Expert Tax Accountants in Pitt Meadows

On purchases, British Columbia charges 7% provincial sales tax on top of the 5% federal GST, so 12% combined for 2026. On income, the 2026 federal brackets run 14%, 20.5%, 26%, 29% and 33%, and BC's own brackets stack on top, so your marginal rate is the federal rate plus the provincial rate for that band. BC brackets are indexed yearly, so confirm the current provincial table before relying on a combined percentage.

Most refunds on returns filed online arrive in about two weeks; a non-resident return can take up to sixteen weeks. A longer wait usually means the CRA is reviewing a claim, is waiting on a slip or receipt, holds stale direct deposit details, or has applied the refund against another balance such as tax owing, family support or a student loan. Check My Account for the notice of assessment and for any letter asking you for documents.

Generally no. If your taxable revenue stays at or below $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters you are a small supplier and do not have to register or charge GST/HST, though you may register voluntarily to claim input tax credits. The threshold is unchanged for 2025 and 2026. Note it is also tested within a single quarter: if you exceed $30,000 in one quarter, small-supplier status ends on the sale that takes you over.

Canada has no married-filing-separately election; every person files their own return, and who claims property tax comes down to use, not marital status. Property tax on your own home is not deductible at all. It becomes deductible only against income the property earns: a share against rental income, or the business-use portion of a home office claim. Claim it on the return of the spouse who reports that income.

Canada has no joint return, so each spouse files their own T1. You still report each other's details, because the CRA combines family net income to work out the GST/HST credit, the Canada child benefit and several income-tested credits. Filing at the same time helps: transferred credits, the spouse or common-law partner amount and pooled medical or donation claims only work correctly when both returns line up. One partner not filing can stall the family's benefit payments.

Basic groceries, prescription drugs, most medical devices and exports are zero-rated, so they are technically taxable at 0%. A separate list is exempt: most health and dental care, child care, residential rent, most financial services, and many educational courses. The difference matters to sellers, because a business making zero-rated sales can still recover the GST/HST it pays, while a business making exempt sales cannot. Check the CRA's GST/HST guide for the current lists.

Yes. Wages you pay a nanny are child care expenses if the care let you work, run a business or attend school, and you can support the payments with receipts showing the caregiver's name and social insurance number. The claim generally goes on the lower-income spouse's return and is limited by the child's age and earned income. Paying a nanny in your home usually makes you an employer, so payroll deductions and a T4 apply. See the CRA child care expenses page.

No PST. British Columbia exempts food and beverages for human consumption from PST, so ground coffee, beans and a brewed coffee from a cafe all escape the 7% PST. GST treatment differs: packaged coffee bought as a grocery is zero-rated, while a prepared drink served to you is taxable at 5%. Sweetened carbonated beverages are the main drink category that does attract BC PST. Check the province's food and beverage PST bulletin.

There is no single national start date. Each participating province harmonised its own sales tax with the GST at a different time, and some later changed course, one province reversing harmonisation entirely and returning to a separate provincial sales tax. The Atlantic provinces harmonised first and Ontario followed years afterwards. Because the answer depends on the province, check the CRA page on GST/HST rates and participating provinces, which sets out the rate history for each.

Caller ID proves nothing either way. Genuine CRA calls can show a blocked or unfamiliar number, and scammers routinely spoof real CRA lines, toll-free prefixes and even local mobile numbers, so treat the display as no evidence at all. Verify instead: ask for the agent's name and office, hang up, and call back on a number published on canada.ca. Genuine files also show in My Account, and a real agent never demands immediate payment.

Yes. On top of the general 1%, 2% and 3% bands, British Columbia charges a further 2% on the portion of a residential property's fair market value above $3,000,000, so that top slice is taxed at 5% in total for 2026. On a mixed-use property the extra 2% applies only to the residential part. It is separate from the additional tax on foreign buyers, which can apply as well.

Yes. Income tax on tips works the same across Canada: gratuities are income and go on your T1, with federal tax plus British Columbia's provincial rates applied to your total. There is no separate BC tip tax and no exemption for cash. Controlled tips your employer distributes appear on your T4; direct tips do not, so log them daily and report the total. GST is not charged on a voluntary tip.