British Columbia was five days away from taxing accountants, architects, and engineers when the government hit pause. On September 21, the province announced it would delay its planned PST expansion to professional services, a change that was set to take effect October 1. For farm and acreage owners, this is worth understanding, because the services affected are the same ones most farm transactions and farm projects depend on.
What Actually Changed
Since this spring, BC had been preparing to apply 7 percent PST to a specific list of professional services: accounting and bookkeeping, architectural work, engineering and geoscience services, security services, rental property and strata management, and — notably for this industry — non-residential real estate commissions. Unlike GST, PST doesn’t come with input tax credits, so businesses paying it can’t claim it back. That made the expansion a real cost increase, not just a paperwork change.
Premier David Eby framed the pause around the ongoing trade disruption with the United States, pointing to tariff pressure and broader economic uncertainty as the reason to hold off. Finance Minister Josie Osborne said the goal is to give businesses “more flexibility to invest, adapt and grow” while the trade situation remains unsettled. The province estimates the pause will keep about $260 million in the hands of residents, businesses, and local governments in the 2026-27 fiscal year. It’s being done through temporary regulation, and government has said it will stay in place until the trade war eases — which means it’s a pause, not a repeal.
What This Means for BC Farm Owners
Farm operations lean on exactly these professions more than most other property types. A greenhouse expansion needs an architect. A new barn or processing facility needs an engineer’s sign-off. A succession plan needs an accountant who understands farm status, capital gains, and rollover rules. All of that stays untaxed for now, instead of adding another 7 percent on top of already significant project costs.
The line that will matter most to sellers is non-residential real estate commissions. Many farm and acreage sales, particularly ones involving working operations, agri-business components, or mixed residential-commercial use, get classified in ways that would have triggered this tax. Avoiding it, even temporarily, keeps more of the sale proceeds where they belong.
Why Acreage Buyers Should Pay Attention
For buyers, the takeaway is simple: due diligence just got a little less expensive. Soil assessments, drainage engineering, structural evaluations on barns and outbuildings, and architectural feasibility studies for building potential are standard parts of evaluating a farm property properly. If you’ve been putting off commissioning that engineering report because of cost, this window is the moment to move on it, before the tax question comes back.
The Pricing and Risk Lesson for Sellers
The bigger issue is what this pause signals rather than the dollar amount itself. The province is responding to real pressure on export-dependent sectors, and BC agriculture is one of them. Fraser Valley operations that ship blueberries, greenhouse vegetables, or dairy products across the border are directly exposed to the same tariff uncertainty driving this decision. Sellers pricing a farm right now should factor that uncertainty into how they talk about income history and future production value, not just current market comparables. A specialized farm realtor can help separate what’s actually changed in the land’s value from what’s just noise in the news cycle.
A Local Market Perspective
This matters more in the Fraser Valley and Greater Vancouver than in most of the province, simply because of how much agricultural activity here is trade-exposed. Langley, Abbotsford, and Chilliwack operations with US-bound crops or livestock feel tariff pressure directly. Delta and Richmond properties with commercial or mixed-use zoning are the ones most likely to have run into the non-residential commission question on a future sale. Buyers and sellers in these areas should treat this less as a one-off tax story and more as a signal that provincial policy is actively trying to cushion the agricultural and business sector while trade conditions stay volatile.
A Practical Takeaway
If you’ve been holding off on a succession conversation with your accountant, an engineering assessment for a planned building, or a sale that would have involved a non-residential commission, this pause gives you a real window to act without the added cost. It won’t necessarily last, since the government has tied it to the trade situation rather than giving it a fixed end date. Farm owners should review their specific situation with their accountant or lawyer before making a decision, since how a property or transaction is classified can affect whether any of this applies.
If you’re weighing a farm sale, a succession plan, or a building project in the Fraser Valley or Greater Vancouver, Farms In BC can help you think through the timing and the land, financing, and market factors involved before you commit. For a confidential farm and acreage market evaluation, contact Farms In BC Real Estate Group.
