Sole Proprietorship in BC (2026): How to Register, What It Costs and Which Taxes Apply

A sole proprietorship is the simplest way to run a business in British Columbia: you and the business are the same legal person, you keep the profit, and you report it on your personal tax return. It is how most freelancers, trades, tutors, designers, consultants and small online sellers start. This guide is for anyone setting one up in BC in 2026. It covers when you actually have to register, the Name Request and Business Registry steps, the CRA business number, GST and PST — including the October 2026 change that brought several professional services into PST — city business licences, how you are taxed, and a worked first-year cost in Canadian dollars.

Quick answer

In BC you only have to register a sole proprietorship if you use a business name other than your own. Then you get the name approved with a Name Request (C$30) and file a registration in the BC Business Registry within 3 months after the business name is first used. Get a free CRA business number when you need a tax account, register for GST once sales pass C$30,000, check PST and get a city business licence.

• Your own name alone (e.g. 'Priya Sharma') needs no provincial registration

• Name reservations last 56 days — register before they expire

• PST small sellers: C$10,000 or less in taxable sales and no commercial premises

• Profit goes on form T2125; self-employed CPP is 11.9%

What a sole proprietorship is — and isn't

A sole proprietorship is not a separate legal entity. The law treats you and your business as one: contracts are in your name, the business's debts are your debts, and if a customer sues the business they are suing you personally — your house, savings and car are all in reach. That is the trade-off for how cheap and simple it is to start.

Registering a business name in BC does not create a company. It puts your trade name on the public register so customers, banks and suppliers can see who is behind it, and it protects the public, not you. It also does not give you exclusive rights to the name across Canada; for that you would look at a trademark.

You can hire employees as a sole proprietor, and you can have more than one line of business under different names, each registered. If you go into business with someone else and share profits, you are a partnership, not a sole proprietorship, and you register differently. If you want limited liability, you need a corporation — our incorporation guide compares BC and federal incorporation.

Do you have to register? The section 88 test

BC's rule is in section 88 of the Partnership Act. You must file a registration statement if you are carrying on business on your own and you use a business name that is:

• anything other than your own name — for example "Coastline Renovations" or "Sharma Design Studio"; or
• your own name with "& Company", "and Associates" or another word suggesting several members — for example "Priya Sharma & Associates".

You must file within 3 months after the business name is first used. If you trade simply as "Priya Sharma" — on invoices, your website and your bank account — you don't need provincial registration at all. Many freelancers start this way and register a trade name later, when they build a brand.

A few practical reasons to register even when you could skip it: some banks will only open an account in a trade name with a registration statement, some clients and platforms ask for proof of registration, and registering stops someone else filing the same name in BC's registry.

Step 1: Approve your name with a Name Request

Before you can register a trade name, BC Registries must approve it. You submit a Name Request online at BC Registries' Name Request service, choosing "sole proprietorship" as the business type. The fee is C$30, plus a C$1.50 online service charge; if you need it reviewed faster you can pay a further C$100 for priority.

A good name has three parts: a distinctive element ("Coastline"), a descriptive element saying what you do ("Renovations"), and — for corporations only — a legal ending like "Ltd." Sole proprietorships must not use "Ltd.", "Inc." or "Corp." because they aren't companies. Names that are too general ("Vancouver Plumbing"), too close to an existing name, or that suggest a connection to government are commonly rejected. You can enter up to three choices in order of preference.

Once approved, the name is reserved for 56 days under section 89 of the Partnership Act. If you don't register in that window the reservation lapses and you pay again. A name approval is not a registration — nothing is on the register until step 2.

Registering a sole proprietorship in BC

1. 1

   Check the name and submit a Name Request

   Search existing names, then submit up to three choices. Fee C$30 plus C$1.50.

   Tip: Leave out Ltd., Inc. and Corp. — they are for companies only.

2. 2

   Get your approved Name Request number (NR)

   The approval is valid for 56 days.

3. 3

   Log in to the BC Business Registry

   Use a BC Services Card login or a BCeID and create a business registry account.

4. 4

   File the registration

   Enter the NR, the nature of the business, the start date, your full name and residential address, and the business address. Pay the C$40 registration fee.

5. 5

   Add a CRA business number

   You can request a BN during registration or later through CRA Business Registration Online — it is free.

6. 6

   Get a city business licence and set up tax accounts

   Apply to your municipality; register for GST and PST if they apply.

Step 2: File the registration in the BC Business Registry

With an approved name, you log in to the BC Business Registry using a BC Services Card login or a BCeID and file the registration statement. Section 88 sets out what it must contain: the reserved business name, the general nature of the business, and your full name and residential address. The online form also asks for your business start date, business address and an email for notices.

The registration fee for a sole proprietorship or general partnership is C$40, confirmed on the province's registration page (updated September 2026). Once filed, you receive a registration statement with a registration number (it begins with "FM"). Keep it: banks ask for it when you open a business account.

Keep it current. If you change your address, the nature of the business or the name, file a change of registration. If you stop doing business, file a dissolution so the registry doesn't show you as active. Sole proprietorships in BC don't file annual reports, unlike corporations, which is one of their advantages.

Step 3: Business number and CRA accounts

The business number (BN) is a nine-digit number from the Canada Revenue Agency that identifies your business for federal tax. As a sole proprietor you only need one when you open your first CRA program account — usually a GST/HST account, a payroll account if you hire staff, or an import-export account. It is free. You can get it while registering in the BC Business Registry or separately through CRA's Business Registration Online, and you then manage it in My Business Account.

Your personal income tax stays under your social insurance number. You do not need a BN just to report self-employment income on your T1 return.

GST/HST: the C$30,000 small supplier rule

BC is not a harmonized province, so you deal with federal GST and provincial PST separately. GST is 5%.

You are a small supplier — and don't have to register for GST — as long as your worldwide taxable sales (together with any associates) don't exceed C$30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over the last four consecutive calendar quarters. Cross the line in a single quarter and you must charge GST on the very sale that took you over, then register; cross it over four quarters and you must register by the end of the following month. See our GST/HST guide for the exact timing rules and filing frequencies.

Should you register voluntarily? If your customers are mostly businesses that can claim GST back, registering early costs them nothing and lets you claim input tax credits on your own costs — a laptop, software, a vehicle used for work. If you sell mainly to consumers, staying under the threshold keeps your prices 5% lower. Once registered, a sole proprietor with a December year-end who files annually generally pays by April 30 and files by June 15. Our Canada GST/HST calculator shows the tax on any invoice.

GST vs PST for a BC sole proprietor

	GST (federal)	PST (BC)
Rate	5%	7% on most taxable goods and services
Administered by	Canada Revenue Agency	BC Ministry of Finance
Registration threshold	Over C$30,000 in taxable sales	Small seller: C$10,000 or less and no commercial premises
Applies to services?	Most services	Only listed services (a planned 2026 expansion is paused)
Credits on your costs	Input tax credits	No credit system; exemptions for resale

Rate

GST (federal)

5%

PST (BC)

7% on most taxable goods and services

Administered by

GST (federal)

Canada Revenue Agency

PST (BC)

BC Ministry of Finance

Registration threshold

GST (federal)

Over C$30,000 in taxable sales

PST (BC)

Small seller: C$10,000 or less and no commercial premises

Applies to services?

GST (federal)

Most services

PST (BC)

Only listed services (a planned 2026 expansion is paused)

Credits on your costs

GST (federal)

Input tax credits

PST (BC)

No credit system; exemptions for resale

PST: registration, the small seller test and the October 2026 change

BC's provincial sales tax applies to most goods sold in BC, software, and a defined list of services — repairs and installation of goods, legal services, telecommunication services, accommodation and some others. If you sell any of these, you generally must register with the BC Ministry of Finance, collect PST and file returns.

The small seller exception. Under the Provincial Sales Tax Act, you are a small seller — and don't have to register — if you are located in BC, don't regularly sell from an established commercial premises (a shop or office open to customers), and your gross revenue from taxable sales and taxable services was C$10,000 or less in the last 12 months and you reasonably expect it to stay at or under that in the next 12. A home-based candle maker selling C$6,000 a year at markets and online is typically a small seller; the same maker with a storefront is not, whatever the sales.

The professional-services expansion is on hold. Sections 129.11 to 129.53 of the PST Act, enacted in 2026, were to bring accounting, architectural, engineering, security and non-residential real estate services into PST from 1 October 2026. On 18 September 2026 the province paused the expansion, citing the trade dispute and economic uncertainty; the Ministry of Finance's Notice 2026-001 says the measure is on hold, and no new start date has been announced. So a sole-proprietor bookkeeper, engineer, security guard or commercial real estate agent does not charge PST on those services for now. If you registered for PST only because of the expansion, the notice says to cancel that account through eTaxBC. Other 1 October 2026 changes did go ahead — clothing repairs and patterns, basic cable and residential landlines are now taxable — and legal services remain taxable as before. Our BC PST guide tracks the status.

When you buy goods for resale, a PST registration lets you buy them exempt by giving your supplier your PST number — another reason some small sellers register voluntarily.

Key dates for a BC sole proprietor

Day 1 of using a trade name

Clock starts: register within 3 months after the business name is first used

56 days after approval

Name Request reservation expires

1 Oct 2026

Planned PST on accounting, engineering and other professional services — paused by the province in September 2026

15 Mar, 15 Jun, 15 Sep, 15 Dec

Income tax instalments, if CRA asks for them

April 30

Balance of income tax (and annual GST) due

June 15

T1 with T2125 (and annual GST return) due

City business licences: Vancouver and elsewhere

Every BC municipality licenses businesses operating within its boundaries, including home-based businesses, and the licence is separate from provincial registration. Fees, categories and home-business rules are set by each city's bylaws.

Vancouver. The City of Vancouver requires a business licence for almost every business in the city, including home-based ones; fees depend on the licence category and licences must be renewed every year. Apply through the City's online business licence service and check zoning first — some uses are not allowed in residential areas, and a home-based business may face limits on employees, client visits and signage. We couldn't load the City's fee schedule in October 2026, so confirm the fee for your category on vancouver.ca before you budget.

Other cities. Victoria requires a licence for every business, with licences running from 16 January to 15 January, and charges late fees and fines for operating unlicensed. Abbotsford's annual base fee starts at C$130. If you are a mobile trades contractor or an in-home health practitioner working across the Fraser Valley, an Inter-Municipal Business Licence for an extra C$250 a year covers eleven participating municipalities, including Surrey, Delta, Langley, Maple Ridge and Chilliwack. Similar inter-municipal schemes exist in other regions — ask your home municipality.

Other permits. Depending on your work you may also need a health permit (food), a trade certification or a professional licence, a sign permit or a development permit for a change of use. BizPaL lists the permits for your business type and location.

How a BC sole proprietor is taxed

Income tax. Your business profit is your personal income. You report revenue and expenses on form T2125, Statement of Business or Professional Activities, and the net profit flows into your T1 return, where federal and BC personal tax rates apply. Self-employed people have until June 15 to file, but any balance owing is due by April 30 — interest runs from then. Once you owe more than C$3,000 in tax for the year (and in one of the two previous years), CRA will ask for quarterly instalments, due March 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15.

CPP. You pay both the employee and employer shares of Canada Pension Plan contributions on your net self-employment earnings — 11.9% on earnings between the C$3,500 basic exemption and the C$74,600 ceiling in 2026, up to C$8,460.90, plus the second-tier CPP2 contribution on earnings above the ceiling. Half is deductible and half becomes a tax credit. Employment Insurance is optional for the self-employed.

Self-employed CPP in 2026

11.9%

Self-employed rate

both halves of 5.95%

C$3,500

Basic exemption

C$74,600

Earnings ceiling (YMPE)

C$8,460.90

Maximum base contribution

Deductible expenses. You can deduct reasonable expenses incurred to earn business income: supplies, software, phone and internet (business share), advertising, professional fees, insurance, vehicle costs by business-use percentage, and a share of home costs if your home office is your principal place of business or used regularly to meet clients. Keep receipts for six years.

WorkSafeBC. If you hire workers, you must register with WorkSafeBC. Sole proprietors without workers aren't automatically covered and can buy optional personal coverage; some clients, especially in construction, insist on it.

Worked first-year cost: a home-based designer in Vancouver

Here is what a sole-proprietor graphic designer working from home in Vancouver might spend to set up and run the first year under a trade name, with net profit of C$45,000. Government fees are from the official sources above; everything marked "estimate" is an MSMETOOLS estimate based on typical 2026 prices.

The registration and licensing costs are small; the big first-year number is CPP and income tax on profit. If her clients are mainly businesses she may register for GST voluntarily and claim back the GST on her new computer and software. Graphic design is not one of the services brought into PST in October 2026, so she would not need PST registration unless she also sells taxable goods such as prints. Our startup cost calculator helps you build your own version.

Sole proprietorship vs incorporation in BC

Many owners start as sole proprietors and incorporate once profits are well above what they spend personally, because leaving profit inside a company taxed at the small-business rate defers personal tax. Incorporation also makes sense earlier if your work carries real liability risk. Our business registration guide compares structures across provinces.

Common mistakes

Using "Ltd." or "Inc." A sole proprietorship can't. It misleads customers and will be rejected.

Missing the 56-day window. If you don't file the registration before the Name Request expires, you pay for a new one.

Forgetting the city licence. Provincial registration does not license you to operate. Cities fine unlicensed businesses — a City of Victoria notice warns of fines of C$250 a day.

Ignoring the GST quarter test. One large contract can push a single quarter over C$30,000 and make GST due on that very sale.

Assuming services are PST-free. Most services are, but legal services, telecommunication services, and since 1 October 2026 clothing repairs, are taxable. The planned PST on accounting, architectural, engineering, security and non-residential real estate services was paused in September 2026 — watch for a new start date before you assume either way.

Mixing personal and business money. Use a separate account and keep receipts — it makes T2125 and any CRA review far easier.

What to do next

Decide whether you need a trade name, submit your Name Request, and register within the 56 days. Then apply for your city business licence, set up GST and PST if they apply, and open a separate bank account. Use our invoice generator for your first invoices and read our BC small business grants guide for funding that may help.

Official links

• BC Registries — Name RequestApprove your business name
• BC Business RegistryRegister, change or dissolve a sole proprietorship
• Partnership Act, ss. 88–89 (BC Laws)Who must register and the 56-day reservation
• Provincial Sales Tax Act (BC Laws)Small seller definition
• CRA — Business number and program accountsWhen you need a BN and how to get one
• CRA — GST/HST registrants (RC4022)Small supplier rules
• BizPaLPermits and licences by location

This is general information, not legal or tax advice — confirm on the official source or with a professional.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to register a sole proprietorship in BC?

Only if you trade under a name other than your own. Under section 88 of BC's Partnership Act, a sole proprietor who uses a business name that isn't their own name — or their own name plus words like '& Company' — must file a registration statement within 3 months after the business name is first used. If you work as 'Priya Sharma', no provincial registration is needed, but you still need a city business licence and CRA accounts as they apply.

How much does it cost to register a sole proprietorship in BC?

You first approve the name with a Name Request for C$30 (plus a C$1.50 online charge, or C$100 more for priority), then file the registration in the BC Business Registry, for a registration fee of C$40. The CRA business number is free. Most of the real first-year cost is your municipal business licence and bookkeeping.

When does a BC sole proprietor have to charge GST?

Once your worldwide taxable sales pass C$30,000 in one calendar quarter or over the last four consecutive quarters, you stop being a small supplier and must register for GST and charge 5%. Below that you can register voluntarily to claim input tax credits. BC is not an HST province, so PST is separate.

Do I need to register for PST in BC as a sole proprietor?

If you sell taxable goods, software or taxable services in BC, generally yes — unless you qualify as a small seller: no established commercial premises and taxable sales of C$10,000 or less over the past 12 months and expected in the next 12. PST was due to extend to accounting, architectural, engineering, security and non-residential real estate services from 1 October 2026, but the province paused that expansion in September 2026, so those services are not taxable for now.

How is a sole proprietor taxed in BC?

Business profit is your personal income. You report it on form T2125 with your T1 return, which is due by June 15 for self-employed people, but any balance owing is due April 30. You also pay both halves of CPP — 11.9% on net earnings between C$3,500 and C$74,600 in 2026.

Should I incorporate instead of staying a sole proprietor in BC?

Incorporation costs C$350 plus a C$30 Name Request and adds annual reports and a corporate tax return, but it limits personal liability and lets you leave profits in the company at the small-business rate (9% federal plus 2% BC). Many owners switch once profits regularly exceed what they need to live on.

Sources & verification

Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 9 October 2026. Each rate and limit is stored once with its own official source and review date, and official update channels are monitored daily so changes are picked up. How we verify

1. 1.Partnership Act, RSBC 1996, c. 348 — sections 88 and 89 — King's Printer, British Columbia (BC Laws) · accessed 9 October 2026
2. 2.BC Registries public product fee list — BC Registries and Online Services · accessed 9 October 2026
3. 3.Corporate Online fee schedule — BC Registries and Online Services · accessed 9 October 2026
4. 4.Provincial Sales Tax Act, SBC 2012, c. 35 — definitions — King's Printer, British Columbia (BC Laws) · accessed 9 October 2026
5. 5.Provincial Sales Tax Act — Table of Legislative Changes (4th edition) — King's Printer, British Columbia (BC Laws) · accessed 9 October 2026
6. 6.Notice 2026-001: Notice to providers of professional services — Province of British Columbia — Ministry of Finance · accessed 12 October 2026
7. 7.PST Exemption and Refund Regulation amendments, B.C. Reg. 114/2026 — King's Printer, British Columbia (BC Laws) · accessed 9 October 2026
8. 8.General information for GST/HST registrants (RC4022) — Canada Revenue Agency · accessed 9 October 2026
9. 9.CPP contribution rates, maximums and exemptions — Canada Revenue Agency · accessed 9 October 2026
10. 10.2026 tax deadlines for Canadian businesses and self-employed individuals — Government of Canada · accessed 9 October 2026
11. 11.Business Licences — City of Abbotsford · accessed 9 October 2026
12. 12.Business Licensing — City of Victoria · accessed 9 October 2026