Accountant for Victoria realtors
Real estate in Greater Victoria runs from downtown condos to family homes in Saanich and Oak Bay and newer builds out through Langford and the Westshore. Agents working it are paid by commission through a brokerage, and in BC they can choose to receive that commission through a personal real estate corporation.
EverStone is itself a British Columbia firm, based in Abbotsford on the mainland, serving Victoria businesses remotely, with PREC accounting at a fixed fee.
Quick answer: A Victoria realtor’s tax year turns on whether to work through a personal real estate corporation, how commissions are recorded and taxed with GST, and how well the car and home office claims are supported. EverStone prepares the T1 or the PREC’s T2, the GST returns and the year-end, at a fixed fee agreed before work starts. Published fees start at $300 a month for bookkeeping and $100 for a personal return.
Agents who also buy investment property should read accounting for real estate investors. The Victoria accountant page covers the wider BC picture.
Should you set up a PREC?
BC allows licensed realtors to receive commission through a personal real estate corporation. The brokerage pays the corporation instead of you, and the corporation pays tax at small-business rates on what it keeps. The benefit is deferral: income you do not need to live on can stay in the company and be taxed personally later, when you take it out.
If you spend everything you earn, the saving is small and the costs are real: a corporate bank account, a T2 and financial statements each year, a BC annual report, and more care with every expense. A PREC tends to make sense once commissions consistently exceed your living costs by a comfortable margin. We run the numbers on your last two years before you incorporate. See incorporation decision.
Once the PREC exists, you still decide how to pay yourself. Salary from the corporation creates RRSP room and CPP contributions and needs a payroll account; dividends are simpler but build no RRSP room. Many agents mix the two and adjust each year as commissions rise or fall. Money left in the corporation should stay separate from your own accounts, because personal spending paid by the PREC becomes a shareholder loan. The RRSP versus dividends guide explains the trade-off.
Commission income, splits and timing
Commission is earned when a deal completes, not when the offer is accepted, and a spring listing can easily close in the next tax year. Brokerages pay the net amount after splits, desk fees and franchise charges. Record the gross commission and each deduction separately; recording only the deposit understates income and loses expenses the CRA would have allowed.
Referral fees, bonuses and commission advances all count as income, and a T4A from the brokerage should agree with your records. If a slip is issued to you personally when the commission belongs to your PREC, ask for it to be corrected before you file.
GST on commissions
Commission from real estate services is taxable for GST. You must register once taxable revenue passes $30,000 in four consecutive calendar quarters, and most full-time agents pass that in their first year. The brokerage pays GST on top of the commission, and you remit it, less input tax credits on your own costs.
A PREC is a separate person for GST, so it needs its own registration; your personal number does not carry over. Some agents use the Quick Method, which can leave a little of the GST collected in your pocket. The Quick Method guide compares the two, and GST filing in Victoria covers the returns.
Car, home office and marketing
Most Victoria agents drive a great deal: showings in Saanich in the morning, a listing in Sooke after lunch. The vehicle claim depends on a log of business kilometres, so keep one from January. A mileage and vehicle log template helps. Where a PREC owns the car, taxable benefit rules apply to personal use.
A home office is deductible where it is your main place of work, or used regularly and only for meeting clients. Staging, photography, signage, online listings and client gifts are generally deductible, while meals and entertainment are limited. The advertising deductions guide and home office guide cover the details.
Instalments and an uneven year
Commission income is lumpy, but the tax on it follows set rules. Once your net tax owing is more than $3,000 in the current year and either of the two previous years, the CRA expects personal instalments on March 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15. As a self-employed agent your return is due June 15, but any balance owing is still due April 30.
Setting aside a fixed share of every commission in a separate account is the simplest defence against an April bill. The instalment calculator estimates the payments, and personal tax in Victoria covers the T1.
What EverStone handles for you
One CPA, one fixed fee agreed up front:
- PREC decision modelled on your real commissions
- T2 and financial statements for your PREC
- T1 with business schedules if you are unincorporated
- GST registration and returns
- Vehicle, home office and marketing claims supported
- Instalments planned around closings
Fixed fees, fully online
We are in the same time zone and nothing needs a ferry. A self-employed T1 with schedules commonly runs $250 to $450; PREC work is quoted after a free consultation and fixed in writing. See what it costs.
Prepared and reviewed by a Chartered Professional Accountant at EverStone CPA, an Abbotsford CPA firm working with small businesses and incorporated contractors across the Fraser Valley and Canada. Updated September 2026. About the firm · Book a free consult
What a realtor has to get right
| Item | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| PREC or not | Deferral only helps if you leave money in the company |
| Gross commission | Record splits and fees, not just the deposit |
| GST | Register early; a PREC needs its own number |
| Vehicle log | The claim is only as good as the log |
| Sales tax where you operate | 5% GST plus 7% BC PST — two registrations, two returns |
Source: Real estate professionals accounting. General information, not advice.
Other services for Victoria businesses: fractional CFO work and year-end statements.
Victoria accounting for realtors and personal real estate corporations FAQ
When is a PREC worth it for a Victoria agent?+
Does my PREC need its own GST number?+
Do I charge PST on my commission?+
Can I deduct my car if I also use it personally?+
What if the brokerage issues a T4A in my name, not my PREC’s?+
Are brokerage desk fees and splits deductible?+
Do you work with agents across Greater Victoria?+
Related services and local guides
Nearby cities, the rest of what we do for Victoria businesses, and the reference pages behind this one.
Selling real estate in Victoria?
One CPA for your corporate tax, books and planning. Fixed fee, fully online. Book a free consult.
Remote accounting for realtors from Abbotsford
EverStone is a sole practitioner CPA firm at 32615 South Fraser Way in Abbotsford, serving Victoria businesses entirely online. There is no Victoria office and no local staff. Meetings are held by video or phone, documents are exchanged securely by email, e-signature and a secure upload link, and no visit is required at any point. Commission statements, mileage logs and receipts come through the secure upload link as you go.
Talk to a CPA about this
One Chartered Professional Accountant, start to finish. Fixed fees, quoted in writing before any work begins, and no obligation from a first conversation.
