Realtor accountant in Vancouver

Commission income is lumpy, and tax is not

A strong quarter does not mean a strong year, but instalments calculated off one can behave as though it did. Commission income also arrives gross — brokerage splits, desk fees, marketing and vehicle costs all come out afterwards — so the number that hits the account is rarely the number that is taxable. We plan instalments against the actual pattern and keep the expense side current, so the tax position through the year reflects reality rather than the last good month.

Working through a personal real estate corporation

A PREC changes where the income lands and what your options are. Instead of everything flowing to you personally in the year earned, income is earned in the corporation and paid out deliberately — which opens up the salary-versus-dividend decision and the option of leaving profit in the company when you do not need it. It also brings a corporate return, more formal bookkeeping and real record-keeping obligations. Whether it is worth it turns less on gross commissions than on how much you actually draw. Our salary-versus-dividends calculator is a starting point.

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

Vehicle costs, home office, marketing, client-facing meals, professional dues and the technology stack are all live questions in a real estate practice. The two common failures are opposite: claiming a vehicle without the mileage records to support the business-use proportion, and not claiming a home office that genuinely is the base of operations. Both are fixed by deciding the position up front and keeping the records that back it, rather than reconstructing in April.

GST, and what the brokerage does not handle

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

Your first year in a PREC, month by month

The first year through a personal real estate corporation is the one where most of the surprises live, because the money now takes a different route. Commission is earned by the corporation rather than by you, which means it does not become your personal income until you deliberately pay it out — and until you do, it is not available to you either. Realtors who incorporate and keep spending from the business account discover the shareholder loan rules the hard way: amounts drawn without being declared as salary or dividends are a loan, and a loan left outstanding past the deadline gets included in personal income.

The practical rhythm that works is straightforward. Keep the corporate account genuinely separate from personal spending. Set a regular draw rather than taking money ad hoc. Decide the salary-and-dividend mix early in the year rather than reconstructing it in April, and revisit it if the year turns out very different from the plan. Keep the mileage log from day one, because it is the claim most often lost. And expect the first corporate year-end to ask for more documentation than a personal return ever did.

Our shareholder loans guide covers the trap in detail.

Marketing spend, and what actually qualifies

Marketing is often the largest discretionary line in a Vancouver real estate practice, and it is also where claims are most often either overstated or quietly abandoned. Listing photography, staging, signage, advertising, printed material and the technology stack are ordinarily deductible business costs where they are incurred to earn commission income. Client entertainment is treated differently and more restrictively, and personal-branding spend that blurs into personal grooming or wardrobe generally is not deductible at all.

The distinction that matters is purpose and documentation rather than category. A staging cost tied to a specific listing is easy to support; a general spend with no record of what it was for is not, however genuine it was. Deciding the treatment as you spend, and keeping the invoice with the listing it relates to, converts a defensible claim into a demonstrable one — which is the difference that counts if the return is ever 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

EverStone is an Abbotsford CPA firm working with Vancouver realtors entirely online — video calls, secure upload and e-signature, on Pacific time. 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.