites: claiming a vehicle without a mileage log, and skipping a home office that really is your base. Decide the position up front and keep the records, rather than reconstructing in April.

GST, and what the brokerage does not handle

Commission generally brings GST obligations once you are registered, and the brokerage does not remove them. Registration timing, filing frequency and input tax credits on business costs are yours to manage. It is routine, but easy to leave until a return is due and then get only roughly right.

Your first year in a PREC, month by month

The first year in a personal real estate corporation holds most of the surprises, because the money takes a different route. Commission is earned by the corporation and is neither your income nor available to you until you pay it out. Realtors who keep spending from the business account learn the shareholder loan rules the hard way: undeclared draws are a loan, and a loan left outstanding past the deadline is added to personal income.

The rhythm that works is simple. Keep the corporate account separate from personal spending. Take a regular draw, not ad hoc amounts. Set the salary-and-dividend mix early in the year and revisit it if the year changes. Keep the mileage log from day one; it is the claim most often lost. And expect the first corporate year-end to need more documentation than a personal return.

Our shareholder loans guide covers the trap in detail.

Marketing spend, and what actually qualifies

Marketing is often the largest discretionary cost for a Vancouver realtor, and where claims are most often overstated or abandoned. Listing photography, staging, signage, advertising, print and technology are ordinarily deductible when incurred to earn commission. Client entertainment is more restricted, and personal-branding spend that drifts into grooming or wardrobe is generally not deductible.

Purpose and documentation matter more than category. A staging cost tied to a specific listing is easy to support; a general spend with no record is not, however genuine. Decide the treatment as you spend and keep the invoice with its listing, so the claim is demonstrable if the return is reviewed.

What EverStone handles for you

One CPA, one fixed fee agreed up front:

• Corporate return and year-end financial statements for your PREC
• Personal T1 coordinated with the corporate return
• Instalments planned against real commission timing
• Vehicle, home office and marketing claims supported properly
• GST registration and filings
• Salary-versus-dividend mix recalculated each year
• CRA correspondence handled for you

Fixed fees, fully online

For a practice run between showings, not having to be somewhere at a set hour is usually the point. The fee is fixed and agreed before work starts. See what it costs.

Remote accounting for realtors

EverStone works with Vancouver businesses virtually. There is no premises in Vancouver, and nobody on the ground there. Calls happen by video or phone and paperwork moves by secure email and e-signature. Commission income, the personal real estate corporation question and expense tracking are handled together, because in practice they are one decision.

If you have incorporated, or are about to, the first year has a handful of decisions that are cheaper to make deliberately. See accounting for a BC personal real estate corporation.