A quote with no PST line — is something being left out?

No, that is the normal case for a fence built in place. The contractor pays PST on the materials when they buy them and it forms part of their price.

What if I buy the materials myself and hire labour only?

Then you are buying goods, and goods carry PST at the till. That is a different arrangement from a contract to supply and install, and it is worth being explicit about which one you are agreeing to.

Does this apply to a gate, or to repairs?

The test is whether the work becomes part of the land, not what it is called. Ask the contractor to show how their quote treats tax, whatever the job.

One quote shows PST and the other does not. Which one is right?

Is there PST on a new fence in BC?

Direct answer · reviewed 2026-10-06

Probably the one without it, and the difference between the two quotes may be nothing more than bookkeeping. A fence set into the ground becomes part of the land, which makes building it a real property contract. Under that rule the contractor pays the PST themselves when they buy the cedar, the posts and the concrete, and it sits inside their price rather than on top of it. There is a legitimate exception — you and the contractor can agree in writing that you will pay the PST instead — but it has to be agreed, and it has to be in the written agreement. A PST line that appears for the first time on the final invoice is worth one question. None of this says anything about GST, which is a separate federal tax and not what this page is about.

Conditions and exceptions

This is about PST only.
Two quotes that treat tax differently are not comparable until you ask both what their price includes.
Questions about your own contract belong with your accountant or the Ministry of Finance. This page quotes the Ministry's own notice.

Check your fence rules

Local evidence

Every figure below is quoted from the source shown or is our labelled estimate. Verified dates are the day we last checked the source; a figure whose check is overdue is withheld rather than shown.

Does a fence company add PST to the bill?: As a rule no — the contractor pays PST on the lumber, posts and concrete when they buy them; Ministry of Finance, Province of British Columbia · quoted · verified 2026-10-06
When can the customer be asked to pay the PST instead?: Only by written agreement, and only where the exception rule's conditions are met; Ministry of Finance, Province of British Columbia · quoted · verified 2026-10-06

Why the tax is already inside the price

The rule turns on what the cedar becomes. On a rack at the yard it is goods, and goods carry PST. Set in concrete along your boundary it is part of the land. As a rule no — the contractor pays PST on the lumber, posts and concrete when they buy them

So the tax has been paid — just upstream of you, in the same way the post-hole auger and the delivery were. That is why a fence invoice can look different from buying the same lumber yourself, where the tax is a visible line because the lumber stays goods.

The exception, and what makes it real

There is a proper route by which the PST ends up on your side. Only by written agreement, and only where the exception rule's conditions are met

The word that matters is agree. The Court of Appeal has made the paperwork easier for contractors — a written agreement does not have to cite the section of the Act — but it has not removed the need for an agreement. If it is not in what you signed, ask.

What this means when you are comparing quotes

If one quote shows PST and another does not, do not assume the second is cheaper. Ask each of them the same question: what does your price include, and is tax inside it or added to it? On a thirty-metre cedar fence the gap between two honest answers can be several hundred dollars, and it has nothing to do with the fence.

It is also a quick read on how a company writes things down. A contractor who can answer this in one sentence usually writes clear quotes about everything else too.

Questions homeowners ask

A quote with no PST line — is something being left out?: No, that is the normal case for a fence built in place. The contractor pays PST on the materials when they buy them and it forms part of their price.
What if I buy the materials myself and hire labour only?: Then you are buying goods, and goods carry PST at the till. That is a different arrangement from a contract to supply and install, and it is worth being explicit about which one you are agreeing to.
Does this apply to a gate, or to repairs?: The test is whether the work becomes part of the land, not what it is called. Ask the contractor to show how their quote treats tax, whatever the job.

Your next step

Before comparing prices, know what your municipality permits — a quote for the wrong fence is not a cheaper one.

Check what you are allowed to build

Sources

Provincial Sales Tax Notice 2022-001 — Notice to Real Property Contractors — Ministry of Finance, Province of British Columbia, accessed 2026-10-06

Every figure on this site is read from the bylaw or statute itself, with the date it was read and a link to the document. Bylaws are amended at council meetings, so confirm the current rule for your exact address before you build. Report a correction.