In an effort to alleviate the financial impacts associated with government-imposed restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, the BC government introduced a provincial PST rebate program. The BC PST Rebate is available on select machinery & equipment and is available to most corporations, including professional corporations. To receive a refund on PST paid on equipment, the purchase must have been made between September 17th, 2020 and March 31st, 2021.
Note, this program was originally for PST paid between September 17th, 2020 to September 30, 2021, but has been extended by 6 months to include PST paid until March 31, 2022.
Eligible machinery and equipment include: Capital Cost Allowance (CCA) classes 8, 10, 12, 16, 43, 43.1,43.2, 46, 50, 53, 54, and 55. These classes generally include machinery and equipment, tools, appliances, furniture, computer hardware and software.
The rebate also applies to electric vehicle charging stations and zero-emission vehicles but does not apply to other vehicles.
What Do I Need to Apply?
In order to apply for and receive the rebate, you should have the following information on hand:
- Certificate of Incorporation
- Business Number
- Invoices, receipts, and proof of PST paid on eligible expenses (between September 17, 2020 – March 30, 2022)
- Corporate Bank account information
How Do I Apply?
Applications will be accepted until September 30, 2022. If you have already submitted an application for expenses incurred earlier in the year, you are able to submit again. Up to three submissions are allowed as long as they fall within certain timeframes.
You can apply for the PST rebate two ways:
If you already have an eTaxBC account, you will find that many fields are pre-populated. If like many professionals, you do not have an eTaxBC account, we have found that applying online without login to be fairly seamless.
To view a step-by-step guide for applying without an eTaxBC login, we have detailed the process here from an initial application that was completed for TPC Financial Group.
Other Items
- For those who received funds as part of the Small and Medium-Sized Business Recovery Grant, this PST rebate will still apply to equipment purchased as part of your recovery plan during the period of eligibility.
- While receipts are not required for the initial rebate application, you will be contacted after you submit the application with a request for all supporting documents.
- Most bookkeepers should be able to provide a summary of items purchased during the qualifying period that included PST. Prior to submitting an application, ask for a summary to review whether a PST rebate is worthwhile. (a 7% rebate on $1,000 eligible expenses may not be worth your time).
- If TPC Financial does your bookkeeping, work has already started in preparing a summary of PST incurred over the qualifying period.
As is the case with many government COVID-19 financial support programs introduced, the qualifications and application process can be complex. If you suspect you are eligible to receive this rebate, your TPC Financial Group advisor will be able to assist in determining eligibility and in navigating the application process.