File and pay your logging tax

If you have logging operations in B.C., you must file an annual logging tax return.

On this page

• Filing due date
• Logging tax return
• Starting or discontinuing logging operations
• Penalties and interest
• Instalment payments
• Payment instructions
• Other reporting requirements

Logging tax return

Use the forms below to file your logging tax return. You must file a tax return even if you incurred losses or did not have any earnings from your logging operations.

• Logging Tax Return of Income (FIN 542S)
  Use this tax return if you have income from the sale of B.C. logs, the sale of standing timber, the sale of timber rights or the export of logs.
• Logging Tax Return of Income for Processors (FIN 542P)
  Only use this tax return if you process B.C. logs into primary or secondary forest products (e.g. lumber, shakes, shingles, poles, pulp, paper)

Filing due date

The tax return must be filed within six months of the end of the tax year in which the logging operations occurred. Note: Deadlines to file for the B.C. logging tax return that fell between March 18, 2020, and August 31, 2020, were extended to September 1, 2020.

Starting or discontinuing logging operations

If you stop your logging operations, you must immediately notify us in writing at:

Ministry of Finance
Income Taxation Branch
PO Box 9444 Stn Prov Govt
Victoria B.C. V8W 9W8

Once you’ve notified us, you are not required to file a tax return unless you resume logging activities in the future.

If you start logging operations in British Columbia, you must immediately notify us in writing at:

Ministry of Finance
Income Taxation Branch
PO Box 9444 Stn Prov Govt
Victoria B.C. V8W 9W8

Penalties and interest

If you do not file your logging tax return and pay the tax by the filing due date, you'll be charged penalties and interest. 

If you miss any required instalment payment due dates or have deficient payments, you'll be charged interest. 

If penalties or interest resulted from circumstances beyond your control, you may request a wavier of penalties and interest. 

If you have not filed a return or want to amend a return you have already filed, you may make a voluntary disclosure.

Instalment payments

If you owed more than $2,000 in logging tax in the previous tax year, you must make logging tax instalment payments in the current tax year. An instalment payment is a partial payment of the total amount of tax payable for the year.

Your first and second instalment payments must be equal to at least 50% and 25%, respectively, of the lesser of:

• The previous year’s tax
• The current year’s estimated tax

You must pay your instalments as follows:

• The 50% instalment payment by the end of the tax year
• The 25% instalment payment by the end of the third month following the end of the tax year

If your estimated logging tax payable for the current year becomes less than your previous year’s actual tax payable, you may change your instalment payment amount part way through the current year.

See an example below of how you may calculate your instalment payments if you’re in this situation.

The remaining tax payable is due with the logging tax return six months after the end of the tax year.

You may be charged interest if you:

• Don't make instalment payments
• Make late or insufficient instalment payments
• Choose to pay instalments based on 50% and 25% of the current year's estimated tax, and the current year's estimated tax is less than both your actual tax and the previous year's tax

Payment instructions

You can pay the logging tax:

• Online using eTaxBC
• Through your bank or financial institution
• By mail or courier
• At a government office 

If your logging tax in the previous year exceeded $2,000, you must make instalment payments. 

If you’re not required to make instalments, you must pay the entire balance of tax owing on or before the logging tax return due date, which is six months after the tax year end.

Change of instalment payment example

This is an example for how to calculate and pay your instalments if you change your instalment payment amount part way through the current year because your estimated tax payable for the current year is less than your previous year’s actual tax payable.

Your end of taxation year date is January 31.

Your previous year’s actual tax payable was $20,000 and you made an instalment payment of $10,000 (50% of $20,000) for January 31.

However, in March, your business operations changed and you now estimate your current year’s tax to be $10,000 – a significant decrease from your previous year’s actual tax payable.

You decide to change the method for calculating instalments for the current year to now be based on your current year’s estimated tax payable instead of your previous year’s actual tax payable.

This means:

• Your first instalment payment is now $5,000 (50% of $10,000), rather than $10,000

• Your second instalment payment is now $2,500 (25% of $10,000), rather than $5,000

Therefore, your breakdown of each instalment payment due for the current year is as follows:

• January 31: $10,000, which you already paid based on your actual logging tax payable for the previous year

• April 30: $0, because you overpaid your January 31 instalment by $5,000

Any remaining balance for the current year is payable when you file the tax return for the current year, which is due within six months of the end of the tax year in which the logging operations occurred.

You may still be charged interest from the instalment due date if you underpay your tax instalment payments for the current year. Tax instalments are considered underpaid if they’re less than your actual tax payable for both the current year and the previous year.

Other reporting requirements

If you are issued a Notice of Assessment, reassessment, or an additional assessment from the Canada Revenue Agency that changes an amount relevant to the calculation of logging tax payable, you must notify us within 90 days of receiving that notice by forwarding a copy, along with an amended logging tax return, to the mailing address below. Notifications not received within the 90 days may be rejected. 

Ministry of Finance
Income Taxation Branch
PO Box 9444 STN Prov Govt
Victoria B.C. V8W 9W8