Most people searching for the first time home buyer incentive are looking for CMHC’s shared-equity mortgage, and that program is closed. This calculator starts from that fact and adds up what a first-time buyer in Canada can still get today: provincial land transfer tax relief, the GST/HST rebates on new homes, and the home buyers’ tax credit. It also lists the FHSA and the Home Buyers’ Plan as ways to build the down payment, kept separate because they are savings, not rebates. Everything is calculated in the browser from the answers entered; nothing is sent anywhere.
Is the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive still available?
The First-Time Home Buyer Incentive is no longer available: CMHC stopped accepting new submissions on March 21, 2024 at midnight EST, and granted no new approvals after March 31, 2024. The incentive was a shared-equity mortgage. The government contributed part of the down payment in exchange for a share of the home’s value, repaid later under the terms of the buyer’s agreement.
Closing the program did not cancel existing agreements, so buyers who received the incentive before it closed still repay it under their original terms. For everyone else, the useful question is what took its place. No federal program uses the shared-equity design any more. Instead, first-time buyer support now comes as tax relief and rebates, which this calculator adds up:
| Program | What it is | Maximum | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| First-Time Home Buyer Incentive (CMHC) | Shared-equity mortgage | — | Closed to new submissions since March 21, 2024 |
| First-time home buyers’ GST/HST rebate | Rebate of the GST (or federal part of the HST) on a new home | $50,000 | In force; agreements signed on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031 |
| Ontario first-time home buyers’ rebate | Rebate of the 8% provincial part of the HST on a new Ontario home | $80,000 | In force; same eligibility as the federal rebate |
| Provincial land transfer tax relief | Refund, rebate or exemption on the transfer tax | $4,000 in Ontario, $4,475 more in Toronto, up to $8,000 in B.C. (whole tax on new homes up to $1,100,000), whole tax in PEI | In force in those four places only |
| Home buyers’ amount (line 31270) | Non-refundable federal tax credit | $1,400 for 2026 | In force |
| First Home Savings Account (FHSA) | Tax-free savings account for a first home | $40,000 lifetime per person | Savings, not a rebate |
| RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan | Tax-free loan from the buyer’s own RRSP | $60,000 per person | Savings, not a rebate |
How to read this table: the first row is the program most searches are about; every other row is still open. The rebates and the tax credit reduce what a buyer pays, and the calculator adds them. The last two rows help a buyer save the down payment faster, so they are listed separately.
How do you use this first-time home buyer rebates calculator?
The whole calculation needs five answers, and the results update as soon as one changes.
- Choose where the home is. Toronto is listed separately from the rest of Ontario because the city adds its own land transfer tax and its own first-time rebate.
- Enter the purchase price before GST/HST. For a new home, use the price in the agreement before tax and before any rebate the builder credits. Many builders advertise prices that already include HST net of rebates, so check the agreement.
- Pick new build or resale. The GST/HST rebates exist only for new or substantially renovated homes bought from a builder or built by the owner.
- Choose the ownership history. “Never owned” unlocks everything; “owned before, but not in the last four years” keeps the federal programs and loses provincial land transfer tax relief; a home owned and lived in within four years rules out almost everything.
- Say whether a spouse or partner who also qualifies is buying too. That doubles FHSA and Home Buyers’ Plan room but not the rebates.
Open “Residency” only if a buyer is not yet a citizen or permanent resident. Then read the summary and the four tables: every program with its eligibility note, the same purchase in every province, the savings at other prices, and the first-time test program by program.
What first-time home buyer rebates can a buyer still get in Canada?
A first-time buyer in Canada can still get up to four kinds of one-time savings, and which ones apply depends on the province and on whether the home is new. The calculator runs the same purchase, a $700,000 home bought by someone who has never owned, through every province and territory:
| Location | New home, never owned | Resale home, never owned | New home, owned more than four years ago |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto | $100,875 | $9,875 | $92,400 |
| Ontario (outside Toronto) | $96,400 | $5,400 | $92,400 |
| British Columbia | $48,400 | $9,400 | $48,400 |
| Prince Edward Island | $43,400 | $8,400 | $36,400 |
| Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, Montreal, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, the territories | $36,400 | $1,400 | $36,400 |
How to read this table: each cell is total one-time savings for the same price. The federal part (the GST rebate and the credit) is the same everywhere, so the gaps come from land transfer tax relief and Ontario’s HST rebate. New homes dominate because the sales tax rebates are the largest programs, and resale buyers outside Ontario, B.C. and PEI get only the federal credit from the programs counted here. Three provincial extras are left out of the table: Saskatchewan’s first-time homebuyers amount on the provincial tax return, the credit Quebec has announced to reimburse part of the transfer duties, and Nova Scotia’s first-time HST rebate on newly built homes (up to $3,000).
For the land transfer tax itself, before and after relief, the land transfer tax calculator shows each bracket. Ontario buyers get a closer look in the planned Ontario first-time home buyer rebates calculator, and B.C. buyers in the B.C. first-time home buyer version.
Who counts as a first-time home buyer?
A first-time home buyer is defined differently by each program, and this is the most common reason a buyer qualifies for one program and not another. The federal programs use a four-year test; the provinces use a never-owned test.
| Program | First-time test | Other key conditions |
|---|---|---|
| GST/HST rebate (federal) and Ontario first-time HST rebate | Did not live in a home owned by the buyer or a spouse or common-law partner this year or in the previous four calendar years; never received the rebate before | 18 or older; citizen or permanent resident; new home as primary residence; first to occupy it |
| Home buyers’ amount (tax credit) | Same four-year test | A person with a disability can qualify without meeting it |
| FHSA (to open) | Same four-year test | Resident of Canada; 18 or older |
| Home Buyers’ Plan | Same four-year test | Exceptions for a disability or a marriage breakdown |
| Ontario refund and Toronto rebate | Never owned a home, or an interest in one, anywhere in the world; a spouse must not have owned one while married to the buyer | Citizen or permanent resident within 18 months; move in within nine months |
| B.C. first time home buyers’ exemption | Never owned a principal residence anywhere; never received the exemption | Citizen or permanent resident; 12 months in B.C. or 2 B.C. tax returns; move in within 92 days |
| B.C. newly built home exemption | No first-time test | Citizen or permanent resident; new home as principal residence |
| PEI first-time exemption | Never held a registered interest in a principal residence | Every buyer must qualify; 6 months in PEI or 2 PEI tax returns |
How to read this table: someone who sold a home six years ago and has rented since passes the four-year test but fails every never-owned test. In Toronto that buyer keeps the federal programs and loses $8,475 of land transfer tax relief. The calculator’s ownership question applies these rules automatically.
How much is the first-time home buyer GST/HST rebate?
The first-time home buyers’ GST/HST rebate returns the GST, or the 5% federal part of the HST, on a newly built home valued at $1,000,000 or less, up to $50,000. Between $1,000,000 and $1,500,000 the rebate shrinks in a straight line, and at $1,500,000 or more there is none. CRA’s own worked example is a $1.25 million new home, the midpoint of that band, which gets $25,000, half the maximum; the calculator returns the same figure.
The rebate is in force: the law creating it received Royal Assent on March 12, 2026, and CRA is accepting applications. It applies to agreements with a builder signed on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031, and to owner-built homes whose construction starts in that window. It tops up the older GST/HST new housing rebate, so the two together never exceed the GST paid. The planned guide to the first-time home buyers’ GST/HST rebate covers the builder credit and the application forms.
Ontario adds its own first-time rebate of the 8% provincial part of the HST, up to $80,000, with the same eligibility conditions. At $1,000,000 or less it returns the whole provincial part. Between $1,000,000 and $1,500,000 it is partial; CRA’s guide prints only its minimum, the lesser of 75% of the provincial part and $24,000, so the calculator counts that minimum and marks the total with a ”+”. Ontario’s enhanced new housing rebate, open to any buyer who signs an agreement from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027, covers the full provincial part up to $80,000 on homes up to $1,500,000 and a partial amount up to $1,850,000, and the regular Ontario new housing rebate gives 75% of the provincial part up to $24,000. Buyers eligible for the enhanced rebate can also receive Ontario’s new home affordability payment, up to $50,000 of the 5% federal part that the federal rebates do not cover, paid by the province. None of these three requires first-time status, so they are described in the results but not added to this first-time total.
Here is how the savings move with price for a first-time buyer of a new home in Toronto:
| Price | Land transfer tax relief | Federal GST/HST rebate | Ontario HST rebate | Tax credit | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $400,000 | $8,475 | $20,000 | $32,000 | $1,400 | $61,875 |
| $600,000 | $8,475 | $30,000 | $48,000 | $1,400 | $87,875 |
| $800,000 | $8,475 | $40,000 | $64,000 | $1,400 | $113,875 |
| $1,000,000 | $8,475 | $50,000 | $80,000 | $1,400 | $139,875 |
| $1,250,000 | $8,475 | $25,000 | $24,000+ | $1,400 | $58,875+ |
| $1,500,000 | $8,475 | $0 | $0 | $1,400 | $9,875 |
How to read this table: read down to see where each program caps. The sales tax rebates grow with the price up to $1,000,000, then fall away quickly; the land transfer tax relief is already at its maximum at every price shown. Crossing $1,000,000 by even a small amount shrinks both first-time HST rebates. In Ontario, an agreement signed from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027 can make up the difference through the enhanced new housing rebate (full provincial part up to $1,500,000) and the new home affordability payment, which this first-time total does not count.
Worked examples: Toronto, B.C. and Alberta
A couple buying a new condo in Toronto. Two first-time buyers who have never owned sign with a builder for a $700,000 condo:
- Ontario land transfer tax is $10,475 and Toronto’s municipal tax is the same $10,475. The Ontario refund ($4,000) and Toronto rebate ($4,475) take off $8,475.
- GST on the price is $35,000, fully rebated because the price is below $1,000,000.
- The 8% provincial part of the HST is $56,000, fully rebated because it is under the $80,000 cap.
- The home buyers’ amount is shared: one $10,000 claim, worth $1,400.
- Total one-time savings: $100,875. Separately, the couple can hold up to $80,000 of FHSA contributions over time and withdraw up to $120,000 from their RRSPs under the Home Buyers’ Plan for the down payment.
A single buyer of a resale home in B.C. A first-time buyer pays $650,000 for a resale townhouse. Property transfer tax is $11,000; the first time home buyers’ exemption takes off $8,000 because the price is between $500,000 and $835,000, leaving $3,000 to pay. Resale means no GST rebate, so the total is $9,400. At $850,000 the exemption is already phasing out and is worth only $3,200.
A couple buying a new home in Alberta. Alberta has no land transfer tax, only land titles fees, and no first-time relief on them. On a $500,000 new home, the GST is $25,000 and is fully rebated, and the tax credit adds $1,400, for $26,400. If the same couple bought a resale home instead, only the $1,400 credit would apply. The Alberta mortgage calculator estimates the payment and closing costs for a purchase there, land titles fees included.
How does the calculator work out the total?
In plain English, the calculator does four things and adds them up. First, it runs the land transfer tax for the location with the same official brackets as the land transfer tax calculator, and subtracts the first-time relief the buyer’s history allows: Ontario’s refund (the smaller of the tax and $4,000), Toronto’s rebate (up to $4,475), B.C.’s first-time or newly built exemption from its property transfer tax (whichever is larger), or PEI’s full exemption.
Second, for a new home, it multiplies the price by the 5% GST rate and applies the federal rebate: the whole GST up to $50,000 at $1,000,000 or less; between $1,000,000 and $1,500,000, the lesser of $50,000 and the GST paid, times the distance below $1,500,000 divided by $500,000; nothing above. Third, in Ontario, it multiplies the price by the 8% provincial part and applies the Ontario first-time rebate, capped at $80,000, using the published minimum in the partial band. Fourth, it adds the tax credit: $10,000 times the 14% lowest federal rate.
The FHSA and Home Buyers’ Plan are shown with their limits per person and are never added, because they return the buyer’s own savings rather than reducing the cost of the home. Every rate, cap and threshold comes from a verified rule file with its official source, listed in the sources box on this page.
Are the FHSA and the Home Buyers’ Plan first-time home buyer rebates?
The FHSA and the Home Buyers’ Plan are not rebates: they are ways to save the down payment with tax help, and they can be combined for the same home. The FHSA allows $8,000 of contributions a year, up to $40,000 over a lifetime, with a deduction for each contribution and a tax-free withdrawal for a qualifying home. The Home Buyers’ Plan lets each buyer withdraw up to $60,000 from their own RRSP tax-free, repaid over up to 15 years. The FHSA guide covers how the room builds up, and the Home Buyers’ Plan guide explains the repayment schedule.
How much these are worth depends on the buyer’s tax bracket and how long the money is invested, which is why the calculator lists them rather than putting a dollar value on them. Once the down payment is in sight, the mortgage affordability calculator shows what price the income supports, and the CMHC insurance calculator adds the premium on a down payment under 20 percent.
Common first-time home buyer rebate mistakes
- Waiting for the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive to reopen. It closed in March 2024 and the programs above are what exists now.
- Assuming “first-time” means the same thing everywhere. Owning a home years ago can keep the federal programs but rule out Ontario, Toronto, B.C. and PEI land transfer tax relief.
- Comparing a builder’s HST-included price with a resale price. A new-home price that already nets out the rebates has the savings built in; entering it as the pre-tax price double counts.
- Crossing $1,000,000 on a new home. Upgrades that push the value over the limit shrink both the federal rebate and Ontario’s first-time HST rebate. In Ontario, check whether the agreement date qualifies for the enhanced new housing rebate, which reaches higher prices.
- Counting the FHSA or Home Buyers’ Plan as free money. They are the buyer’s own savings; the Home Buyers’ Plan has to be repaid.
- Putting a parent on title without checking. A parent who has owned a home reduces the land transfer tax relief to the first-time buyer’s share.
- Expecting the tax credit to arrive as a cheque. It is non-refundable and only reduces federal tax owed.
When is it worth talking to a lawyer, builder or accountant?
A real estate lawyer (a notary in Quebec) claims the land transfer tax relief at registration and confirms the numbers at closing, so the final amount always comes from them. Checking early makes sense when a parent or partner who has owned before will be on title, when a buyer is not yet a permanent resident, or when the agreement was signed near a program’s start or end date. The builder usually credits the GST/HST rebates on the statement of adjustments, so ask how the price was quoted. An accountant can confirm whether the tax credit will be usable and how to split it between partners. The planned guide to land transfer tax rebates for first-time buyers covers the claim deadlines, and the newcomer guides explain the residency steps that come first. This page is education, not tax, legal or financial advice.
Where do these first-time home buyer figures come from?
Every figure comes from official pages: CMHC for the closed First-Time Home Buyer Incentive; the Canada Revenue Agency for the GST/HST rebates (including Guide RC4028 for the Ontario rebates), the home buyers’ amount, the FHSA and the Home Buyers’ Plan; the Department of Finance for the 2026 credit rate; and the Ontario Ministry of Finance, the City of Toronto, the Province of British Columbia and the Government of Prince Edward Island for land transfer tax relief. Each rule sits in a versioned data file with the date it took effect and the date it was last checked; when a rule changes, the calculator, the tables and this page update together.