Expert Tax Accountants in Grand Forks

GST in British Columbia is 5% for 2026, the same federal rate as everywhere in Canada and unchanged since 1 January 2008. BC also charges a separate 7% provincial sales tax, so most taxable sales come to 12% in total. The two are separate systems: GST is registered and filed with the CRA, PST with the province, and some goods and services are exempt from PST while the 5% GST still applies.

Current and prior-year forms and publications are free to download from canada.ca, and tax software builds most of them for you as you enter your information. You can also order a paper package by phone or pick one up at participating postal and service outlets during filing season. Which forms apply depends on your situation: a T1 with your slips for employment income, T2125 for self-employment, a T2 for a corporation, T1-ADJ to change a return already filed.

Some services only. BC's 7% PST reaches legal services, telecommunication services, accommodation, and work performed on goods such as repair, maintenance and installation. Many other services, including most professional and consulting fees, fall outside PST, though the 5% GST still applies to them. Because the list is specific rather than general, check the province's PST bulletin for your line of work before you register, charge tax or price a quote.

Yes. GST/HST you charge customers is collected on the government's behalf, so it sits as a liability until you remit it. Input tax credits on your purchases reduce that balance, and the net amount is what the GST/HST return reports. Record the tax in its own account at the point of sale; treating collected tax as revenue overstates sales and hides what you owe. Reconcile the account every filing period against the return.

Out of scope means the transaction is not a supply for GST/HST purposes, so the tax never arises: paying employee wages, paying a dividend, receiving a genuine gift or grant with nothing supplied in return, or a sale taking place entirely outside Canada. Keep it apart from the other two categories. Exempt means a supply is made but no tax applies and no input tax credits arise; zero-rated means taxable at 0% with credits available. The difference drives which return lines you use.

Tax is owing because the amounts withheld or paid by instalments during the year fell short of the tax your return calculates. Usual causes are a second job or pension where each payer withholds as if it were your only income, self-employment or gig income with nothing deducted at source, investment or rental profit, and CPP payable on self-employed earnings. Compare the tax deducted on your slips against the total tax on the return to find the gap.

No. Food for human consumption is exempt from British Columbia's 7% PST, and basic groceries are zero-rated for the 5% GST as well, so a normal grocery shop carries no sales tax. The exceptions are treated differently: carbonated and sweetened drinks attract PST, and restaurant meals and food sold heated or ready to eat attract GST. Non-food items in the same basket, such as cleaning supplies, remain fully taxable.

There is no age or milestone at which refunds stop. A refund only means more tax was withheld or paid by instalments during the year than the return finally calculates, so it turns on your income mix each year. Retirees often stop seeing refunds because pension, RRIF and investment income tends to be under-withheld, which produces a balance owing instead. You can ask a payer to withhold more, or pay instalments, to change that.

British Columbia's property tax deferment programme is a low-interest loan from the province that pays the annual property tax on your principal residence. Eligibility is limited, broadly to older homeowners, surviving spouses, people with disabilities, and families supporting a child, and there are minimum equity and fire insurance requirements. The province registers a lien on the title and charges simple interest, and the balance falls due when the property is sold or transferred. You renew each year.

Buying a used passenger vehicle privately in British Columbia costs 12% PST for 2026 on a purchase price below $125,000, rising to 15% from $125,000 to $149,999.99 and 20% at $150,000 and over. No GST applies to a private sale between individuals. Buy from a dealer and PST instead starts at 7% below $55,000, stepping through 8%, 9% and 10% up to $124,999.99, then 15% from $125,000 to $149,999.99 and 20% at $150,000 and over, plus 5% GST.

British Columbia runs two separate charges. The provincial speculation and vacancy tax applies in designated urban areas and requires every owner there to file an annual declaration, even when exempt; the rate differs for residents and foreign owners. Vancouver's empty homes tax is a separate city levy on top of it. Both are percentages of assessed value and both change, so check the current rate on the province's and the city's own pages.

Nothing comes back federally, because there is no federal deduction or credit for rent on your home. Some provinces do pay a benefit that takes rent into account, including Ontario, Manitoba and Quebec, and the amount turns on your income, family size, age and the rent actually paid in the year. You claim it on the provincial schedule attached to your return, so it is worth filing even in a year with little or no income.