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Get My Free Estimate →There are four programmes, not one, and three different date windows. The federal First-Time Home Buyers’ GST Rebate is worth up to $50,000 and needs an agreement signed on or after 20 March 2025. The Ontario first-time buyer HST rebate is worth up to $80,000 and needs one on or after 27 May 2025. The Ontario Enhanced New Housing Rebate is also up to $80,000, is not limited to first-time buyers, and needs one between 1 April 2026 and 31 March 2027. The long-standing Ontario new housing rebate is up to $24,000 with no window. The two Ontario programmes do not stack with each other — total provincial relief is capped at $80,000 — but the federal one stacks on top, to $130,000 on a qualifying home at $1 million. Run your own numbers in the checker above.
There are four separate new-home tax rebates operating in Ontario right now. They have different eligibility tests, different ceilings and four different date windows, and they are routinely confused with each other in print — including by people whose job it is to know. I built the checker below because explaining this in a paragraph does not work. You have to run your own numbers through it to see where you land.
New-home HST relief: eligibility checker
Six questions. It tells you which of the four programmes you are likely to fall inside, and the ceiling each one sets. It does not calculate your rebate — only the CRA can do that, and the answer turns on the wording of your agreement.
If you are building yourself, use the date construction began.
This is the CRA first-time buyer test. Ownership anywhere in the world counts, and living in it as your primary residence is the trigger.
It is once in a lifetime, and a claim by either partner uses it up for both.
Nothing you type here is sent anywhere. The calculation runs in your browser and nothing is stored, logged or transmitted. Figures are the published maximums as at 30 August 2026, from the CRA, the Ontario Budget and the 2025 Ontario Economic Outlook. This is not tax advice.
The four programmes, side by side
| Federal FTHB GST Rebate | Ontario FTHB HST Rebate | Ontario Enhanced New Housing Rebate | Ontario New Housing Rebate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum | $50,000 | $80,000 | $80,000 | $24,000 |
| What it rebates | The 5 per cent federal GST | The 8 per cent provincial part of the HST | The 8 per cent provincial part of the HST | 75 per cent of the 8 per cent provincial part |
| First-time buyers only? | Yes | Yes | No — any purchaser | No |
| Agreement date window | On or after 20 Mar 2025, before 2031 | On or after 27 May 2025 | 1 Apr 2026 to 31 Mar 2027 | No window |
| Full relief up to | $1,000,000, then phases out to nil at $1,500,000 | $1,000,000, then reduced | $1,000,000, then flat $80,000 to $1,500,000, partial to $1,850,000 | Standard thresholds |
| Primary residence required? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Once in a lifetime? | Yes | Yes | No | No |
The two Ontario programmes do not stack with each other. CRA’s guide RC4028 puts it plainly: where you are eligible for both, you may claim either or both, but the total relief on the 8 per cent provincial part cannot exceed the lesser of $80,000 and the provincial tax you actually paid. What does stack is the federal rebate on top of whichever Ontario one applies — up to $130,000 on a qualifying home at $1 million, which is the full 13 per cent HST.
Three dates, and every one of them catches somebody
This is where the money is lost, so it is worth being slow about it.
| If your agreement is dated | Federal FTHB rebate | Ontario FTHB rebate | Ontario ENHR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 20 Mar 2025 | No | No | No |
| 20 Mar 2025 to 26 May 2025 | Yes | No | No |
| 27 May 2025 to 31 Mar 2026 | Yes | Yes | No |
| 1 Apr 2026 to 31 Mar 2027 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 1 Apr 2027 to end of 2030 | Yes | Yes | No |
The federal window opens on 20 March 2025, not 27 May 2025. The May date came from the Department of Finance news release announcing the proposal. The measure was enacted in Bill C-4, which received Royal Assent on 12 March 2026, and both the Royal Assent release and CRA’s Excise and GST/HST News No. 122 use 20 March 2025. The current CRA eligibility page does not mention 27 May 2025 anywhere.
If you signed with a builder between 20 March and 26 May 2025 and someone told you that you missed the window, they were reading a superseded press release. Check again. Confusingly, 27 May 2025 is the right date — for the Ontario first-time buyer rebate. Two governments, two dates, ten weeks apart.
The other deadlines, which are easy to miss
Both of the big programmes have construction and completion deadlines behind the agreement date, and a pre-construction purchase can fail them without anyone noticing until it is too late.
| Deadline | Federal FTHB rebate | Ontario ENHR |
|---|---|---|
| Agreement of purchase and sale | On or after 20 Mar 2025, before 2031 | 1 Apr 2026 to 31 Mar 2027 |
| Construction begins | Before 2031 | On or before 31 Dec 2028 |
| Substantially completed | Before 2036 | On or before 31 Dec 2031 |
| Ownership transferred / tax payable | Before 2036 | Tax payable by 31 Dec 2032 |
On a project with a long horizon, the completion deadline is the one to watch. A tower that sells in 2026 and completes in 2033 sits inside the federal window and outside the Ontario ENHR one.
What the checker deliberately will not do
It will not put a number on Ontario relief above $1 million. The ENHR has a defined shape up to $1.5 million and a partial band to $1.85 million that CRA does not reduce to a formula I can verify; the Ontario first-time buyer rebate is described as “reduced for higher-valued new homes” with no published formula at all. Putting a figure on either would be inventing one.
It will not tell you whether your builder is crediting the rebate at closing or whether you are claiming it yourself, which changes your cash position materially even when the rebate amount is identical. And it will not tell you whether your particular agreement qualifies, because that is a question about the document, not about the price.
One honest caveat on the Ontario first-time buyer rebate. It was described as “proposed” and subject to the passage of federal legislation in the 2025 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review of 6 November 2025. CRA’s guide RC4028 now describes it in operative terms. I have written it here as in force because the CRA guide is the administering document, but confirm it with your lawyer at closing rather than treating $80,000 as settled money.
A correction to an earlier version of this page
When this page first went up on 30 August 2026 it covered three programmes and left out the Ontario first-time buyer HST rebate entirely. That was wrong, and it was the expensive kind of wrong: a first-time buyer who signed with a builder between 27 May 2025 and 31 March 2026 would have been told the Ontario relief did not apply to them when it may be worth up to $80,000. Corrected the same day. If you ran the checker before this correction, run it again.
Buying new construction on The Queensway or in Humber Bay?
Which rebate you land in changes what you should be offering, and on a pre-construction purchase it changes which projects are worth looking at at all. Send me the project and your situation and I will walk through the four windows with you before you sign anything.
connect@jatindua.com · 437-987-1925 · Book a free consultation
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Frequently asked questions
How many new-home rebates are there in Ontario?
Four. The federal First-Time Home Buyers’ GST Rebate at up to $50,000; the Ontario first-time buyer HST rebate at up to $80,000; the Ontario Enhanced New Housing Rebate, also up to $80,000 and open to any purchaser; and the long-standing Ontario new housing rebate at up to $24,000. They have four different eligibility tests and three different date windows.
Can I claim both Ontario rebates?
You can claim either or both, but it does not double. CRA’s guide RC4028 states that the total of all rebates for the 8 per cent provincial part of the HST cannot exceed the lesser of $80,000 and the provincial tax actually paid. The federal rebate is separate and stacks on top.
What is the maximum combined relief?
$130,000 on a qualifying new home at $1 million — $50,000 federal plus $80,000 provincial, which is the full 13 per cent HST. That requires being a first-time buyer, buying a primary residence, and falling inside the relevant date windows.
When does the agreement have to be signed?
For the federal rebate, on or after 20 March 2025 and before 2031. For the Ontario first-time buyer rebate, on or after 27 May 2025. For the Ontario Enhanced New Housing Rebate, between 1 April 2026 and 31 March 2027. Note that 20 March 2025 is the enacted federal date; the 27 May 2025 date that circulates for the federal programme came from the original proposal and was superseded when Bill C-4 received Royal Assent on 12 March 2026.
Do I have to be a first-time buyer?
For the two first-time buyer programmes, yes. For the Ontario Enhanced New Housing Rebate, no — it is available to any purchaser of a qualifying new home as a primary residence inside its window. That difference is missed constantly.
What is the CRA first-time buyer test exactly?
You must not have lived in a home that you, or your spouse or common-law partner, owned as your primary place of residence at any time in the calendar year or in the previous four calendar years. Ownership anywhere in the world counts. It is once in a lifetime, and a claim by a spouse uses it up for both of you.
What if I am buying an investment property or a rental?
All four require the home to be your primary place of residence. The parallel programmes for rentals are the New Residential Rental Property Rebate and the Enhanced New Residential Rental Property Rebate, the latter also at $80,000 per unit. Different forms, different rules, and worth a conversation with an accountant.
Does the builder claim the rebate or do I?
It depends on the agreement. Many builders credit the rebate against the purchase price at closing and claim it themselves, which is why the price you are quoted may already be net of it. Others require you to claim afterwards, which means you need the cash at closing. Read the rebate assignment clause before you sign.
Is the checker storing my numbers?
No. It runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server, nothing is logged, and I never see what you typed.
Related reading
- The full first-time buyer programme stack for 2026
- Assignments and the HST rebate window: the deposit trap
- Toronto land transfer tax: the bracket table from 1 April 2026
Sources
Every figure on this page traces to one of these, and each was read on 30 August 2026. Primary sources only — statute, regulation, and the government or agency that administers the rule. Where I could not verify something from a primary source, the page says so instead of guessing.
- First-Time Home Buyers’ GST/HST Rebate — what is the rebate. Canada Revenue Agency. Maximum rebate $50,000 at or below $1 million; reduced between $1 million and $1.5 million; nil at or above $1.5 million. Accessed 30 August 2026.
- First-Time Home Buyers’ GST/HST Rebate — who can apply. Canada Revenue Agency. Sets the four-calendar-year first-time buyer test, the once-in-a-lifetime limit, and the agreement date window beginning 20 March 2025. Accessed 30 August 2026.
- Excise and GST/HST News — No. 122. Canada Revenue Agency, April 2026. Confirms the enacted agreement-of-purchase-and-sale window opens 20 March 2025, not the 27 May 2025 date in the original proposal. Accessed 30 August 2026.
- Legislation to Make Life More Affordable Receives Royal Assent. Department of Finance Canada. Bill C-4 received Royal Assent 12 March 2026. Accessed 30 August 2026.
- GST/HST Notice 346 — Ontario Enhanced New Housing Rebate. Canada Revenue Agency. The Ontario rebate is administered by the CRA; maximum $80,000 of the 8 per cent provincial part of the HST. Accessed 30 August 2026.
- Ontario Enhanced New Housing Rebate — what is the rebate. Canada Revenue Agency. Agreement of purchase and sale must be entered into on or after 1 April 2026 and on or before 31 March 2027. Accessed 30 August 2026.
- RC4028 — GST/HST New Housing Rebate. Canada Revenue Agency. The long-standing Ontario new housing rebate: 75 per cent of the provincial part of the HST to a maximum of $24,000. Accessed 30 August 2026.
- 2025 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review — costs chapter. Ontario Ministry of Finance, 6 November 2025. Announces the Ontario first-time home buyer HST rebate removing the full 8 per cent provincial portion on qualifying new homes up to $1 million, for agreements entered into on or after 27 May 2025. Described there as proposed and subject to federal legislation. Accessed 30 August 2026.
- 2026 Ontario Budget — HST relief on new homes. Government of Ontario. Describes the combined federal and provincial relief of up to $130,000 on a qualifying new home up to $1 million. Accessed 30 August 2026.
About the author — Jatin Dua, Etobicoke real estate agent
I’m the Broker of Record at RE/MAX Quantum Realty, 799 The Queensway in Etobicoke. I write these pages the same way I work a file: read the primary source, quote it, date it, and say plainly where the source is silent or where two sources disagree. If a figure on this page has no citation beside it, that is a mistake and I want to hear about it.
I work with buyers, sellers, renters and investors across Etobicoke, Mimico, Humber Bay Shores, New Toronto, Long Branch, Alderwood and Stonegate–Queensway. connect@jatindua.com or 437-987-1925.