Provincial Sales Tax -> BC PST -> BC PST taxable services

Effective July 1, 2010, the information on this page is no longer applicable, as HST is now applicable in BC.  See HST in BC.

What services are taxable?

A taxable service, in BC, is any service provided to install, assemble, dismantle, repair, adjust, restore, recondition, refinish, or maintain tangible personal property, but does not include a service:

1. provided to install tangible personal property that will become real property on installation,

2. provided to install, assemble, dismantle, repair, adjust, restore, recondition, refinish or maintain prescribed tangible personal property, or

3. provided by a person to that person's employer in the course of employment.

Tangible personal property means

1. personal property that can be seen, weighed, measured, felt or touched, or that is in any other way perceptible to the senses, and includes natural or manufactured gas,

2. software

3. electricity, and

4. fixtures, other than prescribed types of fixtures

Examples of taxable services to tangible personal property would be repairs or maintenance of automobiles, furniture, computers, televisions, watches, and business equipment.

An example of tangible personal property that will become real property on installation would be windows, doors, hot water tanks, etc.  These will be attached and part of the house, which is real property.  If these items are purchased uninstalled, there would be PST paid on the purchase price.  If they are purchased from a supplier who also installs them, and the supplier charges one lump sum for the supply and installation, there is no PST applied to the lump sum contract.

For further explanations of taxable services, See BC Government Bulletin SST 018 Taxable Services, which can also be found on the BC Government Provincial Sales Tax Bulletins page.

Back to PST in BC

Revised: October 28, 2011