A custom kitchen cabinet quote lists what will be built, what will be installed and what someone else is expected to handle. Read it line by line before you look at the total. Two quotes $8,000 apart can describe the same kitchen, or one can be pricing plywood boxes with finished panels while the other prices melamine with “panels by others” in the fine print.

Where you live changes the bottom line too. In BC, a supply-and-install contract and a supply-only order are taxed differently. Calgary has no PST at all. And since July 31, 2026, many imported wood cabinets carry a 25% federal surtax that Canadian-made cabinets don’t. This guide shows how to line quotes up so they’re comparable. Price ranges for whole projects live on our cost pages, linked at the end.

Quick answer: what to check on any cabinet quote

• Six lines should appear on every quote: boxes, doors and fronts, functional hardware, panels and fillers, measure and installation, and exclusions.
• If a line is missing, assume it isn’t included and ask.
• GST (5%) applies in both provinces. Alberta has no PST. In BC, cabinets on a supply-and-install contract don’t get a separate PST charge, while a supply-only purchase does (7%).
• Ask where the boxes are made. Imported wood cabinets from most countries carry a 25% provisional surtax until February 16, 2027 at the latest.
• Get the box material and thickness, the door construction and the finish in writing.

What should a kitchen cabinet quote include?

Cabinet boxes: material, thickness and construction

The box (the carcass) decides how the kitchen holds up over the next 20 years. A good quote names the sheet material, its thickness, the interior finish and how the back is built. The Merit Kitchens line we carry, for example, uses 5/8 in birch plywood. “Solid wood” on the doors tells you nothing about the boxes behind them.

Framed and frameless construction can both be good. Merit is a framed line and Lectus is frameless, so compare material and joinery first and treat the construction style as a design choice. Then look at the fillers. They belong at the ends of runs, beside appliances and where a wall is out of square. A layout that leans on a stack of 3 in (76 mm) fillers is charging custom prices for a stock-size compromise.

For the materials in depth, see melamine vs plywood cabinet boxes and melamine vs solid wood over 15 years.

Doors and fronts: where prices move most

A painted shaker and a rift white oak slab can sit on the same box and still be thousands of dollars apart. The quote should name the door style, the core (MDF, solid wood, one-piece or five-piece), the finish system and the sheen. “White” names a colour only. A sample reference, or a line saying the finish is approved before production, gives you something to hold the supplier to.

Drawer fronts belong in this line, along with any glass doors and who supplies the glass. A missing glass spec tends to become a change order the week the cabinets arrive.

Related reading: why one-piece vs five-piece doors matter, painted vs stained cabinets, walnut, white oak, alder and rift oak compared and painted kitchen cabinet sheen and durability.

What a linear-foot price leaves out

A price per linear foot is a useful conversation starter, but it’s rarely what you’ll sign. It usually counts the base run, sometimes the uppers, and almost never the parts that make a kitchen look finished:

• Finished ends and island panels. A peninsula you see from the living room needs a furniture-grade side.
• Fridge and dishwasher panels for panel-ready appliances. They’re doors with no box behind them, and they’re priced like doors.
• Fillers, scribes and toe kicks, which add up when the floor or ceiling is out of level.
• Crown, light rail and hood surround, which are separate trim runs.
• Tall pantries and oven towers. One tall unit can carry more box and door than four base cabinets.

If one quote is per foot and another is a lump sum, rebuild both with the six lines above before deciding which is expensive. Often the lump-sum quote simply wrote down the panels the per-foot price skipped.

Hardware, pull-outs and lighting: specified or an allowance?

Functional hardware means hinges and drawer slides, and it should be named by brand. A soft-close hinge and a full-extension undermount slide rated for a heavy pot drawer are two different things. Accessories such as a waste pull-out, a spice insert or a blind-corner unit should be listed with a width. When they show up only as a dollar allowance, the product hasn’t been chosen and the price is a guess. Our garbage and recycling pull-out guide shows how to size that bay.

Decorative pulls are usually an allowance or supplied by you. That’s fine when the allowance has a number and a finish. It’s a problem when the quote says “hardware included” and the only hardware it means is the hinges.

Under-cabinet lighting is electrical work unless the quote says the light rail is built in and the electrician runs the feed. Leave that line blank and you can end up with a cord behind a finished backsplash. Height and outlet planning for the backsplash is covered in kitchen backsplash height.

Measure, delivery, installation and deficiencies

The site measure is a separate step from the first consultation. A good quote says when it happens: after demolition, once the subfloor and windows are in, and always on site instead of from a realtor floor plan. Shop drawings follow that measure, and production should only start once you’ve signed them.

Installation should list delivery, setting, scribing and adjustment, and say whether removing the old kitchen is included. In a Vancouver condo it should also say whether the price assumes a booked elevator and floor protection. A walk-up with no parking takes a different crew day than a Calgary attached garage.

The deficiency visit is the return trip after the countertops and hardware go in. If it isn’t on the quote, ask who comes back when a door needs adjusting after the stone is set. Our custom cabinet timeline shows where each step falls.

How sales tax works on a cabinet quote in BC and Alberta

GST at 5% applies in both provinces. Alberta has no provincial sales tax, so a Calgary quote carries GST only.

In BC, the Ministry of Finance treats goods that become part of your home as real property. A contractor who supplies and installs them pays PST when buying the goods and doesn’t charge you PST on them, and installation services on site aren’t subject to PST. When you buy cabinets supply-only and someone else installs them, the seller charges 7% PST. So when you compare a BC supply-and-install quote with a supply-only quote, add 7% to the supply-only number first. If your situation is unusual, check with the BC Ministry of Finance.

Does the 2026 cabinet surtax apply to your quote?

On July 31, 2026, Canada put a provisional 25% surtax on imports of certain wood cabinets and vanities. The details that affect a homeowner:

• It covers cabinets and vanities made wholly or partly of wood and meant for permanent installation in kitchens, bathrooms or closets, plus parts such as boxes, doors, drawers, frames and end panels.
• It still applies when the cabinet arrives with a countertop, sink or faucet attached.
• Freestanding furniture, non-wood hardware (hinges, handles, knobs) and add-on organizers are excluded.
• The rate is 25% of the value for duty.
• Goods from the United States, Mexico, Chile, Israel and listed developing countries are exempt. Cabinets made in Canada aren’t imports, so it doesn’t touch them.
• It lasts up to 200 days, which means February 16, 2027 at the latest, and it ends sooner if the Canadian International Trade Tribunal finds no injury. The Tribunal expects to finish its inquiry by January 15, 2027.

Merit Kitchens and our FDC Signature line are made in BC, so the surtax doesn’t apply to them. If a quote doesn’t say where the boxes are made, ask before you compare it with a local manufacturer. There’s more detail in Canada’s 25% cabinet tariff and what it means in BC and Alberta.

Comparing an IKEA or semi-custom quote

A flat-pack quote becomes comparable once you add what it leaves out. Boxes, fronts and hinges are in the package. Cover panels, fillers, legs or toe kick, delivery, assembly and installation are often separate purchases or a second contractor. An online planner won’t price a scribed fridge panel the way a shop drawing does.

Semi-custom lines sit between stock and custom: more sizes than stock, fewer than cabinets built to your walls. Modifications, off-catalogue finishes and wider-than-standard accessories are where a semi-custom quote grows after you’ve already compared the first number.

Put every quote into the six-line table, then compare. For the long-term cost and lifespan side, see IKEA vs custom cabinets and what semi-custom cabinets are.

Questions to ask before you sign

• Where are the boxes made, and does the surtax apply?
• What’s the box material and thickness, in writing?
• Which panels and finished ends are included in this price?
• Are hinges and slides named, and are pull-outs specified with widths?
• Are demolition, countertop templating and a deficiency visit included?
• What’s the deposit, what starts production, and what happens if the site isn’t ready?
• Is the installation crew covered by WorkSafeBC in BC, or WCB-Alberta in Alberta?

If a quote can’t answer those, ask for a revised version before you compare it with anything else.

Frequently asked questions

Why are two kitchen cabinet quotes so different?

Usually because they include different things. One may cover finished panels, fillers, installation and a deficiency visit, while the other lists them as extras or leaves them out. Box material, door construction and where the cabinets are made also move the price.

Is PST charged on kitchen cabinets in BC?

On a supply-and-install contract where the cabinets become part of the home, the contractor pays PST on the materials and doesn’t charge it to you. If you buy cabinets supply-only, the seller charges 7% PST. GST at 5% applies either way.

Do Calgary cabinet quotes include PST?

No. Alberta has no provincial sales tax, so a Calgary quote carries 5% GST only.

Is a price per linear foot accurate?

It’s a rough guide. It typically leaves out finished panels, appliance panels, fillers, trim and tall cabinets, and those can add a lot to a real kitchen.

Does the cabinet tariff apply to Canadian-made cabinets?

No. The 25% surtax applies only to imported wood cabinets and vanities from countries that aren’t exempt.

Sources

• BC Ministry of Finance: Charging and collecting PST for real property contractors
• Department of Finance Canada: Provisional safeguard tariff on wood cabinets and vanities (July 31, 2026)
• Canada Border Services Agency: Customs Notice 26-17

Last reviewed October 2026. Tax and trade rules change, so check the sources before you sign.

Where the price ranges live

This page won’t give you a project total, because Vancouver cabinet packages and Calgary renovation budgets move for different reasons. Once your quotes line up, these pages help with the numbers:

• The real cost and timeline of custom kitchen cabinets in Vancouver
• Kitchen renovation cost in Calgary: realistic 2026 budget ranges
• How much a kitchen renovation costs in Canada in 2026
• 12 questions to ask a Vancouver cabinet maker

Want a quote that names every line? Request a free design estimate or browse our custom cabinets.

Final Draft Cabinetry is a kitchen and bath design studio in Burnaby, BC, serving Greater Vancouver and Calgary. We design, order, deliver and install cabinetry from Merit Kitchens, Lectus, Access and our own FDC Signature line, which is built in the Lower Mainland.