British Columbia — Provincial Sales Tax (PST) — Skill v1.0

British Columbia did NOT harmonize with the federal Goods and Services Tax (GST). Instead, BC operates a stand-alone retail sales tax called the Provincial Sales Tax (PST) under the Provincial Sales Tax Act, SBC 2012, c. 35. Sellers with BC nexus must collect both 5% federal GST and 7% BC PST on most taxable sales — they are administered by two different governments on two different bases. This skill covers PST only; for the 5% GST overlay see canada-gst-hst.

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1. Quick reference

Item	Value
Standard PST rate	7%
Registration threshold (BC sales)	CAD 10,000 in a 12-month period
Foreign seller / marketplace economic nexus	CAD 10,000 (in force since 1 April 2021)
Filing form	FIN 400 — Provincial Sales Tax Return
Filing portal	eTaxBC (https://etax.gov.bc.ca)
Filing frequency	Monthly / quarterly / semi-annual / annual (set by Ministry based on tax collected)
Due date	Last day of the month following the reporting period
Statutory basis	Provincial Sales Tax Act, SBC 2012, c. 35
Administrator	BC Ministry of Finance — Consumer Taxation Programs Branch
Companion federal tax	GST 5% (charged separately, remitted to CRA)

Critical distinction from GST/HST. PST is a retail sales tax, not a value-added tax. There are no input tax credits. A registered PST collector cannot recover PST paid on its own purchases — that PST becomes a cost of doing business unless a specific exemption certificate applies (e.g., goods purchased for resale).

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2. Required inputs + refusal catalogue

Required inputs before producing any return

1. Legal name + BC PST number (format PST-NNNN-NNNN).
2. Reporting period start and end dates.
3. Total BC sales (taxable + exempt, broken out).
4. PST collected on sales.
5. PST self-assessed on taxable purchases brought into BC where no PST was charged at source (use tax / "self-assessment of PST").
6. MRDT amounts (separate line) if collected on accommodation.
7. Refunds/credits issued to customers in the period.
8. Exemption certificates on file for any zero-rated B2B sales claimed.
9. Indication whether seller is (a) BC-located, (b) Canadian outside BC, or (c) foreign seller — affects the registration / collection rules.

Refusal catalogue — STOP and refer to a BC-registered tax practitioner if:

• Real-property contractors (real-property contracts vs. retail sale of materials — special PST 168 rules).
• Liquor licensees / cannabis retailers (separate liquor mark-up + cannabis-specific PST rules).
• Motor vehicle dealers — passenger-vehicle luxury surtax bands require dealer-specific guidance.
• Energy / natural gas / electricity producers (sector-specific PST treatment under PSTERR and the Carbon Tax Act).
• Insurance / financial services (Insurance Premium Tax, not PST).
• First Nations sales on reserve (s. 87 Indian Act interaction).
• Bankruptcy / receivership returns.
• Audit defence, voluntary disclosure submissions, appeals to the Minister.
• Any return where the entity is also registered in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, or Quebec — multi-province PST/RST/QST coordination is out of scope here.

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3. Rate schedule

The standard PST rate is 7% on the purchase price of taxable goods, taxable software, and taxable services. Several categories have different rates:

Category	Rate	Notes
General tangible personal property	7%	Default rate
Liquor (sold by liquor retailer to consumer)	10%	Applied in addition to federal GST; replaces the former 10% Liquor Consumption Tax
Vapour products (e-cigarettes, vapour liquids)	20%	In force since 1 Jan 2020
Accommodation (short-term)	8%	Separate accommodation rate; MRDT (Section 7) may add 2–3% on top
Passenger vehicles — < $55,000	7%	Private sale of used vehicle also 7% (formerly 12% — equalised April 2022)
Passenger vehicles — $55,000 – $55,999.99	8%
Passenger vehicles — $56,000 – $56,999.99	9%
Passenger vehicles — $57,000 – $124,999.99	10%
Passenger vehicles — $125,000 – $149,999.99	15%
Passenger vehicles — ≥ $150,000	20%
Boats, non-turbine aircraft	7% / 8% / 10% / 12% banded similarly	Confirm latest bulletin

Rate-determination rule. The rate is set by the purchase price including the federal GST for accommodation and certain other categories, but for passenger vehicles the rate is determined on the price before GST. Always read the specific bulletin for the category.

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4. Registration

Who must register

A person must register to collect PST if they make taxable sales, leases, or provide taxable services in BC and either:

1. Resident-in-BC seller — sells, leases, or provides taxable goods/services in BC in the ordinary course of business (no de minimis — even a single taxable retail sale can trigger registration), OR
2. Out-of-province Canadian seller or foreign seller with more than CAD 10,000 in gross revenue from BC retail sales in the previous 12 months (or reasonable expectation of exceeding $10,000 in the next 12 months) — this is the economic nexus rule under s. 168.2 PSTA, in force since 1 April 2021.

Marketplace facilitators

Under amendments effective 1 July 2022, an online marketplace facilitator (Amazon, Etsy, eBay, Shopify Markets, etc.) that facilitates CAD 10,000+ of BC sales by marketplace sellers in a 12-month period must:

• Register for PST,
• Collect and remit PST on facilitated sales on behalf of the underlying seller,
• Issue compliant invoices showing PST collected,
• Report on FIN 400 as a marketplace facilitator.

The marketplace seller does not also collect PST on the same transaction — this is statutory single-point collection. The marketplace seller still must register if their non-facilitated BC sales (their own website, in-person, etc.) exceed $10,000.

How to register

• Online via eTaxBC — preferred.
• Form FIN 418 (Application for Registration for PST) — paper alternative.
• Foreign sellers do not need a BC business number or a Canadian bank account to register; remittance can be made by wire.

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5. Taxable goods / services / software

PST applies to a closed list of taxable categories. If something is not in the list, it is exempt. This is the opposite of GST/HST, where everything is taxable unless specifically exempted or zero-rated.

Taxable

• All tangible personal property (goods) unless specifically exempt.
• Software — taxable when (a) delivered on tangible media, (b) downloaded to a BC device, OR (c) used on or with a BC device via a cloud / SaaS arrangement. The 2021 amendments confirmed cloud-based software is taxable under s. 105 PSTA. This is the broadest single PST/GST divergence for tech companies.
• Telecommunication services — phone, internet, dedicated lines, paging, etc. (s. 130).
• Legal services (s. 119).
• Related services — services applied to or with respect to tangible personal property (repair, installation, maintenance, restoration). Note: services to real property (construction, painting a building, plumbing in a wall) are not PST-taxable as a service — the contractor pays PST on materials acquired and embeds it as cost.
• Short-term accommodation under 27 days (s. 123).
• Liquor (sold to consumer by a liquor retailer).
• Vapour products.

Not taxable (NOT a complete list — see exemptions in Section 6)

• Most personal services (haircuts, accounting, consulting, marketing, design).
• Services to real property (other than the contractor's input PST).
• Professional services other than legal services.
• Online digital services other than software (e.g., a digital newspaper subscription is exempt; Netflix is generally subject only to GST, not PST — though always check current Ministry bulletins).

Software trap for SaaS sellers. A US-based SaaS provider with > $10,000 BC subscribers must register, charge 7% BC PST + 5% GST, and remit each to the respective tax authority. The BC PST registration is independent of GST/HST registration. Many foreign SaaS providers miss this and face retrospective assessment.

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6. Exemptions

Statutory exemptions live in the PSTA, the PST Exemption and Refund Regulation (BC Reg 97/2013), and Ministry bulletins. Headline categories:

• Basic groceries (food for human consumption — same definition as GST Schedule VI).
• Prescription drugs dispensed under a Health Professions Act prescription.
• Children's clothing and footwear (specific size and price thresholds — see Bulletin PST 201).
• School supplies purchased by a qualifying student (note: stricter than the federal GST exemption — confirm against Bulletin PST 202).
• Residential rent (long-term, 27+ days) and most residential energy.
• Used goods sold in a private (non-business) sale — except passenger vehicles, boats, and aircraft, where private-sale PST applies.
• Production machinery and equipment (PM&E) used by qualifying manufacturers (Bulletin PST 110).
• Goods purchased for resale — buyer provides a PST exemption certificate quoting their PST number; seller does not charge PST and keeps the certificate for audit.
• Sales to certain First Nations purchasers on reserve (s. 87 Indian Act + Ministry policy).
• Sales to the federal government (federal Crown immunity — but NOT provincial Crown or BC municipalities, which DO pay PST).

A bona-fide exemption certificate must be obtained and retained for 5 years. Without one, audit will reassess PST plus penalties.

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7. MRDT — Municipal and Regional District Tax

The Municipal and Regional District Tax is an additional 2% or 3% levied on top of the 8% PST on short-term accommodation in designated areas. It is collected by the accommodation provider and remitted via the same FIN 400 return on a separate line.

Designated areas (illustrative — confirm current Ministry list)

Area	MRDT rate
Vancouver	3%
Victoria	3%
Whistler	3%
Tofino	3%
Kelowna	3%
Most other participating municipalities	2%

Online accommodation platforms (Airbnb, Vrbo, Expedia)

Effective 1 October 2018, online accommodation platforms with > $2,500 of BC accommodation revenue must register for PST and MRDT and collect on host bookings. Hosts using a registered platform do not separately collect — single-point collection again.

Total tax on accommodation in Vancouver

8% PST + 3% MRDT + 5% GST = 16% of the room rate. Some Vancouver accommodations additionally levy a 2.5% Destination Marketing Fee by industry agreement (not a tax — but customer-facing).

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8. Filing — FIN 400 via eTaxBC

Frequency

Assigned by the Ministry based on PST collectible per year:

Annual PST collected	Assigned frequency
Over $11,940	Monthly
$3,000 – $11,940	Quarterly
$0 – $2,999	Semi-annual
Below $0 (consistent net refund)	Annual

A registrant may request more frequent filing.

Due dates

The return and payment are due on the last day of the month following the reporting period. Example: April PST is due 31 May. Late filing penalties begin at 10% of tax due plus statutory interest (currently the prescribed rate under PSTA Reg).

What goes on the return

• Box A — Total sales (taxable + exempt).
• Box B — Total taxable sales.
• Box C — PST collected at 7% (and itemised lines for 8% accommodation, 10% liquor, 20% vapour, MRDT 2%/3%, vehicle bands).
• Box D — PST self-assessed on purchases used in BC where no PST was charged.
• Box E — Adjustments / refunds issued to customers.
• Box F — Commission — registrants are entitled to retain a small commission for collecting PST: the lesser of $198 per reporting period or 1.32% of PST collected, but only if the return is filed and paid on time and PST collected is at least $22 (set under s. 50 PSTA Regulation). Note: commission is not available on MRDT or on self-assessed PST.
• Box G — Net PST payable.

Payment

• eTaxBC pre-authorised debit (PAD).
• Online banking via most Canadian financial institutions using PST account number as the bill-payee reference.
• Wire transfer (foreign sellers).

Records retention

Five years from the end of the calendar year to which the records relate (s. 222 PSTA). Foreign-language records must be accompanied by an English translation if requested by an auditor.

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9. Real estate / GST coordination

• New residential housing (builder sale) — 5% GST applies; no PST on residential housing (PST is built into materials only via the contractor's input PST cost).
• Used residential housing (resale) — no GST, no PST. Property Transfer Tax (PTT) under the Property Transfer Tax Act applies separately (out of scope here).
• Commercial real estate — GST 5% applies; PST does not apply to real-property sales.
• Goodwill on the sale of a business — no PST (goodwill is not tangible personal property). GST may apply unless the s. 167 election is made.
• Tangible assets included in a business sale (equipment, FF&E, inventory) — PST applies unless the buyer is registered and acquiring for resale (resale exemption certificate) or the transaction qualifies for the bulk sale rules (s. 81 PSTA). The s. 167 GST election does NOT shelter PST — these are separate statutes.

Asset purchase trap. Buyers acquiring a BC business in an asset deal frequently overlook PST on FF&E, vehicles, and software licences. The PST liability survives closing under s. 230 PSTA (successor liability if a clearance certificate is not obtained). Always obtain a PST clearance certificate from the Ministry before closing.

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10. Worked example — Vancouver SaaS / e-commerce business

Facts. "Cascadia Cloud Inc." is incorporated in BC, head-quartered in Vancouver. In Q2 2025 it has:

• SaaS subscriptions sold to BC customers — CAD 240,000.
• SaaS subscriptions sold to Ontario customers — CAD 360,000.
• SaaS subscriptions sold to US customers — CAD 500,000.
• One-off hardware shipment (network appliances) to a Burnaby BC customer — CAD 12,000, no resale certificate on file.
• Short-term rental of a Vancouver-owned condo via Airbnb — gross room revenue CAD 18,000. Airbnb is a registered platform.
• Internal use of US cloud services (AWS) — CAD 40,000 of which the BC consumption portion is reasonably allocated as CAD 30,000. AWS did not charge BC PST.

Step 1 — Identify the PST-taxable BC sales

Item	Tax base	Rate	PST
SaaS to BC customers	$240,000	7%	$16,800
Hardware to Burnaby customer	$12,000	7%	$840
SaaS to Ontario customers	$360,000	n/a (not BC-located use)	$0
SaaS to US customers	$500,000	n/a (not used in BC)	$0

Ontario and US customers are charged GST/HST as applicable (5% GST for US zero-rated export; 13% HST for Ontario) — see canada-gst-hst. They are NOT in scope for BC PST.

Step 2 — Self-assessed PST (use tax) on AWS

US cloud services used in BC are PST-taxable software/telecom services. AWS did not collect PST (assuming AWS is not registered for the in-scope service). Cascadia must self-assess:

$30,000 × 7% = $2,100 self-assessed PST

This goes on FIN 400 Box D.

Step 3 — Airbnb accommodation

Airbnb is a registered platform; it collects and remits 8% PST + 3% MRDT + 5% GST on the host's behalf. Cascadia does NOT report this on its own FIN 400. The CAD 18,000 of room revenue is excluded from Cascadia's PST return entirely.

Step 4 — Compile the FIN 400

Box	Amount
Box B — Taxable BC sales	$252,000
Box C — PST collected (7%)	$17,640
Box D — Self-assessed PST	$2,100
Subtotal	$19,740
Box F — Commission (1.32% × $17,640 = $232.85, capped at $198)	($198.00)
Box G — Net PST payable	$19,542.00

Note on commission. Commission applies only to PST collected (Box C), not to self-assessed PST (Box D), and is capped at $198 per reporting period.

Step 5 — Pair with GST

Separately, Cascadia files a GST/HST NETFILE return with CRA showing 5% GST on BC and US-zero-rated sales, 13% HST on Ontario sales, and claims Input Tax Credits on GST paid on Canadian purchases. The BC PST self-assessment does NOT generate an ITC — it is a cost.

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11. Conservative defaults

When the treatment is unclear:

1. Default to charging PST. Under-collection becomes a personal cost; over-collection can be refunded to the customer. Audit risk is asymmetric.
2. Treat software / SaaS used in BC as taxable unless a specific exemption applies and is documented.
3. Obtain and retain exemption certificates before zero-rating any B2B resale. No certificate = no exemption.
4. Self-assess PST on out-of-province purchases of taxable goods and software used in BC. This is the most common audit miss.
5. For passenger vehicles, accommodation, liquor, and vapour products, apply the special rate, not the 7% default.
6. For mixed bundles (taxable + exempt) where the price is single, the entire bundle is taxable unless the components are separately invoiced (s. 31 PSTA).
7. For real-property contractors, default to treating the contractor as the end consumer of materials — they pay PST on inputs and do NOT charge PST on the contract price. This is the opposite of the retail sale rule.
8. When unsure whether a service is "related" to tangible personal property (and therefore taxable) or is a service to real property (and therefore not), document the analysis and lean toward taxable.
9. For marketplace facilitators, confirm whether the platform is collecting PST before the seller separately remits — double collection is unrecoverable without a customer-facing refund.

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12. Sources

• Provincial Sales Tax Act, SBC 2012, c. 35 — primary legislation.
• Provincial Sales Tax Exemption and Refund Regulation, BC Reg 97/2013 — exemption details and exemption certificate rules.
• Provincial Sales Tax Regulation, BC Reg 96/2013 — registration, commission, returns.
• eTaxBC — https://www.etax.gov.bc.ca — registration, filing, payment.
• BC Ministry of Finance Bulletins (selected):
  • PST 001 — Registering to Collect PST.
  • PST 002 — Charging, Collecting and Remitting PST.
  • PST 105 — Software.
  • PST 107 — Telecommunication Services.
  • PST 110 — Production Machinery and Equipment Exemption.
  • PST 120 — Accommodation.
  • PST 124 — MRDT.
  • PST 130 — Lessors.
  • PST 201 — Children's Clothing and Footwear.
  • PST 202 — School Supplies.
  • PST 308 — PST on Vehicles.
  • PST 400 — PST and Real Property Contractors.
• Notice 2020-001 — Economic nexus rules for out-of-province sellers (in force 1 April 2021).
• Notice 2022-002 — Marketplace facilitator rules (in force 1 July 2022).
• Form FIN 400 — Provincial Sales Tax Return.
• Form FIN 418 — Application for Registration for Provincial Sales Tax.
• Form FIN 490 — Certificate of Exemption — General.

Coordinate with: canada-gst-hst (5% federal GST overlay on every BC taxable sale), ca-bc-individual-return (BC personal income tax — separate regime), and any sector-specific skill for liquor, cannabis, or fuel tax which fall outside this skill's scope.

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