First-time home buyer GST rebate — A new GST rebate for first-time home buyers, worth up to $50,000
Quick answer: First-time home buyers pay no GST (or no federal part of the HST) on a new home valued up to $1 million, and a reduced amount on a new home valued between $1 million and $1.5 million. The maximum saving is $50,000.
How it works
A newly built home carries GST, or the federal part of HST; a resale home does not. Buy from a builder and the GST is usually folded into the quoted price rather than added at closing, which is why buyers often miss it.
This rebate removes that tax for first-time buyers. On a new home valued up to $1 million, a first-time buyer pays no GST at all. The maximum saving is $50,000.
Between $1 million and $1.5 million the rebate reduces on a straight line rather than disappearing at a cliff edge. A home at the midpoint of that range — $1.25 million — attracts roughly half the relief. Above $1.5 million there is none.
This is a new and separate rebate. The long-standing GST/HST new housing rebate still exists and works differently; this one sits alongside it rather than replacing it.
How it applies to you
First-time buyers purchasing a newly built or substantially renovated home, or having one built for them. A resale home is outside it entirely, because there was no GST to rebate in the first place.
It is available once per individual. Someone whose spouse or partner has already claimed it is not eligible — the claim attaches to the person, and a couple gets one between them.
Builders need to know it exists even though they are not claiming it, because it changes how a sale is priced and documented.
How to calculate it
The relief depends entirely on the home’s value:
| Step | Detail |
|---|---|
| Value up to $1 million | full relief — no GST, up to $50,000 saved |
| Value between $1 million and $1.5 million | reduces on a straight line as value rises |
| Value at $1.25 million | the midpoint, so roughly half the relief |
| Value above $1.5 million | no relief |
Eligibility turns on the date of the agreement of purchase and sale, not closing. The rebate covers agreements on or after 20 March 2025 and before 2031, so a February 2025 signing that closed in 2026 does not qualify.
What changed
Separate from the GST/HST new housing rebate, it gives full relief below $1 million, phasing out on a straight line, so a $1.25 million home gets roughly half. One claim per individual, and none if a spouse or partner has claimed.
What to do
Check the paperwork date first. Eligibility turns on when the agreement was signed, and that is the one fact that cannot be changed later.
If you are buying with a partner, establish whether either of you has claimed it before. One claim per individual means a prior claim by either person can remove it for both.
On a new build the GST is usually inside the price the builder quoted, so the rebate can feel invisible. Ask the builder to show how it has been treated in the agreement rather than assuming it has been applied.
The practical point. Eligibility turns on the date of the agreement of purchase and sale, not the closing date. Agreements before 20 March 2025 do not qualify, so the paperwork date is the first thing to check.
The rebate is claimed separately from the income tax return, but the eligibility tests overlap with it; personal tax help can check both at once.
The terms used on this page
- GST/HST new housing rebate
- A long-standing, separate rebate on new homes. It still exists and is not the same as this one.
- Substantially renovated
- A renovation extensive enough that the home is treated as new for GST purposes.
- Agreement of purchase and sale
- The signed contract to buy. Its date, not the closing date, decides eligibility here.
Common questions about first-time home buyer GST rebate
Which date decides whether I qualify?+
Is this the same as the existing new housing rebate?+
What if my home costs more than $1 million?+
Can my spouse and I both claim it?+
Where this comes from
Every figure on this page is taken from the source below, not from interpretation:
General information, not tax advice. This page explains a change in general terms. It cannot account for your circumstances and does not create a professional relationship. Confirm anything that affects a decision — send an enquiry.
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