First-Time Home Buyers’ GST Rebate: Up to $50,000 on a New Home

New homes are subject to GST (or HST); resale homes are not. The first-time home buyers’ (FTHB) rebate removes the federal part of that tax for many first-time buyers.

How much

Price before tax	FTHB rebate
Up to $1,000,000	Full GST, up to $50,000
$1,000,000 to $1,500,000	Reduced on a straight line
$1,500,000 or more	None

Between $1 million and $1.5 million the rebate is: ($1,500,000 − price) ÷ $500,000 × GST (max $50,000). A $1,250,000 home gets half: $25,000.

The FTHB rebate tops up the regular GST/HST new housing rebate (36% of GST up to $6,300 for homes up to $350,000, phasing out at $450,000); together they can’t exceed $50,000.

Who qualifies

• You are 18 or older and a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
• You haven’t lived in a home owned by you or your spouse or common-law partner in the current calendar year or the previous four years.
• Neither of you has received an FTHB rebate before.
• You buy a new or substantially renovated home from a builder (or build one) to live in as your primary residence, and you are the first to live there.

Key dates

• Agreement of purchase and sale signed on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031
• Construction starts before 2031 and is substantially completed before 2036

Agreements signed before March 20, 2025 don’t qualify, even if amended later.

Ontario adds more

In Ontario, where HST is 13%, the provincial part can also be rebated:

• Ontario new housing rebate: 75% of the 8% provincial part, up to $24,000.
• Ontario first-time buyer rebate: up to $80,000 of the provincial part.
• Enhanced rebate and affordability payment: for agreements signed between April 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027, Ontario rebates the provincial part (up to $80,000) for any eligible buyer and pays up to $50,000 toward the federal part.

Together, a qualifying new Ontario home up to $1 million can carry no HST at all.

Estimate your rebates with the new housing rebate calculator.