The short answer: On 1 October 2026, British Columbia's PST expands to cover accounting and bookkeeping, security services, and non-residential (commercial) real estate services including commercial property and strata management — 7% on the full fee. Architectural, engineering and geoscience fees are taxed on 30% of the price, an effective 2.1%. Web design, web development, digital marketing, SEO and IT services were not added and are not affected. Residential landlords are not affected either — the real estate change is commercial only. The one thing to watch on a website invoice is the software or hosting line, which has been PST-taxable in BC for years regardless of this change.
The PST expansion to professional services is a change announced in BC's 2026 budget and set out in the Ministry of Finance's Notice 2026-001. From 1 October 2026, several services that used to be billed with GST only will also carry 7% provincial sales tax.
Provincial sales tax applies to a defined list, not to everything. GST, the federal tax, applies to almost all goods and services. PST is narrower, and until now it has mostly missed professional services. This is the province widening that list.
If you are about to hire a web designer, a marketer or an SEO in Kamloops, the useful version is short: your quote does not change because of this. The longer version has two parts worth understanding — what actually got added, and the one line on a web invoice that was already taxed.
What got added to the PST list
Notice 2026-001 lists five headings.
| Service | PST from 1 October 2026 | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Accounting, bookkeeping, assurance | 7% on the full fee | Every business that uses an external bookkeeper or accountant |
| Architectural services | 7% on 30% of the fee (effective 2.1%) | Anyone commissioning a building through an AIBC-registered architect |
| Engineering and geoscience services | 7% on 30% of the fee (effective 2.1%) | Construction, land development, resource work |
| Security services | 7% on the full fee | Alarm monitoring, guards, private investigation, security consulting |
| Non-residential (commercial) real estate services | 7% on the full fee | Commercial sale and lease commissions; commercial property and strata management |
The 30% base for architectural, engineering and geoscience services is deliberate. Those fees feed into construction and capital projects, and taxing the full amount would stack tax on tax through a build. Charging PST on 30% of the fee keeps the effective rate at 2.1% and limits that cascade. It applies to services from a person registered, or required to be registered, with the Architectural Institute of BC.
Residential real estate is carved out. The real estate change applies only to services connected to non-residential property — Class 1 (Residential) and Class 3 (Supportive Housing) under the Assessment Act are exempt. A residential landlord who uses a property manager, or a residential strata that pays a strata management company, sees no PST from this. Headlines saying "property management is now taxed" are describing the commercial slice only. Mixed-use buildings are apportioned by the residential and non-residential split.
Providers can register to collect PST from 1 April 2026 onward, and the province recommends doing it early rather than in the last week of September.
What did not get added
The 2026 budget considered several adjacent services and left them off the taxable list.
| Not on the taxable list | Status |
|---|---|
| Web design and web development | Not taxable as a service |
| Digital marketing and advertising services | Not taxable as a service |
| SEO and Google Business Profile work | Not taxable as a service |
| IT and software-development services | Not taxable as a service |
| Management consulting, HR, financial planning | Not taxable as a service |
| Legal services | Already taxable — under the older PST rules, not this change |
So a website build, a marketing retainer, an SEO engagement or an AI automation project in BC is billed the same way on 2 October as it was on 30 September. "Digital architecture" in the sense this site uses it — connecting a website, booking and a CRM — is not "architectural services" either. That category means building architects regulated by the Architectural Institute of BC.
The software line was already taxable
Here is the part that predates 2026 and catches people out.
BC has taxed software for years. Packaged software, software as a service, cloud platforms — all 7%, and it does not matter where the server sits or how you access it. Custom software written for one specific customer is exempt, but a website built on a subscription platform is not custom software.
That matters for a web project because most of them include a taxable component: a hosting plan, a CMS subscription, a booking tool, a form service. If a web designer sells you "a website" for one price and that price folds in taxable software, BC's bundled-sale rules decide what happens. If the taxable part is less than 10% of the total and a few other conditions are met, the whole sale can be exempt. Above that, PST applies to the fair market value of the taxable component — and if it is not clearly separated, the province can apply it to more.
The fix is not complicated. Itemise the quote. Design and build as one line, not taxable. Software, hosting and third-party subscriptions as a separate line, taxable at 7%. Two clear lines instead of one ambiguous number. Any studio doing web design in Kamloops should be able to quote this way, and if the answer is vague, that is worth noticing before you sign. It also makes what a website actually costs easier to compare between quotes.
One related quirk: web hosting is treated as infrastructure-as-a-service and carries PST. Domain registration does not, because it is not a telecommunication service.
What it costs a Kamloops business
The professional-services expansion is felt most through the bookkeeper.
Almost every small business in town uses one. A shop paying $400 a month for bookkeeping pays about $336 a year in new PST from October. It is not a large number on its own, but it lands on nearly everyone at once.
A business commissioning a building feels it through design fees. On $80,000 of combined architect and engineer fees, the effective 2.1% is about $1,680.
A business that leases commercial space and pays a manager for it feels it there. So does a commercial strata. A residential landlord does not — residential property management was left out, which is worth knowing if you own Interior rentals and have seen the "property management is now taxed" headlines. The rent increase on those units is capped and other costs are not, but this particular cost is not one of them. Commercial property is a different story, and the manager's fee there now carries 7%.
Will this be repealed before October?
Probably not, and you should not plan around it.
In August 2026 a multiparty committee of the BC legislature — the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services — recommended repealing the expansion. The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade welcomed the recommendation, and the BC Chamber of Commerce has a standing policy titled "Scrap the 2026 PST Expansion on Professional and Commercial Services".
The recommendation is not binding. Finance Minister Brenda Bailey said the government has no plans to stop the changes, which take effect 1 October. The province projects the expansion will raise $261 million in its first partial year and more than $500 million a year after that, so there is real revenue attached to it.
Plan as though it stands. If it changes, it changes.
How to work out whether this touches you
- List the professional services your business pays for. Bookkeeping, accounting, an architect, an engineer, a security or alarm company, a property or strata manager, a commercial realtor.
- Match them against the taxable list above. Anything that matches gets 7% more from 1 October, or 2.1% more for architectural, engineering and geoscience fees.
- Check the timing on anything that straddles the date. PST does not apply if the fee is billed or paid before 1 October and the work is finished before 1 December. Work that continues past 1 December is taxable for the portion after 1 October, and anything invoiced on or after 1 October is taxable even if the work was done earlier.
- Leave your digital services out of it. Web design, marketing, SEO, IT and AI automation were not added. Your quotes for those do not change.
- Ask your web designer to itemise software separately. This is the one place PST can touch a website project, it comes from the older rules rather than this change, and a two-line quote removes the ambiguity.
- If you sell a newly taxable service, register now. Registration opened on 1 April 2026. The small-seller exemption is narrow — under $10,000 gross revenue, no office, two people at most — so most firms will not qualify. Confirm your position with a BC accountant.
Common questions
Does BC PST apply to web design after 1 October 2026? No. Web design and web development were not added to BC's taxable professional-services list. A website build is billed with GST only, the same as before. The exception is any taxable software, SaaS or hosting bundled into the price — that has been PST-taxable in BC for years and is unrelated to the 2026 change.
What services does the 1 October 2026 BC PST expansion cover? Notice 2026-001 lists five: accounting, bookkeeping and assurance services; architectural services; engineering and geoscience services; security services; and non-residential real estate services, meaning commercial sale and lease commissions plus commercial property and strata management. Accounting, security and real estate services are taxed at 7% on the full fee. Architectural, engineering and geoscience services are taxed at 7% on 30% of the fee, an effective 2.1%.
Is digital marketing or SEO taxable in BC now? No. Digital marketing, advertising services and SEO were not added to the taxable list. They are billed with GST only. Management consulting, HR services and IT services were also left off.
My web designer charges GST — will they now add PST too? Not on the design work. They may already charge PST on a hosting plan, a platform subscription or a booking tool included in your project, because software and SaaS are taxable in BC regardless of this change. Ask for a quote that lists the software and hosting separately from the design and build.
I run a bookkeeping business — do I have to charge PST from October? Yes, 7% on your fees from 1 October 2026, and you need to register to collect it. Registration has been open since 1 April 2026. The small-seller exemption is narrow: it needs gross revenue under $10,000, no storefront or office, and no more than two people working in the business. Most bookkeeping practices will not qualify. Confirm with a BC accountant.
Does PST apply to property management fees in BC? Only commercial property management. From 1 October 2026, management and strata fees for non-residential property carry 7% PST. Services for residential property — Class 1 under the Assessment Act — are exempt, so a landlord renting out a house or a condo pays no PST on the manager's fee. Mixed-use buildings are split between the two.
The honest summary
If you are buying digital work in BC, this change does not reach you. Web design, development, marketing, SEO and AI automation were not added to the taxable list. Your quotes on 2 October look like your quotes on 30 September.
The one thing worth doing is asking for an itemised quote, so the taxable software and hosting sit on their own line rather than hiding inside a single number. That is good practice regardless of tax, and it comes from rules that were already in force.
If you are buying accounting, security, engineering, or commercial property management, budget the 7% — or 2.1% on design fees — from October, and check the timing on anything that crosses the date.
And if you sell one of the newly taxable services, you are now a PST collector. Register, set up the tax line in your invoicing, and get your position confirmed by someone who does this for a living.
Sources: Notice 2026-001: Notice to providers of professional services (Province of British Columbia) · PST on accounting services (Province of British Columbia) · PST on architectural services (Province of British Columbia) · Bulletin PST 105: Software (Province of British Columbia) · B.C. legislative committee recommends repeal of PST expansion (Daily Hive, August 2026)
Written by Jagatjeet — Jagatjeet (jagatjeet.com) is a web design, local SEO and AI automation studio in Kamloops, British Columbia, serving the Thompson-Okanagan and BC Interior. Published 8 September 2026. Last updated 8 September 2026. I am not an accountant or a tax adviser, and this is not tax advice. PST rules and their interpretation change — confirm your own situation with a BC accountant or the BC Ministry of Finance before acting.