First-Time Home Buyers’ GST/HST Rebate: Eligibility and Key Dates
Updated: Oct 4
Reviewed October 4, 2026.
The first-time home buyers' GST/HST rebate is now available, subject to its eligibility and timing conditions. It can refund up to $50,000 of GST or the federal part of HST on a qualifying new home. It is a rebate, not an automatic removal of tax from every first-time buyer's purchase.
How the maximum works
The federal rebate can provide full relief up to the $50,000 maximum for qualifying homes valued at $1 million or less. It phases out between $1 million and $1.5 million, and is unavailable at $1.5 million or more. CRA illustrates a $1.25 million home as eligible for 50% of the maximum, or $25,000, subject to the other conditions.
The existing new housing rebate and provincial rebates have separate conditions. Do not add maximum rebate amounts together without checking how they interact, or assume that the provincial portion of HST has also been eliminated.
The final agreement date is March 20, 2025
For a qualifying house and land purchased from a builder, the agreement must generally be entered into on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031. Construction or substantial renovation must begin before 2031 and be substantially completed before 2036; ownership must also transfer before 2036. The home must be intended as your primary place of residence and the relevant first-occupancy conditions must be met.
The original May 2025 announcement used a later starting date. Use the final rules rather than that announcement. Owner-built homes, leased land and co-operative shares have their own timing and eligibility rules. Do not cancel or rewrite an earlier agreement on the assumption that it will create eligibility.
Who is a first-time home buyer?
The individual must generally be at least 18 and a Canadian citizen or permanent resident at the relevant time. The residence history test asks whether they lived as their primary residence in a home they or their spouse or common-law partner owned, in Canada or abroad, in the current or previous four calendar years. Mere ownership is not the entire test.
Neither the individual nor their spouse or common-law partner can have previously received this rebate. Purchase structure, co-owners and the date on which first-time status is tested also matter. Having one qualifying name on a contract does not replace a review of the full transaction.
Before budgeting the rebate
Keep the signed agreement and amendments, closing details, construction dates, proof of occupancy and residence-history information. Confirm with the builder and your adviser who will apply, whether a credit will be provided at closing and the filing deadline. Check the current provincial rules separately.
中文要点：首次购房者 GST/HST 退税
符合条件的新建或大幅翻新住宅，可申请最高 50,000 加元的 GST 或 HST 联邦部分退税。房价不超过 100 万加元时可享最高额度；100 万至 150 万之间逐步递减，达到 150 万或以上则不适用。这是有条件的退税，不是所有首次购房交易自动免税。
向开发商购买房屋及土地时，最终规则一般要求购房协议在 2025 年 3 月 20 日或之后、2031 年之前签订，并满足开工、竣工、产权转移和首次入住条件。原先公告中的 2025 年 5 月 27 日起点已不应作为现行规则。自建住宅、租赁土地和合作公寓须另核具体条件。
首次购房资格须核查年龄、公民或永久居民身份、本人及配偶的自住历史，以及是否曾领取该项退税。仅仅没有房产登记，并不是完整的资格测试。签约和安排贷款前，应确认实际可领取的金额、申请人、申请期限和省级退税规则。
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