Expert Tax Accountants in Langley

Sales tax in British Columbia totals 12% for 2026: the 5% federal GST plus 7% provincial sales tax. Both are calculated on the pre-tax price, so they do not compound. PST has a wider list of exemptions than GST, so many receipts show only 5%, while a few items go the other way and carry a PST rate above the general 7%, liquor and passenger vehicles among them, so check the BC rate that applies to the item. Income tax is separate.

Canada taxes income at graduated rates: federal brackets plus your province's brackets apply, and only the income sitting inside a bracket is taxed at that bracket's rate. The rate on your next dollar is your marginal rate, while the share of your total income you actually pay is lower, because credits such as the basic personal amount shelter the first slice. Look up the current federal and provincial brackets for your province, or run your figures through the CRA payroll calculator.

Your employer withholds federal income tax plus British Columbia provincial tax, based on the pay period, your annual rate of pay and the claim codes from your federal and BC TD1 forms, then adds CPP contributions and EI premiums until the annual maximums are reached. British Columbia also charges employers a health tax once payroll passes a set size, but that is the employer's cost and is not taken off your pay. The CRA's Payroll Deductions Online Calculator gives exact amounts.

Your return tells you: if the tax withheld from your pay plus your credits exceed the tax owing on the year's income, the difference is a refund, and the bottom of the T1 shows it. After you file, CRA My Account shows the assessed amount and the deposit date, and your notice of assessment confirms whether the CRA agreed with your figures. An online return is usually processed in about two weeks.

British Columbia's speculation and vacancy tax works by declaration: every owner of residential property in a designated taxable area must file a declaration each year, even when they owe nothing, because exemptions such as using the home as a principal residence are only granted through that declaration. Each owner on title declares separately, using the letter the province mails with your declaration codes. Miss it and you are billed at the maximum rate. Deadlines and areas are on the BC government's speculation and vacancy tax page.

Yes. GST and HST are one federal tax, so a registrant claims tax paid anywhere in Canada on the same return, at whatever rate applied where the supply was made. An Alberta business billed 13% HST on an Ontario hotel stay recovers the full 13%, as long as the expense relates to commercial activity and the invoice shows the tax. Provincial retail taxes are different: British Columbia PST, Saskatchewan PST and Manitoba RST are costs, not credits.

No PST. British Columbia's PST does not apply to food for human consumption, and that exemption covers candy and confectionery, so a chocolate bar carries no 7% PST. GST is a separate question: candy and snack foods are not basic groceries for GST purposes, so the 5% GST does apply. Sweetened carbonated drinks are the notable exception on the provincial side and do attract PST. The province's PST bulletin on food and beverages sets out the lines.

Largely no. PST in British Columbia and Saskatchewan and RST in Manitoba are retail sales taxes, not value-added taxes, so PST paid on business purchases is generally a cost rather than a credit. Relief comes from claiming an exemption at the time of purchase, such as goods bought for resale or certain production equipment, not from a return. Quebec's QST, 9.975% for 2025 and 2026, is different and is recoverable through input tax refunds, Quebec's equivalent of input tax credits.

Property tax on a new build starts once the property is assessed as complete and occupiable, not at closing. Until then you are billed on the land alone, and a supplementary or omitted assessment later covers the building, often arriving months afterwards and back-dated to the occupancy or completion date, so budget for a catch-up bill. Separately, a newly built home is generally subject to GST or HST, with a new housing rebate available in some cases.

HST applies to most goods and services supplied in a harmonised province: Ontario 13%, Nova Scotia 14% since 1 April 2025, and New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island 15%. The rate follows where the customer receives the supply, not where your business sits. Basic groceries, most residential rent, and many health and dental services are exempt or zero-rated. You only charge HST once you are registered for GST/HST.

Filing is required whenever tax is owing, and retirees are usually better off filing even with nothing to pay. The return is what calculates the GST/HST credit, the Guaranteed Income Supplement, provincial credits and the age and pension amounts, and it is where pension income splitting is elected. Filing on time also keeps income-tested payments flowing without interruption. For the 2025 tax year the deadline was 30 April 2026.

Yes. Your return asks for your spouse or common-law partner's name, social insurance number and net income, even when that income is nil and even when they file a return of their own. The CRA uses the combined figure to calculate income-tested credits and benefits and to check claims such as the spouse or common-law partner amount. Their income is not added to yours as taxable income; it is disclosed on the identification page only.