What you need to know about Ottawa's proposed GST cut for first-time homebuyers

Globe and Mail

2 days ago

The new Liberal government tabled a notice of ways and means motion last week to cut the GST for first-time homebuyers, moving forward with a key campaign promise from the recent election.
Ottawa's proposed cut to the GST on new homes valued up to $1-million will provide first-time homebuyers a rebate of up to $50,000. However, the rebate would be reduced gradually for homes valued above $1-million and eliminated entirely for homes valued at $1.5-million or more.
Called the first-time home buyers' GST rebate, the program would allow an eligible individual to recover up to $50,000 of the GST (or the federal portion of the HST) they paid when buying a home from a builder. The rebate also applies when buying shares of a co-operative housing corporation (where the co-op paid federal sales tax) or building a new home.
For homes valued between $1-million and $1.5-million, the rebate would be reduced in a linear manner and calculated as a percentage of the maximum rebate ($50,000).
In answer to questions from The Globe, Department of Finance spokesperson Benoit Mayrand provided examples of how this would work.
To qualify for the rebate, at least one of the purchasers of the new home must be a first-time homebuyer acquiring it for use as their primary residence.
(To be considered a first-time homebuyer, an individual generally needs to be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, at least 18 years of age, and have not lived in a home, located anywhere in the world, that they or their spouse or common-law partner owned in the current year or previous four years.)
The GST rebate would be available for homes where there's an agreement of purchase and sale with a builder made between May 27, 2025 and Dec. 31, 2030, and where construction begins by Dec. 31, 2030 and is completed substantially by Dec. 31, 2035.
For someone building their own home, or having it built for them, construction must begin between May 27, 2025 and Dec. 31, 2030 to be eligible, and the home must be completed substantially by Dec. 31, 2035.
The rebate can only be claimed once, and can't be claimed if a person's spouse or common-law partner has already used it.
The first-time homebuyers' GST rebate would operate alongside the existing GST new housing rebate, which is available to eligible buyers whether or not they've previously owned a home.
Under the existing GST new housing rebate, a homebuyer can recover 36 per cent of the GST paid on a new home priced up to $350,000, resulting in a maximum rebate under the program of $6,300. The GST new housing rebate is phased out in a linear manner for new homes up to $450,000, with no rebate for homes above that amount. (There may also be rebates available on the provincial sales tax.)
Mr. Mayrand provided two examples of how the two rebates would work together for a first-time homebuyer.