The First-Time Home Buyers' GST/HST Rebate (Up to $50,000) and Ontario's Extra Rebate
- The first-time home buyers' GST/HST rebate can recover up to 100 percent of the GST, or the federal part of the HST, up to $50,000. CRA says that full rebate applies at a value at or below $1 million. Between $1 million and $1.5 million the maximum is gradually reduced. At or above $1.5 million there is no rebate.
- CRA's own example: a new home valued at $1.25 million is the midpoint and is eligible for 50 percent of the $50,000 maximum, which is $25,000, when the other conditions are met.
- For a purchase from a builder, the agreement has to be on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031. Construction has to begin before 2031 and be substantially completed before 2036, and ownership has to transfer before 2036. Owner-built homes use a construction-start window of the same dates. Royal Assent was March 12, 2026. The usual filing window is two years from ownership or possession, depending on the application type.
- Ontario's first-time buyers' rebate, noted on CRA's FTHB overview, can rebate up to $80,000 of the provincial part of the HST and follows the federal eligibility conditions.
- Ontario's enhanced new housing rebate is a different program. Notice 346 (August 2026) ties builder agreements and owner-built starts to April 1, 2026 through March 31, 2027. Combined with the existing Ontario new housing rebate, relief on the 8 percent provincial part can reach $80,000. It is not limited to first-time buyers.
The purchase sequence around accounts and down payments is the first-time home buyer guide. The older GST/HST new housing rebate, the one that was already on the books, is discussed in grants beyond the FHSA. This page is the 2025–2031 federal rebate and the Ontario window that sits on top of it. The FHSA and the Home Buyers' Plan are cash for the down payment. They are not this rebate. Sequence them in FHSA purchase sequencing and the Home Buyers' Plan guide.
Who is the rebate actually for?
CRA's "who can apply" page is the test, and it is longer than a headline. For a house bought from a builder, the conditions in the page reviewed include: you meet the existing new-housing-rebate tests, or you would meet them if the maximum consideration were $1.5 million instead of $450,000; the agreement with the builder is dated on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031; construction or substantial renovation begins before 2031 and is substantially completed before 2036; ownership transfers before 2036; you are buying it as your primary place of residence; and you are the first individual to occupy it as a residence after substantial completion. Owner-built homes shift the March 20, 2025 date onto the start of construction, still before 2031, with substantial completion before 2036. Guide RC4028 adds that you have not already received this rebate.
Do not paste the Home Buyers' Plan definition of "first-time" onto this form and assume the sentences match. Read the GST page. A person who owned a home, or whose spouse did, can fail one program and pass the other. Substantial renovation has its own CRA meaning, generally a renovation that removes or replaces at least 90 percent of the building other than the structural shell. A kitchen and a bathroom are not a substantial renovation because the invoice was large.
A used residential complex is generally an exempt supply. No GST/HST is charged, so there is no GST/HST to rebate. The $50,000 figure does not come off the price of a resale condo. If a builder is selling a new unit, tax is in the deal, and the rebate is a claim against that tax. If you are not sure which contract you signed, the lawyer's statement of adjustments is the document, not the listing photo.
I ran the numbers on CRA's midpoint
CRA's "what is the rebate" page does the midpoint for you. A new home valued at $1.25 million sits halfway between $1 million and $1.5 million. The page says the buyer is eligible for 50 percent of the $50,000 maximum, which is $25,000, when the other conditions are met. This article does not invent a formula past that example. Guide RC4028 is the line-by-line calculation, including whether the value is the builder's consideration or a fair-market-value test for an owner-built house. Use the guide's worksheet. Do not scale $50,000 by a ratio you built in a note app and hand it to a builder.
| Value CRA describes | Federal rebate |
|---|---|
| At or below $1 million | Up to 100 percent of the GST or the federal part of the HST, maximum $50,000 |
| $1.25 million, CRA's worked midpoint | $25,000, which is half of the $50,000 maximum, if the other conditions are met |
| Between $1 million and $1.5 million | Maximum gradually reduced. Do not interpolate past the example without RC4028 |
| At or above $1.5 million | No FTHB GST/HST rebate |
Five percent of $1,000,000 is $50,000. That is why the cap and the "$1 million" band meet. It is not a promise that every contract priced at $1,000,000 produces a $50,000 cheque. Assignment deals, rebates the builder already credited, and the existing new housing rebate, which this rebate tops up when both apply, all change the form. CRA says where both the existing new housing rebate and the FTHB rebate apply, the FTHB rebate acts as a top-up. You do not add two marketing numbers and call it $50,000 plus the old rebate without the worksheet.
These are not listings. They are a teaching contrast. Case A is a resale condo at $900,000 with no GST/HST on the purchase because the supply is exempt. The federal rebate is zero. Case B is a new condo from a builder, agreement dated after March 20, 2025 and before 2031, valued under $1 million, buyer qualifies, and GST or the federal part of the HST was charged. The federal rebate can be up to 100 percent of that federal tax, capped at $50,000. The cash due on closing still includes everything in the closing cost guide, and the mortgage math is unchanged by a rebate the builder has not yet credited. If the builder credits the rebate at closing, the funds you need are lower. If the builder does not, you pay the tax and file. CMHC insurance, if the down payment requires it, is a separate premium. It is the mortgage insurance guide, not a housing rebate.
Ontario is two programs, and they do not stack without a cap
CRA's FTHB overview says the Ontario first-time home buyers' rebate provides up to $80,000 of the provincial part of the HST and follows the federal FTHB eligibility conditions. That is the first-time program. Notice 346, GST/HST Notice, August 2026, describes a second program: the Ontario enhanced new housing rebate. Together with the existing Ontario new housing rebate, it can relieve up to $80,000 of the 8 percent provincial part of the HST on a new or substantially renovated home valued up to $1,850,000, for use as the buyer's or a relation's primary place of residence. Builder agreements entered into on or after April 1, 2026 and on or before March 31, 2027 can qualify, with further dates: construction begun by December 31, 2028, substantially completed by December 31, 2031, consideration under $1,850,000, and tax payable by December 31, 2032. Owner-built homes look at a construction start inside April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027, substantial completion before 2030, and fair market value under $1,850,000. An agreement signed before April 1, 2026 that is later varied is deemed, for this rebate, to have been entered into before April 1, 2026. You do not amend your way in.
| New home value | What Notice 346 says |
|---|---|
| Up to $1 million | Full rebate: 100 percent of the 8 percent provincial part, maximum $80,000, together with the existing Ontario new housing rebate |
| Above $1 million up to $1.5 million | Flat rebate of $80,000 |
| Above $1.5 million and below $1.85 million | Partial rebate of the 8 percent provincial part |
| $1.85 million and above | No enhanced rebate. The Ontario new housing rebate of up to $24,000 can still be the one that remains |
If you qualify for both the enhanced rebate and the Ontario first-time buyers' rebate on the 8 percent, Notice 346 says you can claim either or both, and the total of all rebates of that 8 percent cannot exceed the lesser of $80,000 and the provincial HST payable. The two Ontario programs do not become $160,000.
The Ontario new home affordability payment is provincial, not a CRA rebate. Notice 346 says it provides up to $50,000, equivalent to up to 100 percent of the 5 percent federal part, for someone who is also entitled to the enhanced rebate. It is reduced by the federal part of any new housing rebate or FTHB GST/HST rebate the person is entitled to. A first-time buyer who can claim the full federal rebate has to claim that first. Whatever federal tax is left, if any, is what the affordability payment can still cover. A buyer who is not a first-time buyer can be in the enhanced rebate and in the affordability payment without the federal FTHB rebate eating the payment. Consent on the GST190 or GST191 lets CRA share details with Ontario. ServiceOntario's number on the notice is 1-800-267-8097. There is no separate CRA form just for the payment.
How the claim actually gets filed
- Read the agreement date out loud. March 20, 2025 and April 1, 2026 are different gates for different rebates.
- Ask the builder, in writing, which rebates they will credit on the statement of adjustments. A credit you already received is not a second application.
- If the builder credits the federal and Ontario rebates, the builder files GST190 and, in Ontario, RC7190-ON with the GST/HST return. Electronic filing for the enhanced rebate was not available on the CRA page reviewed. The builder cannot deduct the Ontario affordability payment on the GST/HST return. Ontario pays that.
- If the builder does not credit a rebate you are entitled to, you file. CRA's application page says you generally have two years from ownership or possession, depending on the application type. A purchase that closed before Royal Assent on March 12, 2026 can be the subject of a later FTHB application inside that two-year limit.
- Owner-builders use GST191 and, in Ontario, RC7191-ON. The dates are construction dates, not the day you bought the lot.
- Keep the occupancy document. "First occupant" and "primary place of residence" are facts with evidence, not moods.
Frequently asked questions
Does the $50,000 come off a resale purchase?
No. The rebate recovers GST or the federal part of the HST on a new or substantially renovated home. A resale that is an exempt supply did not charge that tax. There is nothing to rebate.
Is a $1.25 million new home worth $25,000 back?
That is CRA's midpoint example, and only when the other conditions are met. It is 50 percent of the $50,000 maximum. It is not an automatic credit on every contract that says $1.25 million. Use RC4028 for the actual base.
Can I get Ontario's enhanced rebate and the first-time provincial rebate?
Notice 346 says you can claim either or both if you qualify for both, and that every rebate of the 8 percent provincial part together cannot exceed the lesser of $80,000 and the provincial HST. The enhanced window is agreements or construction starts from April 1, 2026 through March 31, 2027, plus the completion dates in the notice.
Does the Ontario affordability payment double the federal $50,000?
No. It is reduced by the federal new-housing rebate and the federal FTHB rebate you are entitled to. A first-time buyer who receives the full federal rebate may have little or nothing left in the affordability payment. The payment is for the federal tax the other rebates did not already return.
How long do I have to apply?
CRA's builder-purchase instructions say you generally have up to two years from ownership or possession, depending on the application type. Builder-credited rebates are filed by the builder with the return. Do not wait out the two years if the builder was supposed to credit you and did not. Ask while the file is still warm.
Does this replace the FHSA or the Home Buyers' Plan?
No. Those are withdrawals and contributions inside registered accounts. This is a sales-tax rebate on new housing. A buyer can use more than one, if each program's own test is met. None of them relaxes the mortgage stress test.
Sources
- CRA: first-time home buyers' GST/HST rebate overview, including the Ontario first-time rebate of up to $80,000
- CRA: what the rebate is, including the $1.25 million example
- CRA: who can apply
- CRA: applying when you bought from a builder, including Royal Assent on March 12, 2026 and the two-year limit
- CRA GST/HST Notice 346: Ontario enhanced new housing rebate, August 2026
- CRA Guide RC4028: GST/HST new housing rebate
