The first-time home buyers' (FTHB) GST/HST rebate gives back up to 100% of the 5% GST, to a maximum of $50,000, on a new or substantially renovated home valued at up to $1 million. The rebate shrinks for homes between $1 million and $1.5 million and disappears at $1.5 million. It is law: it came in with Bill C-4, the Making Life More Affordable for Canadians Act, which received Royal Assent on March 12, 2026. The CRA has been accepting applications since March 2026.
It is a buyer's rebate, but builders and contractors carry much of the paperwork, because a builder can credit it against the purchase price. If you build, sell or renovate homes, or you are buying your first new home, this is the reference to keep.
What changed, when, and who it affects
- The change: A new GST/HST rebate for first-time buyers of new homes, on top of the long-standing GST/HST new housing rebate rules.
- When it applies: Purchase agreements with a builder entered into on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031, for homes whose construction is substantially completed before 2036. For an owner-built home, construction must begin on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031.
- Status: Enacted. Bill C-4 received Royal Assent on March 12, 2026 (Statutes of Canada 2026, chapter 2). The 2025 proposal used May 27, 2025 as the start date; the CRA's guidance now uses March 20, 2025.
- Who it affects: Individuals buying or building their first home, and the builders who sell to them.
Sources: Parliament of Canada: Bill C-4, Royal Assent text, Department of Finance Canada: Legislation to make life more affordable receives Royal Assent and CRA: The first-time home buyers' GST/HST rebate is available now.
First time home buyer GST rebate: the numbers
| Home value | Rebate | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Up to $1,000,000 | Up to 100% of the GST (or the federal part of the HST) | $50,000 |
| $1,000,000 to $1,500,000 | Reduced gradually as the value rises. A $1,250,000 home gets 50% of the maximum | $25,000 at $1,250,000 |
| $1,500,000 or more | No rebate | $0 |
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Builder agreement dates | On or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031 |
| Substantial completion | Before 2036 |
| Owner-built: construction start | On or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031 |
| Form, builder purchase (builder does not credit it) | GST190, within 2 years of ownership transferring to you |
| Form, owner-built home | GST191 |
| In law since | March 12, 2026 (Bill C-4, Royal Assent) |
In the HST provinces, the rebate covers only the federal part of the HST, not the provincial part. Any provincial relief is a separate program with its own rules.
Sources: CRA: What is the first-time home buyers' rebate and CRA GST/HST Info Sheet: First-time Home Buyers' GST/HST Rebate.
Who qualifies for the first time home buyer GST rebate
The claimant must meet all of these conditions:
- Age and status: at least 18, and a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
- First-time buyer: they have not lived, as their primary residence, in a home that they or their spouse or common-law partner owned (in Canada or abroad) in the current calendar year or the previous four calendar years.
- First to occupy: they are the first individual to occupy the new home as a place of residence, and they intend it to be their primary residence.
- No earlier claim: neither they nor their spouse or common-law partner has claimed the FTHB rebate before.
- New housing rebate link: they qualify for the regular GST/HST new housing rebate, or would if its price ceiling were $1.5 million.
Who is outside it: buyers of resale homes, corporations and partnerships, and agreements signed before March 20, 2025, including such agreements that are later varied, assigned or replaced.
Source: CRA: Who can apply for the FTHB GST/HST rebate.
How the rebate is claimed
Bought from a builder, builder credits it. The builder can pay the rebate to you by crediting it against the price on closing, then claims it back from the CRA. This is the cleanest route for buyers.
Bought from a builder, builder does not credit it. You apply directly to the CRA on Form GST190, within 2 years of the date ownership was transferred to you.
Owner-built or substantially renovated home. You apply on Form GST191. The value used is the fair market value of the house, land included, at substantial completion. The 2-year clock runs from the earlier of the day you or a relation first occupied the home and the day construction was substantially completed.
Sources: CRA: Applying for the rebate, home purchased from a builder and CRA: Applying for the rebate, owner-built home.
Edge cases
The agreement date is the date both sides agreed. It is not the date conditions were later waived. An agreement signed on March 15, 2025 does not become eligible because financing was firmed up in April.
Co-owners where only one is a first-time buyer. At least one buyer must be a first-time buyer who is the first to occupy the home, and that person must be the claimant named on the form. Only one rebate is paid per home, even when several people are on title.
Spouses. The first-time test looks at homes owned by you or your spouse or common-law partner. If your partner owned and lived in a home in the past four calendar years, you are likely out, even if you were never on that title.
Homes priced near $1 million or $1.5 million. A small difference in value moves the rebate a lot in the phase-out range. For an owner-built home the value is the fair market value at completion, land included, so get it supported before you apply.
Assignment sales. An assignment of a pre-March 20, 2025 agreement does not create a new eligible agreement. Buyers of assigned contracts should check the original agreement date before counting on the rebate.
What builders and buyers should do now
- Builders: decide whether you will credit the rebate on closing, update your purchase agreement and closing documents, and have the buyer's completed rebate application in hand before you credit anything. Keep it on file with the closing documents.
- Builders with pre-2025 agreements: do not re-paper old deals to chase eligibility. Varied or replaced pre-March 20, 2025 agreements generally do not qualify.
- Buyers: confirm the agreement date, your spouse's ownership history and whether the builder will credit the rebate. If not, diarize the 2-year GST190 deadline from the day ownership transfers.
- Owner-builders: keep the construction start date documented, and get the completion value supported, since the $1 million and $1.5 million lines turn on it.
For how GST/HST registration, input tax credits and the provincial sales taxes fit together for a business, see our GST, HST and PST guide.
Key takeaways
- The first time home buyer GST rebate is up to $50,000, covering up to all of the 5% GST on new homes valued at up to $1 million.
- It phases out between $1 million and $1.5 million. A $1.25 million home gets $25,000.
- It is law. Bill C-4 received Royal Assent on March 12, 2026.
- Agreements from March 20, 2025 to the end of 2030 qualify, with completion before 2036.
- Builders can credit it on closing; otherwise buyers apply on Form GST190 within 2 years, or GST191 for owner-built homes.
RN Canada prepares GST/HST returns, rebate applications and year-end tax returns for builders, contractors and owner-managed businesses, from offices in Edmonton and Vancouver and remotely across Canada. If you want your FTHB rebate process reviewed before your next closing, our tax return preparation team can help.