Construction Accountant in Alberta
Remote CPA accounting for contractors, builders and construction trades across Alberta — including Calgary and Edmonton.
An Alberta contractor charges 5% GST and nothing else — there is no provincial sales tax. Holdbacks follow the Prompt Payment and Construction Lien Act timelines, and subcontractor payments are reported on a T5018.
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Key facts
| Sales tax | 5% GST only — Alberta has no provincial sales tax |
|---|---|
| Subcontractor reporting | T5018, due six months after the reporting period end you elect |
| Holdback | Governed by Alberta's Prompt Payment and Construction Lien Act |
| Corporate returns | Federal T2 and a separate Alberta AT1 with Alberta Tax and Revenue Administration |
| Service model | Delivered remotely from Montréal — no Alberta office required |
A&S Financials provides construction accounting for contractors, builders and trades across Alberta, delivered remotely. Whether you're in Calgary, Edmonton or elsewhere in the province, we handle holdbacks, work-in-progress, T5018 subcontractor reporting and project-level job costing. Alberta has no provincial sales tax, which changes how your books and filings work — our CPAs handle GST and the federal reporting that applies to your projects. Everything is managed online so you can focus on the build.
Book a consultationHow we help
- Project and job-cost reporting
- Work-in-progress and holdback accounting
- T5018 subcontractor reporting
- Payroll for field and office staff
- GST and federal reporting (no Alberta PST)
- Fully remote service across Alberta
No PST, but a separate provincial corporate return
Alberta is the simplest sales tax jurisdiction in Canada: 5% GST, no provincial sales tax, and no second registration. For a contractor moving from Québec that removes an entire filing stream. What Alberta adds back is on the corporate side. Alberta administers its own corporate income tax, so a corporation with a permanent establishment in the province files an AT1 with Alberta Tax and Revenue Administration in addition to the federal T2 — a structure closer to Québec's than to Ontario's. A contractor operating in more than one province also allocates taxable income among them using a formula based on payroll and gross revenue by establishment. Crews working across a provincial border is the usual trigger, and it is easy to get wrong in the first year.
Prompt payment changed when holdbacks move
Alberta's Prompt Payment and Construction Lien Act sets payment timelines from a proper invoice, an adjudication process for disputes, and its own lien periods governing when holdback becomes releasable. Those dates are what determine when a holdback becomes receivable, and therefore when it is taxable. They are not the same as Ontario's or Québec's, so a contractor operating across provinces cannot apply one treatment uniformly. The paying side mirrors it: holdbacks retained from subcontractors are not deductible until they become payable under the applicable provincial timeline.
Frequently asked questions
Do I charge PST in Alberta?
Do I file a separate Alberta corporate return?
Can you handle my books from Montréal?
When is an Alberta holdback taxable?
Speak with a Montréal CPA
Contact us to discuss your accounting and tax needs — in the language you prefer.