If you sell or lease taxable goods, or provide software or taxable services in BC, you'll probably need a PST number from the province. BC runs PST itself, so the registration, the returns and the deadlines are separate from your GST account with the CRA.
How PST works
PST is a retail sales tax. It applies when taxable goods, software or services are bought in BC, or brought into BC for use here, unless a specific exemption applies. The general rate is 7%. A few things carry a different rate:
- Liquor: 10%
- Accommodation: 8%, plus the Municipal and Regional District Tax (MRDT) where it applies
- Vapour products: 20%
- Fossil fuel combustion systems: 12%
- Vehicles, boats and aircraft: rates vary, and BC has a separate bulletin for each
You register for the federal GST with the CRA, and our post on GST filing covers that side.
Who has to register
You have to register to collect PST if you're located in BC and, in the ordinary course of your business, you do any of these:
- Sell or lease taxable goods. BC's examples include general merchandise, furniture, building materials, motor vehicles and parts, liquor, cannabis, soda, tobacco and vapour products.
- Provide related services to taxable goods, like repairs and maintenance, installation, assembly or protective treatments such as rust proofing.
- Provide legal services, software, telecommunication services or online marketplace services in BC.
- Sell accommodation, unless it's all exempt or you sell it only through an online marketplace facilitator.
Businesses outside BC that sell to BC customers may also have to register. If you're required to register and don't, BC still treats you as a collector with the same duty to collect and remit, and your filing period is monthly.
The small seller exemption
You don't have to register if you qualify as a small seller. You may qualify if you're located in BC, you don't sell from an established commercial premises (a home-based shop counts as one), your gross revenue from retail sales of eligible goods, software and services was $10,000 or less over the previous 12 months, and you expect it to be $10,000 or less over the next 12. Small sellers pay PST when they buy products for resale and don't charge PST on their own sales. BC says that list isn't complete, so check Bulletin PST 003, Small Sellers, before you rely on it.
Small sellers and wholesalers can register voluntarily, for example to use a PST number to buy inventory for resale without paying PST on it.
What changed in 2026
Effective October 1, 2026, these became taxable in BC:
- Clothing patterns and related materials
- Alterations and repairs to clothing or footwear (except exempt protective clothing or footwear)
- Basic cable TV, residential landline telephone and toll-free telephone services
Dry-cleaning, wet-cleaning and laundry stay exempt, even when they come with a related service that is taxable.
BC had also announced PST on accounting, architectural, engineering, geoscience, non-residential real estate and security services. On September 18, 2026, the province announced that expansion is paused. BC's advice to businesses that already registered for it is to cancel the PST account through eTaxBC or by calling 1-877-388-4440. If you work in one of those fields, watch BC's PST updates page for what comes next. In October 2026, BC's website carried a notice that it wasn't being updated during the provincial election period, so some PST pages may lag behind.
Registering and filing through eTaxBC
Registration is online and takes about 15 to 25 minutes, but processing can take up to 21 business days. You'll need your federal business number (the process creates one if you don't have one yet), ID for a sole proprietor or each partner, your incorporation number if you're incorporated, and your sales figures. Once you're approved, BC sends a letter with your PST number (it looks like PST-1234-5678) and your reporting period.
Each return reports the PST you charged, whether or not the customer actually paid you, plus PST you owe on things you bought for use in the business. eTaxBC is BC's online system for filing, paying and managing the account. You can also pay through your bank, at a government office or by mail. Businesses with $1.5 million or more in total Canadian sales and leases in the last 12 months have to file and pay electronically.
Reporting periods and due dates
BC assigns your reporting period based on how much PST you collect in a year:
| PST collectable per year | Reporting period |
|---|---|
| More than $12,000 | Monthly only |
| More than $6,000 up to $12,000 | Monthly or quarterly |
| More than $3,000 up to $6,000 | Quarterly or semi-annual |
| $3,000 or less | Quarterly, semi-annual or annual |
The return and payment are due by the last day of the month after the period ends. For a period ending June 30, that's July 31. If the date lands on a weekend or a BC statutory holiday, it moves to the next business day.
If you're registered and report and pay on time, you can keep a commission of up to $198 per reporting period, worked out on the return itself. With more than one PST account, you claim it on only one, and there's no commission on MRDT.
How we help
PST filing is one of the other filings we take on. If you're filing PST every month or quarter, sales tax filings are part of our bookkeeping service, and if returns have piled up, we also do catch-up and clean-up of prior years.