First-Time Home Buyers' GST/HST Rebate

The First-Time Home Buyers' GST/HST Rebate is a federal program enacted by Bill C-4 with Royal Assent on March 12, 2026. It rebates 100% of the 5% federal GST (or the federal portion of HST) on newly-built homes purchased by eligible first-time buyers — a maximum rebate of $50,000 on a home at the $1,000,000 ceiling. The rebate phases out linearly between $1M and $1.5M, with no rebate above $1.5M. Eligibility requires the buyer to be 18+, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and not to have owned or occupied a home — anywhere in the world — in the current calendar year or any of the 4 preceding calendar years; the spouse or common-law partner's ownership history also counts. The home must be a primary residence and the buyer must be its first occupant. Agreements of purchase and sale must be signed between March 20, 2025 and December 31, 2030; construction must begin before 2031 and substantial completion before 2036. Resale homes do not qualify — only new builds, substantial renovations, certain owner-built homes, and qualifying co-op shares. In Ontario, a separate temporary Enhanced HST Rebate stacks on the 8% provincial portion (up to $80,000), bringing combined HST/GST relief on a $1M Ontario new build to ~$130,000. The new rebate is roughly 8× more generous than the legacy GST/HST New Housing Rebate it effectively supersedes for qualifying FTHBs.