No. Monitoring services are not taxable to your customers. However, you pay PST on the equipment that you use to provide the service.

It depends. You charge PST on labour charges to install systems that are tangible personal property. However, you do not charge PST on labour charges to install systems that become improvements to real property on installation.

It depends. You charge PST on the lease payments for security systems that are tangible personal property. You do not charge PST on the lease payments for security systems that are improvements to real property. If the lease is for a security system that is a hybrid (has both tangible personal property and improvement to real property components), you charge PST only on the components that are tangible personal property.

It depends. You charge PST on repair parts for security systems that are tangible personal property.

However, repair parts for security systems that are improvements to real property are taxable to either you or the customer depending on the contract you have with your customer and when you entered into the contract.

For contracts that you enter into before October 1, 2008, how you structure your contract determines whether you pay PST or you charge your customer PST. With a lump sum contract, you do not charge PST but you pay PST on the repair parts. With a time and materials contract, the general rule is that you charge PST on the repair parts but not on the labour to install them. However, there are some exceptions to the general rules (see
Bulletin SST 072, Real Property Contractors).

For contracts that you enter into on, or after, October 1, 2008, you pay PST on the repair parts unless you and your customer have agreed, in writing, that your customer pays the PST. For you to charge PST, the written contract or a separate written agreement must specifically state the value of the repair parts and that the customer is responsible for paying PST on this amount.

For hybrid systems (both tangible personal property and improvements to real property), you separate the charges for the tangible personal property from the charges for the improvements to real property. You charge PST on the repair parts for the tangible personal property. If you do not know the exact price of the tangible personal property, you make a reasonable determination of the value. Repair parts for improvements to real property are taxable to either you or the customer, as explained in the paragraphs above.

For a detailed explanation of the rules for real property contracts, please see Bulletin SST 072, Real Property Contractors.

If you sell a security system at retail that you paid PST on, you charge your customer PST and you recover the tax you paid on the purchase of the system. You either claim a PST refund from the ministry or, under certain circumstances, take an internal tax account adjustment on your next tax return by deducting the tax you paid on the purchase of the system from the tax you have collected on your sales.

For more information on internal tax account adjustments, please see Bulletin SST 032, Completing the Tax Return Form. For more information on refunds, please see Bulletin GEN 008, Refunds of Overpayments of Tax.