First-Time Home Buyers in Canada
FHSA, HBP, rebates, rent vs buy and the order of operations.
Buying a first home in Canada involves more programs than most people realize: the First Home Savings Account (FHSA), the Home Buyers' Plan (HBP), first-time buyer rebates and credits, and provincial programs. This hub is for anyone planning a first purchase who wants them in the right order.
Start with the first-time buyer guide, then the FHSA sequencing and HBP guides. The rent versus buy calculator and decision guide help you test whether buying makes sense at all at today's prices. Each program is linked to the CRA, CMHC or provincial page that sets it, with the year named.
Closing costs and land transfer tax have their own hub, and mortgages have theirs.
What this hub helps you decide:
- Should I use the FHSA, the HBP or both?
- What order do I save, qualify and buy in?
- Which first-time buyer rebates apply to me?
- Does buying beat renting for me?
Updated November 2026 · 6 guides by Andrew
Start here
- First-Time Home Buyer Guide Canada (2026): FHSA, HBP, Rebates, and Order of Operations
- FHSA to Home Purchase: The Sequencing, Not the Tax Brochure
- The Home Buyers' Plan (HBP): Withdrawal Limit, Repayment, and FHSA Stacking
- Rent vs Buy in Canada: The Decision Guide Behind the Calculator
- The First-Time Home Buyers' GST/HST Rebate (Up to $50,000) and Ontario's Extra Rebate
New to real estate? Read the overview first: The Canadian Mortgage Guide: Rates, Terms, Renewal, and Prepayment.
All First-Time Buyers guides
The First-Time Home Buyers' GST/HST Rebate (Up to $50,000) and Ontario's Extra Rebate
The federal first-time buyers’ GST/HST rebate can return up to $50,000 on a new home. Ontario’s enhanced rebate is a separate, dated top-up.
Rent vs Buy in Canada: The Decision Guide Behind the Calculator
Rent versus buy is an ending-wealth test. The calculator runs the dollars. This page is the list of assumptions that flip the sign, and the costs the tool leaves out.
First-Time Home Buyer Guide Canada (2026): FHSA, HBP, Rebates, and Order of Operations
In 2026 the first-home stack is an FHSA at $8,000 a year and $40,000 lifetime, an HBP withdrawal up to $60,000, a $10,000 home buyers' amount worth $1,400 at the 14% federal rate, and CMHC insurance under a $1.5 million cap.
The Home Buyers' Plan (HBP): Withdrawal Limit, Repayment, and FHSA Stacking
The Home Buyers' Plan limit is $60,000 per person. CRA says a first withdrawal in 2026 starts the 15-year repayment in 2031, so a full withdrawal is $4,000 a year. You can also withdraw from an FHSA for the same home.
Rent vs Buy in Canada: Calculator and the Assumptions That Decide It
Compare ending wealth for renting and buying on assumptions you type: down payment, Canadian mortgage rate, appreciation, maintenance, property tax, closing costs, and the return on money not used to buy.
FHSA to Home Purchase: The Sequencing, Not the Tax Brochure
First-home order of operations: when to open an FHSA, when to contribute, when to withdraw, and where the Home Buyers' Plan fits.