First-Time Home Buyer Ontario: Every Rebate and Program, Added Up

The Ontario refund under the Land Transfer Tax Act is worth up to $4,000, a maximum in force since January 1, 2017 and confirmed with the Ontario Ministry of Finance on October 26, 2026. That covers all of the provincial tax on roughly the first $368,000 of the price. To qualify you must be at least 18, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and you must occupy the home as your principal residence within nine months of the transfer. You must never have owned a home or an interest in a home anywhere in the world, and your spouse cannot have owned one while married to you. The refund applies to resale and newly built homes.

Toronto's municipal land transfer tax rebate is worth up to $4,475 (City of Toronto, confirmed October 26, 2026). That covers all of the municipal tax on a purchase up to $400,000. The eligibility test mirrors the provincial one: at least 18, never owned a home anywhere in the world, a spouse who never owned one during the marriage, and occupancy as a principal residence no later than nine months after the transfer.

Your lawyer normally claims both when the transfer is registered, so the saving shows up on the statement of adjustments rather than as a cheque later. If the claim is missed, both Ontario and Toronto accept an application within 18 months of the transfer (Ontario Ministry of Finance and City of Toronto, confirmed October 26, 2026). Toronto charges a processing fee on a refund claimed after registration. A buyer who becomes a citizen or permanent resident within 18 months of closing can apply then.

Building the down payment: the FHSA and the Home Buyers' Plan

Neither program lowers the price of the home. Both let you put more money toward it before income tax takes its share.

The First Home Savings Account gives you $8,000 of contribution room in the year you open it, and unused room carries forward to the next year, up to a lifetime limit of $40,000 (Canada Revenue Agency, confirmed October 26, 2026). Contributions are deductible, and a qualifying withdrawal to buy your first home comes out tax-free. To open one you must be a Canadian resident, at least 18, no older than 71 at the end of the year, and you cannot have lived in a home you or your spouse owned in the current calendar year or the previous four. The account has to be closed by December 31 of the year of its 15th anniversary, the year you turn 71, or the year after your first qualifying withdrawal, whichever comes first. Room only starts building once the account exists, which is the best reason to open one years before you buy.

The Home Buyers' Plan lets you withdraw up to $60,000 from your RRSPs toward a qualifying home, and the RRSP issuer withholds no tax on a withdrawal of $60,000 or less (Canada Revenue Agency, current limit confirmed October 26, 2026). The first-time test is the same four-year look-back, applied to the period before the withdrawal. You need a written agreement to buy or build, and you must buy or build the home before October 1 of the year after your first withdrawal.

The Home Buyers' Plan is a loan from your own retirement savings, so it has to go back. Repayments run over 15 years. For a first withdrawal made between January 1, 2026 and December 31, 2028, the first repayment year is the fifth year after the withdrawal, so a 2026 withdrawal starts repaying in 2031 (Canada Revenue Agency, confirmed October 26, 2026). The FHSA has no repayment.

The Canada Revenue Agency confirms you can use both on the same home. Once the FHSA is fully funded, a single buyer can therefore put up to $100,000 of tax-sheltered money toward a down payment, and a couple who both qualify can put up to $200,000.

New homes only: the federal and Ontario HST rebates

A resale home carries no HST, so these two rebates matter only when you buy from a builder or build yourself. Ontario's HST is 13 per cent: a 5 per cent federal part and an 8 per cent provincial part. One rebate covers each part.

The federal first-time home buyers' GST/HST rebate returns the full federal part, to a maximum of $50,000, on a new home valued at $1,000,000 or less. Between $1,000,000 and $1,500,000 the rebate shrinks in a straight line, and at $1,500,000 it is gone (Canada Revenue Agency, Guide RC4028, retrieved October 26, 2026). On a home bought from a builder, your agreement of purchase and sale has to be signed on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031, construction must start before 2031 and finish before 2036, and you must be the first person to live in the home. You must be at least 18, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and you cannot have lived in a home you owned as your primary residence in the year you take ownership or the four calendar years before it.

The Ontario first-time home buyers' rebate removes the full 8 per cent provincial part of the HST on a new home valued up to $1,000,000, to a maximum of $80,000, with an effective date of March 20, 2025 (Government of Ontario, page updated July 22, 2026). It follows the federal eligibility conditions and generally covers agreements signed between March 20, 2025 and December 31, 2030. Between $1,000,000 and $1,500,000 the provincial rebate is reduced but does not fall below $24,000 (Canada Revenue Agency, Guide RC4028). The Canada Revenue Agency administers both rebates, and both are claimed on the same new housing rebate forms.

Ontario also runs a temporary enhanced rebate that is open to repeat buyers as well. For agreements signed between April 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027, the Ontario enhanced new housing rebate and the Ontario New Home Affordability Payment can remove the full 13 per cent HST on a new home valued at $1,000,000 or less, up to $130,000 in total (Government of Ontario, page updated July 22, 2026). A first-time buyer who qualifies for both Ontario rebates can claim either or both, but the total returned from the 8 per cent provincial part cannot exceed $80,000 or the provincial HST actually paid, whichever is less.

Same buyer, different definitions of first-time

The programs do not share a definition, and this is where most claims go wrong. The Ontario land transfer tax refund and the Toronto rebate need you to have never owned a home or an interest in one, anywhere in the world, at any time. The FHSA, the Home Buyers' Plan and both HST rebates use a four-year test instead: you cannot have lived in a home you owned in the current year or the four calendar years before it. All four apply the same test to a home your spouse or common-law partner owned.

Someone who sold a condo six years ago can open an FHSA, use the Home Buyers' Plan and claim both HST rebates on a new build, but cannot claim either land transfer tax rebate. Check each program on its own before you count on it.

Worked examples at real asking prices

These three buyers are single first-time buyers who meet every condition. Land transfer tax figures use the provincial rates in effect since January 1, 2017 and the matching City of Toronto rates confirmed on October 26, 2026. Down payment figures use the federal minimum: 5 per cent of the first $500,000 and 10 per cent of the portion above it (Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, confirmed October 26, 2026).

A $579,000 resale condo in Toronto

This is the midpoint of the 4,551 condos listed for sale in Toronto on Zealty on October 26, 2026.

• Ontario land transfer tax: $8,055, less the $4,000 refund, leaves $4,055.
• Toronto municipal land transfer tax: $8,055, less the $4,475 rebate, leaves $3,580.
• Combined land transfer tax: $7,635 instead of $16,110, a saving of $8,475.
• Minimum down payment: $32,900, which a fully funded $40,000 FHSA covers on its own.
• HST rebates: none, because a resale condo carries no HST.

A $489,900 resale house in Windsor

Half of the 695 detached houses for sale in Windsor ask $489,900 or less (Zealty active listings, pulled October 26, 2026).

• Ontario land transfer tax: $6,273, less the $4,000 refund, leaves $2,273.
• Municipal land transfer tax: none, because the municipal tax applies only inside the City of Toronto.
• Minimum down payment: $24,495, again inside a single buyer's FHSA limit.

The refund is the same $4,000 at both prices, so it covers a much larger share of the Windsor bill. Our guide to the cheapest places to buy in Ontario compares more cities at this end of the market.

A $700,000 new condo from a Toronto builder

Pre-construction units are rarely listed for sale, so this example uses a round price rather than a Zealty listing.

• HST at 13 per cent: $91,000, made up of $35,000 federal and $56,000 provincial.
• Federal first-time home buyers' rebate: $35,000. Ontario first-time home buyers' rebate: $56,000. HST left to pay: nothing.
• Land transfer tax is charged on the price before HST. Ontario tax is $10,475, less the $4,000 refund, leaving $6,475. Toronto tax is $10,475, less the $4,475 rebate, leaving $6,000.
• Minimum down payment: $45,000.
• Total relief from the four rebates: $99,475.

Builders often quote a price with the HST and the standard new housing rebates already folded in. Read the agreement of purchase and sale to see whether the first-time buyer rebates are assigned to the builder or claimed by you, because that decides who receives the money.

What to do before you make an offer

Open an FHSA now, even with a small deposit, because contribution room only starts building once the account exists. Check your RRSP balance against the $60,000 Home Buyers' Plan limit and plan the repayment schedule into your budget. Tell your lawyer early that you are claiming the Ontario refund and, inside Toronto, the municipal rebate. If you are buying new, get the builder to state in writing how the HST rebates are handled.

The rebates come off the closing bill, not the whole bill. Our Ontario closing costs breakdown lists the legal fees, title insurance, adjustments and other costs a first-time home buyer in Ontario still pays after every program here. You can browse active listings across Ontario on Zealty to see which price band your budget lands in. Ontario listing data on Zealty covers active asking prices, not sold history.

This article is educational and is not tax, legal or financial advice. Program amounts, eligibility rules and deadlines change, and some depend on the date your agreement was signed. Confirm your own numbers with the Ontario Ministry of Finance, the City of Toronto, the Canada Revenue Agency, your lender and your real estate lawyer before you rely on them.

NOTE: This representation is based in whole or in part on data generated by Greater Vancouver REALTORS®, Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board, or The Canadian Real Estate Association which assume no responsibility for its accuracy. This information is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed accurate by these organizations or by the agent or brokerage hosting this website. Data presented here is under the license agreement of Holywell Properties, a British Columbia Brokerage.