Reviewed September 11, 2026. General planning information; confirm eligibility and costs for your transaction.
Land transfer tax rebates
Eligible buyers may receive up to $4,000 of Ontario land transfer tax and up to $4,475 of Toronto municipal land transfer tax. These are maximums, limited by tax paid and ownership eligibility. Age, occupancy, citizenship or permanent residency, prior ownership anywhere in the world, and spouse/co-owner circumstances matter. Ask your lawyer to assess the actual rebate, including partial eligibility.
FHSA
An FHSA can allow deductible contributions and tax-free qualifying withdrawals. Eligibility, contribution room, account duration and withdrawal conditions must be checked; opening an account starts time limits as well as contribution room. Read CRA’s FHSA rules.
Home Buyers’ Plan
Eligible individuals can withdraw up to $60,000 from an RRSP under the HBP; two eligible buyers can each use their own limit. HBP withdrawals require repayment, generally over 15 years. CRA currently describes a fifth-year repayment start for first withdrawals from 2022 through 2028. Check your CRA statement and withdrawal conditions. Eligible HBP and FHSA withdrawals can be used for the same home. Read the HBP rules.
Down payment and amortization
For an eligible insured purchase below $1.5 million, the minimum down payment is 5% of the first $500,000 plus 10% of the balance. At $1.5 million or more, at least 20% of the entire price is needed. Insurance eligibility is not limited to first-time buyers; eligibility for an insured 30-year amortization is a separate question. Ask your lender to confirm eligibility, premiums and the cost of a longer amortization. Check minimum down payments.
First-time home buyers’ GST/HST rebate
CRA lists applications as open for the federal rebate and Ontario first-time home buyers’ rebate. The federal rebate can recover up to $50,000; Ontario’s provincial portion can be up to $80,000. Federal relief reduces above a $1 million home value and ends at $1.5 million. These programs concern eligible new, built or substantially renovated homes, not ordinary resale purchases. Buyer, contract, construction, occupancy and timing conditions apply. Existing new-housing rebates and top-ups must not be double-counted. Check CRA’s current rules before signing.
Use separate eligibility checks
“First-time buyer” does not have one definition across every program. Have your lawyer or tax adviser check each program independently, especially if you or your spouse previously owned a home outside Canada. Use rebates you have confirmed in your budget, and keep a reserve for adjustments and unexpected costs.
The first-time buyer tests are not the same
Every program below uses its own definition, its own residency condition and its own deadline. The most common planning error is assuming that qualifying for one confirms the rest.
| Program | Who counts as a first-time buyer | Window or deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Home Buyers’ Plan | CRA’s HBP conditions; withdrawals up to $60,000 per person | Repay over 15 years. A first withdrawal made between Jan 1, 2026 and Dec 31, 2028 has repayment deferred three extra years |
| FHSA | CRA’s qualifying-individual test | $8,000 room in the year you open your first account; $40,000 lifetime; carry-forward capped at $8,000 |
| Ontario land transfer tax refund | 18+, Canadian citizen or permanent resident, never owned an eligible home anywhere in the world; spouse’s ownership during the marriage also disqualifies | Occupy within 9 months; apply within 18 months of registration |
| Toronto MLTT rebate | Substantially the same conditions as the provincial refund | Apply within 18 months of the conveyance or disposition |
| First-time home buyers’ GST/HST rebate | 18+, citizen or permanent resident, and you have not lived in a home you or your spouse owned in the current calendar year or the previous four | Agreement entered on or after Mar 20, 2025 and before 2031; construction begun before 2031 and substantially complete before 2036 |
Note the difference in the last row: the provincial and municipal land transfer tax rebates ask whether you have ever owned a home anywhere in the world, while the GST/HST rebate uses a four-year look-back. Someone who owned abroad a decade ago can fail one test and pass the other. Sources: CRA HBP, CRA FHSA, Ontario LTT refund, City of Toronto MLTT rebate and CRA GST/HST rebate eligibility.
Ontario Enhanced New Housing Rebate
This one is time-limited and considerably larger than the rebate it sits on top of, which makes it worth checking early rather than at closing.
For qualifying new homes valued up to $1 million. Between $1 million and $1.5 million the rebate is a flat $80,000; between $1.5 million and $1.85 million it is partial; above $1.85 million it does not apply and only the standard Ontario new housing rebate of up to $24,000 remains.
The rebate applies to the 8% provincial portion of the HST, and the qualifying window is narrow: an agreement of purchase and sale entered into on or after April 1, 2026 and on or before March 31, 2027, or owner-built construction beginning in that same window. CRA Notice 346
Why this matters on a pre-construction purchase
New-home HST is normally built into the builder’s price on the assumption the buyer qualifies for and assigns the rebate. If you do not qualify, the builder may require the rebate amount in cash on closing. Confirm which rebates your agreement assumes before you sign, not after.
Can I combine an FHSA and the Home Buyers’ Plan?
Yes, if you satisfy each program’s qualifying withdrawal conditions. HBP amounts must be repaid under its rules; qualifying FHSA withdrawals do not require repayment.
Does one first-time buyer test apply to every program?
No. Land transfer tax rebates, the FHSA, HBP and new-home tax rebates have different tests. Check each separately.