A federal GST rebate of up to roughly $50,000 on new-construction homes (phasing out between $1M and $1.5M) became law in March 2026 — but the CRA hasn't yet published full administrative guidance, and even reputable sources currently disagree on some of the fine print. Treat this as a real, worth-asking-about program, not yet a locked-in number, until CRA guidance catches up.
The First-Time Home Buyers' GST/HST Rebate is a federal program that returns some or all of the GST paid on a newly built home to an eligible first-time buyer. It received Royal Assent in March 2026, which makes it law — not just a proposal — but a program becoming law and a program being fully explained by the tax authority administering it are two different milestones, and only the first one has happened so far.
It applies to new construction only: a newly built detached house, a new condo, an owner-built home, or new housing co-op shares. Resale homes don't qualify, because resale homes are already exempt from GST — there's no GST charged on them in the first place for this rebate to offset.
On a new home priced at $1,000,000 or less, an eligible first-time buyer can recover the full 5% GST paid, up to a maximum of roughly $50,000. Between $1,000,000 and $1,500,000, multiple sources describe a straight-line reduction — the rebate drops by roughly $10,000 for every $100,000 the price rises above $1,000,000, reaching zero at $1,500,000. Homes priced at $1,500,000 or above don't qualify at all.
One detail worth flagging for anyone doing the math on a purchase: the rebate reduces what's owed at closing, or is claimed afterward directly from the CRA — it isn't a source of down payment funds, and it generally isn't something a lender will count toward your qualifying numbers.
The eligibility criteria being described mirror the kind of first-time buyer rules already used elsewhere in this program: 18 years or older, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and not having owned (or had your spouse own) a home anywhere in the world in the current calendar year or the previous four years. The home needs to become your principal residence, and you need to be the first person to occupy it after substantial completion. It's described as one rebate per couple, ever.
This is the part worth being straightforward about. A tax insight published by KPMG on this rebate stated plainly that the CRA had not yet provided details on how it intends to administer these rules, and specifically flagged the exact phase-out mechanics, the precise definition of a qualifying first-time buyer, and the administration and application process as open questions at the time. Given the law only passed in March 2026, it's entirely possible some of that guidance has since been published or is still being finalized — but we'd rather tell you plainly what we found than present early, incomplete reporting as a settled answer.
We also found real inconsistency across otherwise-reputable sources on the exact date a purchase agreement needs to be signed by to qualify — some describing an agreement date of March 20, 2025, others describing May 26, 2025. That kind of disagreement between sources, on a program this new, is itself a signal that the fine print is still settling.
If you're under an agreement of purchase and sale for a new-construction home, or actively shopping for one, this rebate is genuinely worth asking your builder and a tax professional about — the potential dollar value is large enough that it's worth the conversation even while some details are still firming up. What we'd caution against is treating any specific number as locked in before the CRA's own administrative guidance catches up to the legislation. Your accountant, or the CRA directly, will have the most current answer on your specific situation.
We're not tax advisors, and this isn't tax advice — it's a summary of what's publicly confirmed as of when we wrote this, sourced from the CRA and reputable tax and mortgage industry publications, linked below so you can read the primary material yourself. We'll revisit and update this page once the CRA publishes fuller administrative guidance.
Canada Revenue Agency — First-Time Home Buyers' GST/HST Rebate · KPMG Canada — Can Your Buyers Claim the New GST Rebate? · True North Mortgage — GST Rebate on New Homes
Read the full breakdown of this solution, including eligibility and how to get started.
See First-Time Homebuyer Guidance