Expansion of the Provincial Sales Tax to accounting, engineering and other services from 1 October 2026
British Columbia’s 2026 Budget signals a structural shift in the design of the Provincial Sales Tax (PST), with a decisive move to widen the tax base into areas that were previously outside scope.
PST in British Columbia is 7%. With the Federal 5% Goods & Services Tax, the total on most supplies is 12%.
From 1 October 2026, PST will extend to a defined group of professional services. The newly taxable categories include accounting and assurance work, bookkeeping, architectural services, engineering and geoscience services, rental property and strata management, commissions on non residential real estate transactions, and security and private investigation services.
A notable feature of the reform is the treatment of architectural, engineering and geoscience services. Rather than taxing the full contract value, PST will apply to 30 percent of the purchase price. This partial inclusion mechanism appears designed to reflect the embedded value of taxable inputs without imposing tax on the entire professional fee.
Service providers in scope will need to register for PST and implement processes to charge, collect and remit the tax. Further administrative guidance is expected before the rules take effect, particularly around invoicing, bundled supplies and transitional contracts signed before October.
Beyond professional services, the Budget also removes selected exemptions and refines certain point of sale relief mechanisms, reinforcing the broader objective of modernising the PST regime.
