By New Home GST/HST Rebate for First-Time Buyers: Who Gets Up to $50,000 Back
If you are a first-time buyer purchasing a newly built home, the federal government will now hand you back the GST on it — up to $50,000. The first-time home buyers’ GST/HST rebate refunds 100% of the GST, or the federal part of the HST, on a new or substantially renovated home valued at $1 million or less. Between $1 million and $1.5 million the rebate shrinks in a straight line, and at $1.5 million it is gone. The rebate became law on March 12, 2026, the CRA is accepting applications, and the single date that decides most claims is March 20, 2025: your purchase agreement with the builder must be signed on or after that day, and before 2031.
The rebate in one table
| Home value (fair market value) | Maximum rebate |
|---|---|
| $600,000 | $30,000 (the full 5% GST actually paid) |
| $800,000 | $40,000 |
| $1,000,000 | $50,000 (the cap) |
| $1,250,000 | $25,000 (halfway through the phase-out) |
| $1,500,000 or more | $0 |
Two caps apply at once: the rebate can never exceed $50,000, and it can never exceed the GST — or, in an HST province, the 5-percentage-point federal part — that you actually paid. A $600,000 home in Alberta carries $30,000 of GST, so $30,000 is the maximum rebate there, not $50,000.
Who counts as a first-time buyer
CRA’s test is about where you have lived, not only what you have owned. To qualify you must be at least 18, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and you must not, in the current calendar year or the previous four calendar years, have lived in a home that you owned — or that your spouse or common-law partner owned. The home must be your primary place of residence, and you (or a relation) must be the first to occupy it as a place of residence. A buyer who owned a home five or more years ago and has rented since can qualify; a buyer whose partner owns the home they both live in today cannot. The rebate is a once-in-a-lifetime style benefit for a couple in practice: if your spouse previously claimed the circumstances, read CRA’s memorandum carefully before assuming a second claim in the household.
Which homes and which dates qualify
The home must be new or substantially renovated — a house, condo unit, or similar single-unit residential complex. A resale home does not qualify, because GST is generally not charged on resale homes in the first place: there is no GST to hand back. For a home bought from a builder, the agreement of purchase and sale must be entered into on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031, and construction must be substantially completed before 2036. For an owner-built home, construction must begin on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031. An agreement signed on March 19, 2025 misses the rebate entirely, however new the home is — that one-day cliff is the harshest rule in the program, and it is why buyers with older pre-construction contracts should check their agreement date before counting this money in a budget like the ones in our guide to how much house you can afford in Canada.
Worked examples
A $750,000 new home in Alberta. GST at 5% is $37,500. The home is under $1 million, so the rebate is 100% of the GST paid: $37,500 back. Stacked with a $40,000 FHSA and a $60,000 Home Buyers’ Plan withdrawal — the stacking math is in our guide to FHSA vs the RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan — the federal support on this purchase is six figures before any provincial program.
A $950,000 new condo in Ontario. Ontario charges 13% HST: $123,500 of tax, of which the federal part is 5 percentage points, or $47,500. This rebate covers only the federal part, so the maximum back is $47,500. The 8-point provincial part, $76,000, is not covered by this federal rebate; any Ontario relief is a separate provincial program with its own rules and timing. Do not let a sales centre quote you “the full HST back” on the strength of this federal program alone.
A $1,250,000 new home. The value sits halfway between $1 million and $1.5 million, so the maximum rebate is cut in half: $25,000, even though the GST paid at 5% is $62,500. At $1,400,000 the maximum falls to $10,000, and at $1,500,000 it reaches zero. Buyers negotiating near these thresholds should know that $1 of price above $1 million costs more than $1 in this band, because it also burns rebate.
How to claim it
There are two forms. If you bought from a builder, the claim is made on Form GST190. In many builder purchases the builder credits the rebate against your price at closing and submits the application for you — you sign, the builder files, and you never front the money. If the builder does not credit it, you file GST190 yourself, generally within two years of the day ownership transfers to you. If you built the home yourself, the claim is Form GST191 with its worksheet, filed after construction is substantially complete, again generally within two years. CRA’s Guide RC4028 and its GST/HST Memorandum 19-3-10 carry the detailed rules. Whichever route applies, keep the agreement of purchase and sale, the statement of adjustments and proof of occupancy: the agreement date and the home’s value are the two facts CRA will test first. If you are still deciding which savings account to fill for the down payment itself, start with our comparison of FHSA vs TFSA for a first home.
How this differs from the old New Housing Rebate
The long-standing GST/HST New Housing Rebate still exists, and it is a different, much smaller program: it refunds part of the federal tax on new homes, phases out at far lower values, and is not limited to first-time buyers. The new first-time buyers’ rebate can apply together with the older rebate where both fit — CRA describes the combined recovery on a home up to $1 million as 100% of the federal tax — but you cannot recover more tax than you paid. When a builder’s paperwork mentions a “new housing rebate assignment,” check which rebate, or which combination, is actually being credited at closing, and get the amount in writing before you sign the closing documents. Your mortgage itself is unaffected by either rebate, but the cash back at closing changes how much you need to borrow — a useful input when you compare offers using our guide to mortgage rates in Canada today.
Common mistakes
The first is assuming a resale home qualifies — it does not. The second is missing the March 20, 2025 agreement-date rule on a pre-construction purchase signed earlier. The third is budgeting the full $50,000 on a home over $1 million, where the phase-out quietly cuts it. The fourth is expecting the rebate to cover the provincial part of the HST in Ontario or another HST province — federally, only the 5-point part is covered. The fifth is letting the two-year filing window drift when a builder did not credit the rebate at closing: diarise the deadline from your closing date, not from the day you remember the program exists.
What to do next
Check three facts on your own purchase: your agreement date, the home’s value at purchase, and whether you or your partner lived in an owned home in the current or previous four years. If all three fit, confirm in writing with your builder whether the rebate will be credited at closing or whether you must file GST190 yourself, and put the two-year deadline in your calendar today. First-time buyers who have not yet bought should treat the agreement date as a hard line in negotiations: signing on or after March 20, 2025 is already satisfied for any new purchase now — the risk today is value, not timing.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the first-time home buyers’ GST rebate?
Up to 100% of the GST, or the federal part of the HST, that you paid on a new or substantially renovated home — to a maximum of $50,000. The full maximum applies at a home value of $1 million or less, it phases out in a straight line between $1 million and $1.5 million, and it is zero at $1.5 million or more.
Who qualifies as a first-time home buyer for this rebate?
You must be 18 or older, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and you must not have lived in a home owned by you or your spouse or common-law partner in the current calendar year or the previous four calendar years. The new home must be your primary place of residence and you must be its first occupant.
Does the rebate apply to resale homes?
No. It applies only to new or substantially renovated homes, because GST/HST is charged on those purchases. Resale homes are generally exempt from GST/HST, so there is no federal tax for this rebate to refund.
What if my purchase agreement was signed before March 20, 2025?
You do not qualify for the first-time buyers’ rebate, even if the home is brand new and closes now. For builder purchases the agreement must be entered into on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031. You may still qualify for the older, smaller GST/HST New Housing Rebate.
Which form do I file, and by when?
Form GST190 if you bought from a builder — often the builder credits the rebate at closing and files for you — or Form GST191 if you built the home yourself. Claims are generally due within two years of ownership transferring to you, or of substantial completion for an owner-built home.
Does the rebate cover the full 13% HST in Ontario?
No. It covers only the federal part of the HST — 5 percentage points of Ontario’s 13%. The 8-point provincial part is not covered by this federal rebate; provincial relief, where available, is a separate program.
Bottom line: For a first-time buyer of a new home at $1 million or less, this rebate is the full GST back — up to $50,000 — and it is law now, not a proposal. The three gates are the buyer test (no owned home lived in during the current or previous four years), the home test (new or substantially renovated, your primary residence), and the date test (agreement on or after March 20, 2025). Clear all three, claim on GST190 or GST191 within two years, and this is the single largest cheque most first-time buyers will ever get from a tax form.
