Incorporating a business in British Columbia involves five core steps: approve your company name through BC Registries, prepare your incorporation agreement and articles, file the BC Incorporation Application, set up your records office and corporate records, and complete your post-incorporation tax setup (T2 corporate income tax, GST, payroll, and PST). For a business operating only in BC, provincial government fees total roughly $380 to $450, and incorporation can be completed within a few business days once your name is approved.
This guide walks through each step as it applies in the 2026 tax year, including the British Columbia rule changes — most notably the PST expansion to professional services on October 1, 2026 — that a founder needs to plan for.
Step 1 — Approve your company name (or choose a numbered company)
Unless you incorporate as a numbered company, BC requires you to obtain an approved name before you incorporate. You submit a Name Request to BC Registries describing your proposed name (which must include a distinctive element, a descriptive element, and a corporate designation such as "Ltd.", "Limited", "Inc.", or "Corp.").
Key points for the 2026 tax year:
- A standard Name Request costs $30 and is non-refundable, even if the name is rejected.
- Priority service costs an additional $100 (roughly $131.50 total) and is typically processed within one to two business days.
- An approved name is reserved for 56 days — you must incorporate before it expires or request an extension for a fee.
A numbered company (e.g., "1234567 B.C. Ltd.") skips the Name Request and is faster, but a named corporation is usually better for branding. You can register a trade name (a "doing business as" name) later if you want to operate under a different brand.
Step 2 — Decide: provincial (BC) or federal incorporation
Both a BC and a federal incorporation create a separate legal entity with limited liability, but they differ in cost, name protection, and director rules.
| Factor | British Columbia (provincial) | Federal (CBCA) |
|---|---|---|
| Governing statute | BC Business Corporations Act | Canada Business Corporations Act |
| Name approval fee (2026) | ~$30 Name Request | Included in federal filing / NUANS report |
| Incorporation filing fee (2026) | ~$351.50 via BC Registries | $200 online via Corporations Canada |
| Name protection | British Columbia only | Across all of Canada |
| Operating in other provinces | Must register extra-provincially in each | Must register extra-provincially in each (including BC) |
| Director residency requirement | None | At least 25% of directors must be resident Canadians |
| Records / registered office | Must be in BC | Registered office in Canada + BC extra-provincial registration |
As a rule of thumb: if you operate only in British Columbia, incorporate provincially — it is straightforward and avoids the extra layer of federal annual filing plus BC extra-provincial registration. Choose federal incorporation if you want nationwide name protection or expect to operate across multiple provinces. Even a federal corporation must register extra-provincially in BC to do business there, so federal does not remove BC paperwork.
For founders deciding where in Canada to incorporate, our Alberta incorporation guide covers the equivalent steps in Alberta, where there is no PST.
Step 3 — Prepare your incorporation documents
A BC incorporation is built on a few founding documents:
- Incorporation Agreement — signed by each incorporator, who agrees to take at least one share.
- Articles — the rules that govern the company internally, including share structure and director powers. Many small businesses start with a single class of common voting shares, but multiple classes can support family income-splitting or future investors.
- Notice of Articles — the public document filed with BC Registries showing directors, the records office, and the registered office.
You decide your share structure, appoint at least one director, and choose a records office and registered office in BC. BC has no Canadian-residency requirement for directors, which is one reason foreign and newcomer founders favour incorporating in British Columbia — they need only maintain the required offices in BC.
Step 4 — File the BC Incorporation Application
You file the Incorporation Application electronically through BC Registries (Corporate Online or the BC Registry application). The standard government filing fee is about $351.50; priority service adds roughly $100 for one-to-two-business-day processing.
Once filed and approved, your company receives a Certificate of Incorporation and an incorporation number. You must then keep your articles and records (director and shareholder registers, the transparency register of significant individuals, minutes, and resolutions) at your records office, and file a BC annual report each year to keep the company in good standing. The annual report is a registry filing, not a tax return.
Step 5 — Complete your post-incorporation tax setup
Incorporation is only the legal step. To operate, set up the following:
- Business Number (BN) and CRA program accounts. Your federal Business Number anchors corporate income tax, GST/HST, and payroll.
- Corporate income tax — the T2. A BC corporation files a federal T2 return; British Columbia's corporate income tax is administered together with the federal return, so there is no separate provincial corporate return (unlike Alberta's AT1). As of the 2026 tax year, BC's provincial corporate rate is 2% on small-business income and 12% general. The federal rate is 9% up to the $500,000 small-business deduction limit and 15% general. See our BC corporate tax guide for the full rate breakdown.
- GST registration. Register for GST once your taxable revenue exceeds $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters. GST is 5%.
- PST registration. BC charges a 7% PST separate from GST. Register if you sell taxable goods or taxable services in BC; small sellers under $10,000 in annual taxable sales may be exempt. Importantly, from October 1, 2026, BC PST expands to certain professional services — including accounting and bookkeeping — so many service businesses that were previously exempt must now register and collect PST.
- Payroll. If you pay yourself a salary or hire employees, open a payroll account and remit CPP, EI, and income tax. BC also levies an Employer Health Tax, which is exempt for payrolls up to $1 million.
How RN Canada helps
RN Canada is an accounting and advisory firm with offices in Edmonton, Alberta and Vancouver, British Columbia that works with founders and owner-managers on incorporation and the tax setup that follows. We help you choose between provincial and federal incorporation for your situation, structure shares with future income-splitting and financing in mind, and stand up your T2, GST, PST, and payroll accounts correctly from day one — including the new BC PST rules for professional services. Our founder, Ozgur Duymaz, holds the CPA (Canada), ACCA (UK), and CMA (US) designations. Learn more about our bookkeeping and tax filing services or browse common incorporation questions.
Frequently asked questions
Budget on roughly $380 to $450 in BC government fees for a provincial incorporation: a $30 name approval request plus a $351.50 incorporation filing fee through BC Registries. Priority name approval and priority filing each add about $100. Federal incorporation through Corporations Canada is $200 online, but you must still register extra-provincially in BC, which adds cost.
If you operate only in British Columbia, a provincial BC incorporation is usually simpler and cheaper to maintain. Federal incorporation under the CBCA gives nationwide name protection but requires at least 25% of directors to be resident Canadians and an extra-provincial registration in BC anyway. BC has no director-residency rule, so foreign and newcomer founders often prefer incorporating provincially.
Once your name is approved, filing the BC Incorporation Application through BC Registries is often completed within a few business days, and priority service can complete it in one to two business days. The name approval itself typically takes a few business days under standard service, or one to two business days with priority processing for an added fee.
Only if you sell taxable goods or taxable services in BC. PST registration is separate from incorporation. You must register once you make taxable sales, and small sellers under $10,000 in annual taxable sales may be exempt. Note that from October 1, 2026, BC PST expands to certain professional services, including accounting and bookkeeping, so more service firms must register.
No. A corporation incorporated provincially under BC's Business Corporations Act has no Canadian-residency requirement for its directors, provided the company maintains a records office and registered office in BC. This is a key difference from a federal CBCA corporation, where at least 25% of directors must be resident Canadians.
A BC corporation files a federal T2 corporate income tax return (BC's corporate tax is administered with the federal return, so there is no separate provincial return like Alberta's AT1). Set up a Business Number and CRA program accounts for corporate income tax, GST/HST once revenue exceeds $30,000, payroll if you hire, and a separate BC PST account if you make taxable sales.