Start with the federal first-time-buyer test
The buyer must generally be at least 18, be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and not have lived in a home in Canada or elsewhere that the buyer—or the buyer’s spouse or common-law partner—owned as a principal residence during the current calendar year or the previous four calendar years. Neither the buyer nor the spouse or common-law partner can have previously received this first-time-buyer GST/HST rebate.
For a builder purchase, the test is applied when ownership transfers. Different timing rules apply to homes on leased land, owner-built or substantially renovated homes and co-operative shares. This definition is not the same as the B.C. first-time-buyer property-transfer-tax test, so qualifying for one program does not prove eligibility for the other.
Confirm that the home and agreement qualify
The program covers eligible newly built or substantially renovated homes intended as the buyer’s primary place of residence. It can also apply to certain homes on leased land, owner-built homes, qualifying co-operative housing shares, and eligible new mobile, modular or floating homes. A standard resale that has not been substantially renovated does not qualify.
For a home and land purchased from a builder, the agreement of purchase and sale must generally be entered into on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031. Construction or substantial renovation must begin before 2031, be substantially completed before 2036, and ownership must transfer before 2036. The buyer must generally be the first individual to occupy the completed home as a residence.
- Newly built or substantially renovated qualifying home
- Primary-residence intention—not an investor purchase
- Agreement and construction within the federal program dates
- First occupancy and transfer requirements satisfied
Understand the value thresholds before counting the rebate
At a qualifying value of $1 million or less, the combined first-time-buyer rebate and existing new-housing rebate can recover up to 100% of the GST or federal part of the HST, capped at $50,000. Between $1 million and $1.5 million, the maximum benefit declines proportionally. The CRA’s current example gives a $25,000 rebate on a qualifying $1.25-million home. At $1.5 million or more, no first-time-buyer GST/HST rebate is available.
Do not treat the advertised price, the contract’s GST wording and the rebate as interchangeable. A price may be stated before tax, including tax, or net of a rebate assigned to the builder. The contract and statement of adjustments should show exactly who pays the GST, who receives the rebate and what cash is required at completion.
Decide whether the builder credits the rebate or the buyer applies
If the buyer and builder agree that the builder will pay or credit the rebate, the builder submits the application to the Canada Revenue Agency. If the builder does not provide the credit, the buyer normally applies directly. For a house and land purchased from a builder, the CRA currently allows up to two years from the date ownership transferred for a direct claim.
This is not a reason to leave the issue until after completion. The buyer’s lawyer or notary should receive the contract, amendments, disclosure statement and the builder’s rebate treatment early enough to identify the actual completion funds. A tax professional should confirm unusual ownership, relationship, occupancy or substantial-renovation facts.
Keep the federal rebate separate from B.C. property transfer tax
B.C.’s Newly Built Home Exemption is a separate property-transfer-tax program. Its current full-exemption threshold is $1.1 million, with a partial exemption above $1.1 million and below $1.15 million, subject to its own citizenship or permanent-resident, property, registration and occupancy requirements. A buyer may potentially qualify for both programs, but each calculation and application must stand on its own.
The same discipline matters in Greater Vancouver. In South Delta, buyers comparing new homes in Tsawwassen, Ladner or Tsawwassen First Nation must first confirm the legal interest, taxing jurisdiction and contract structure; do not assume every new-home ownership model produces the same result. In Vancouver and Richmond, where a qualifying new condo may fall inside the federal phase-out range, model the gross price, GST, rebate treatment, property transfer tax, deposits and closing adjustments together before removing conditions or committing to a presale assignment.