SURREY, B.C. - “Free business licences for the first two years for every new business” is commitment number 14 on Surrey’s new council list, and it is one of the motions coming to council’s first regular meeting on Monday, November 9. If you are about to start a Surrey business, here is what is promised, what the rules are today, and the two tax thresholds every side business needs to know.
The promise, and what still has to happen
The commitment appears in the City’s November 3 statement of the 15 promises the new council was elected on, and the mayor’s official City page lists “no business licence fees for new businesses in their first two years” as a key project for the term. A motion to proceed starts the work. Turning it into law takes a bylaw and fee change after that, and until that happens, the current rules apply in full: the City’s licensing pages state that every business operating in Surrey must hold a valid licence, and licences are paid today.
The licence rules that apply right now
The City licenses three types of businesses: commercial and industrial businesses, home-based businesses, and non-resident businesses. Two points catch people out. A business run from your kitchen table still needs a home-based business licence; a side hustle is not exempt. And a business with no physical location in Surrey that performs services in the city still needs a Surrey licence.
If your work is mobile, there is a second licence to know about. Surrey participates in two Inter-Municipal Business Licence programs, the Fraser Valley IMBL and the Metro-West IMBL, for trades contractors and other construction-related professionals who provide services away from their fixed location. The IMBL is in addition to your regular licence, is applied for in your home municipality, and costs $300, valid for one year from application.
The $30,000 rule: when GST enters the picture
City Hall is only the first layer. The Canada Revenue Agency treats you as a “small supplier,” with no obligation to register for GST/HST, while your worldwide taxable supplies are $30,000 or less over the previous four consecutive calendar quarters. Cross that line in a single quarter and you stop being a small supplier with the very sale that crosses it, and must charge GST/HST from that sale. Registration is due within 29 days of ceasing to be a small supplier. Registering voluntarily before the threshold is allowed, and it lets you claim input tax credits on what the business buys.
What it means for you
If the licence break becomes law, new Surrey businesses could save their first two years of licence fees, real money for a startup, but it changes nothing today. Licence first, then watch the $30,000 line as sales grow. This article is general information, not business or tax advice; requirements vary by business type, and the City’s licensing office and your accountant are the authorities for your situation.
(Source: City of Surrey business licensing pages and November 3, 2026 commitments statement, and Canada Revenue Agency GST/HST Memorandum 2-2, “Small suppliers,” accessed November 7, 2026)
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