Bookkeeping for realtors and real estate agents in BC
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Commission statements from the brokerage, GST on every deal, a car that is half business, and perhaps a personal real estate corporation. We keep it straight every month.
Short answer: a BC real estate licensee is self-employed, so the books start from the brokerage’s commission statements, not from a pay stub. Each statement is recorded at the gross commission with the brokerage’s split and fees shown as expenses, GST is tracked on the commissions and claimed back on business costs, and car, marketing and phone costs are split between business and personal use. A licensee who works through a personal real estate corporation has a second set of books and a corporate return. Orbis Accounting Ltd. keeps the books monthly, files GST, and prepares the T1 or the T2 at year end.
What is hard in a realtor’s books?
- Income that arrives net. The brokerage deducts its split, desk or transaction fees and sometimes advances before paying, so the deposit is never the commission. Recording the deposit alone understates both the income and the expenses.
- GST on commissions. A registered licensee collects GST on each commission and claims input tax credits on the costs of earning it, both reported on the GST return.
- Uneven income. A strong spring and a quiet winter make tax instalments and cash flow harder to plan than a salary does.
- A car, a phone and a home office that are partly personal, and need a log and a consistent method to support the business share.
- Marketing that is spread across many small charges: listing photography, staging, signage, online ads, client gifts and board and licence dues.
If you work through a personal real estate corporation
BC lets a licensee earn commissions through a personal real estate corporation. The BC Financial Services Authority sets the conditions: the licensee controls the corporation, and the corporation holds its own licence at the same brokerage as the licensee, which has to stay current alongside the licensee’s. Incorporating alone does not move the commissions. Once the corporation is licensed and the brokerage pays it, commissions are its income, not yours, and it needs its own bank account, its own books and its own T2 return. How you then take money out, as salary or dividends, changes your personal tax and the corporation’s.
PST is not charged on residential commissions. The province’s 2026 plan to extend PST to professional services would have covered non-residential real estate services, including commercial trading and commissions, and it is paused rather than repealed. A licensee with commercial deals should know where that stands.
Keeping the two sets of books apart is the part most often done badly. A corporate card used for groceries, or commissions deposited to a personal account, makes the year end slower and the return harder to defend.
What we do each month for a licensee
- Record each commission statement at the gross amount, with the brokerage split, fees and GST broken out, and reconcile it to the deposit.
- Track GST collected on commissions and the input tax credits on your costs, and file the GST return.
- Categorize marketing, vehicle, phone and office costs, and keep the business share of mixed-use costs on a consistent basis.
- For a personal real estate corporation, keep its books separate from yours and record what you take out as salary or dividends.
- Give you a monthly profit and loss, so you can set aside tax from each deal rather than in April.
Who this fits, and who it does not
It fits licensed BC realtors and their personal real estate corporations, from a first-year agent to an established team lead, and agents who also own a rental. It does not fit brokerage trust accounting: the trust accounts and their records are the managing broker’s responsibility under the BC rules, and that is specialised work we do not take on. For questions on whether to set up a personal real estate corporation, we explain the bookkeeping and tax sides and leave the legal setup to your lawyer.
Is a real estate agent in BC self-employed?
Yes, in almost every case. A licensee is paid commission by the brokerage rather than a salary, reports it as business income on the T1, and pays both halves of CPP on the profit. A licensee with a personal real estate corporation is paid through the corporation instead.
Do realtors charge GST on commissions?
A licensee who is registered for GST charges GST on commissions and claims input tax credits on business costs. Whether you must register depends on your taxable revenue; the GST registration guide explains the threshold and what registering means.
What can a realtor deduct?
The costs of earning commission: brokerage fees and splits, licence and board dues, marketing and advertising, the business share of a vehicle and phone, and a home office that meets the CRA’s tests. Personal costs are not deductible, and mixed-use costs need a record of the business share.
Does a personal real estate corporation need its own bookkeeping?
Yes. It is a separate company with its own bank account, its own books and its own T2 return, and the money you take out of it is recorded as salary or dividends.
Can you work in Mandarin?
Yes. Written work is in Chinese or English, spoken conversations in Mandarin or English, and every page of this site is published in both.
GST registration and input tax credits →
Home office and vehicle expenses →
Deductible business expenses →
CPP when you are self-employed →
Salary or dividends from your corporation →
Tell us what your business does
Tell us your trade, roughly how many transactions a month and what you need filed, and a written plan and a fixed monthly price follow within one business day.
info@orbisaccounting.ca