What taxes should we be paying here? (British Columbia)

July 8, 2013 9:22 AM

Had some reno work done on our house, disagreeing with the handyman over taxes, does anyone know the correct BC tax regulation here?

We were billed for GST and PST, checked the CRA's website, there is says home renovation work should only be taxed GST, we asked the handyman about this but he insists he needs to collect both taxes.

Anyone have any experience here?

posted by Cosine to Law & Government (4 answers total)

I work for an electrical contractor (not in accounting though) and we only collect GST for residential work.
posted by Sternmeyer at 9:26 AM on July 8, 2013

To clarify, that's on labour.
posted by Sternmeyer at 9:28 AM on July 8, 2013

Since the dumb decision to roll back the HST, there has been some confusion about who collects what tax. Generally speaking, services incur GST, while goods incur GST and/or PST.

Is your contractor charging you for the PST owed on building materials?

CRA is probably not the best place to look. The BC government is. They even have a toll-free line you can call.
posted by KokuRyu at 9:38 AM on July 8, 2013

You are looking for PST bulletin 104 which discusses how tax does or does not apply. The business I work with bills GST for labour and both GST and PST for building materials.
posted by crazycanuck at 9:51 PM on July 8, 2013