Member Dues FAQs

Member Dues FAQs

CPABC continues to focus on building capacity in order to ensure the continued protection of the public in an increasingly complex regulatory environment. To support this work, the provincial portion of membership dues has been slightly increased.

Our Reduced Fee reduction category is based on earned active income in the prior calendar year.  You must have earned less than the threshold in the prior calendar year to qualify this fiscal year.  You may qualify in the next fiscal year depending on your income this calendar year and the posted income threshold.

The following link will provides details on CPABC’s dues reductions: Dues Reduction Categories.

Members may only claim one member dues reduction category per annual dues year.

All members have been re-set to full member dues (Prime). Members eligible for a dues reduction may make a declaration to reduce member dues.

Prime refers to where a member pays National (CPA Canada) dues.  If you are primarily practicing in BC, you must pay CPA Canada dues in BC. All members of a Canadian CPA Body are required to pay CPA Canada dues whether they live in Canada or internationally.

Annual dues notices are sent via e-mail by March 1 annually.  You can review your notice(s) through your online services account after you receive your dues notice email.  If you are having trouble logging in to Online Services, please contact CPABC Support at support@bccpa.ca.

Annual member dues cover the period of April 1 – March 31

Payment is due April 1, 2024. Payments made after May 31, 2024 are subject a late payment administrative fee.

Members can pay their fees through different options:

  • by logging in to Online Services
  • Through most financial institutions and credit unions.  Please use your CPA ID as your account number.
  • If paying by mail, please send payment and original invoice to:
      Finance Department
      Suite 800, 555 West Hastings ST
      Vancouver, BC   V6B 4N6

An affiliate member is a member who pays full provincial or territorial body (including Bermuda).

You may apply for a reduction of all or a portion of your member dues if you meet the criteria under the following categories:

  • Reduced Fee - 50% fee reduction if below active income threshold for the 2023 calendar year.
  • Permanent Medical - fee waiver for permanently unable to work due to illness
  • Financial Hardship - waiver of dues if family unit income and net liquid equity below threshold
  • Retired - for those aged 55 or over as of April 1, 2024 and below active income threshold for the 2024 calendar year.
  • Long-term member - CPAs with 40 years of membership or age 70 as of April 1, 2023 receive an automatic waiver of dues
  • Non-resident - reduction for members who resided outside of Canada or BC on April 1, 2024

See questions below for additional criteria for each category.

Active Income includes accounting and non-accounting income from employment, director’s fees, and net income from self-employment. Active Income does not include EI, pension income, investment income, support payments, or disability income. All other sources of income shall be considered “active.” The income threshold is adjusted annually. Income is based on individual earnings, not family/household income except for Financial Hardship.

In most cases, eligibility for a 2024-2025 dues reduction is based on your 2023 income. The Retired  category is based on estimated income for the 2024 calendar year.

Members whose income in the prior calendar year is below the active income threshold may apply for a 50 per cent dues reduction of full dues.

Members who are permanently unable to work in any capacity due to illness can request a waiver of dues.  A separate medical form (found on our website under Member Services>Forms and FAQs) must be completed and signed by a doctor, or you can submit a letter from your Long Term Disability provider.

If your active income is below the threshold for the prior calendar year, you may apply for a reduction under Reduced Fee category.
If your active income is below the threshold for the prior calendar year, you may apply for a reduction under Reduced Fee category.

If you are unable to work due to medical reasons you may be eligible for a medical waiver of dues for the 2024-2025 membership year. Please contact membershipdues@bccpa.ca for more information.

Members declaring for the Retired dues reduction must be 55 years of age as of April 1, 2024 and estimated Active Income for 2024 must be less than $36,600 to receive a waiver on dues.

Income received from sitting on a Board is considered “active income”, therefore, if your payments are greater than the active income threshold of $36,600 for 2024 you cannot apply for the Retired dues waiver.

If your Active Income for the current calendar year is below the Active Income threshold you can apply for the Retired member dues reduction.

To qualify, the active income for the 2023 calendar year and net liquid equity as at April 1, 2024 must be equal or lesser than the income threshold for your family unit size.  The thresholds vary depending on your family unit size.  A declaration must be signed to receive the dues reduction.  You can make a declaration through your Online Services account.

Please note that the active income for the financial hardship category is different from the other dues reduction categories.  Active income for the financial hardship policy is defined as income for the member’s Family Unit is the aggregate income from all sources including EI, pension income, investment income, support payments, and disability income for all persons in the member’s Family Unit. The maximum number of Financial hardship declaration is two lifetime.

The 2023 family income thresholds for the financial hardship reduction are:

  • Family Unit of 1: $36,600
  • Family Unit of 2: $45,500
  • Family Unit of 3: $56,000
  • Family Unit of 4: $68,000
  • Family Unit of 5: $77,200
  • Family Unit of 6: $87,000
Members if eligible may choose from the dues reduction categories found in Online Services

Requests for retroactive reductions to membership dues for prior years will not be considered.  The deadline to apply for a dues reduction is March 31, 2025 for the 2024-2025 member dues year.

This reduction is for members who resided outside of Canada on April 1, 2024 and were invoiced full CPABC provincial dues, or for those members who reside in Canada, but outside of BC, and were invoiced full CPABC provincial dues, but have, or will, pay full provincial dues to another provincial/territorial CPA body or Bermuda.

Members who live and work outside of Canada and Bermuda on April 1, 2024 receive reduced provincial and national dues. To receive reduced member dues, members must update their contact information and apply for the non-resident dues reduction by logging into Online Services.  If you move after April 1, 2024 in the 2024-2025 dues year, your member dues will not be adjusted.

The criteria for a dues reduction and a CPD exemption are not the same.  You must apply for each separately.

Long-Term members who are age 70 by April 1, 2024 or 40 years of membership or more receive an automatic waiver of dues.  Therefore, the active income threshold does not apply.

Since unification, CPABC has prioritized the promotion of a diverse and inclusive profession that reflects BC’s diverse communities. This includes Indigenous communities and businesses as they play a significant role in BC’s culture and economy. In this year’s Annual Member Dues, CPABC has introduced an annual Voluntary Indigenous Self-Identification Questionnaire.

CPABC is committed to creating a profession that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive for all of our members and students. As part of this commitment, we are collecting data to understand our current diversity. This will help us obtain an accurate picture of the composition of our membership and measure changes over time.

Members who believe they have a valid reason to receive a reduction in member dues and do not meet the eligibility requirements of any other dues reduction category may submit a written request to the Membership Committee to consider their circumstances. The Committee will review each request on a confidential basis. Based on the information submitted, a determination will be made and forwarded to the member.

Please contact membershipdues@bccpa.ca for more information.

Any written submissions you wish to provide must be delivered to CPABC (Attention: Associate Registrar) or emailed to membershipdues@bccpa.ca by no later than May 16, 2024.