Editor's note, October 6, 2026: this article was reviewed and rewritten in our accuracy check. An earlier version contained savings totals, municipal programs and a retrofit loan we could not confirm, and it described the land transfer tax refund for couples incorrectly; they have been removed or replaced with figures from the sources listed at the end of the article.
A first-time buyer in Ontario can use up to five government programs on one purchase. Two help you save the down payment (the FHSA and the RRSP Home Buyers' Plan), two cut the land transfer tax (Ontario's refund, and Toronto's if you buy in the city), and one is a small income tax credit. If you buy a newly built home there are also GST/HST rebates, which changed a great deal in 2025 and 2026. Here is what each one is worth today, with the official source for each listed at the end.
1. First Home Savings Account (FHSA)
You can contribute up to $8,000 a year, to a lifetime maximum of $40,000. Contributions are deductible like an RRSP, growth is not taxed, and a qualifying withdrawal to buy your first home is tax-free and never repaid. Unused room carries forward, but only up to $8,000, so opening the account early matters: room starts accumulating in the year you open it, not before.
To open one you must be a resident of Canada, at least 18, and a first-time home buyer in the CRA's sense: you did not live, in the year or the four previous calendar years, in a home that you or your spouse or common-law partner owned. If you do not buy, the balance can be moved to your RRSP without using RRSP room.
2. RRSP Home Buyers' Plan (HBP)
You can withdraw up to $60,000 from your RRSPs to buy a first home (the limit was $35,000 before April 16, 2024). Unlike the FHSA, this is a loan to yourself: you repay it over 15 years. For withdrawals made in 2026 or later, repayment starts in the second year after the withdrawal; withdrawals made from 2022 to 2025 got a longer grace period and start in the fifth year. Any year's required repayment you skip is added to your income for that year.
The CRA lets you use the HBP and a qualifying FHSA withdrawal for the same home, as long as you meet the conditions of each at the time of each withdrawal.
3. Ontario land transfer tax refund: up to $4,000
Ontario refunds up to $4,000 of provincial land transfer tax for eligible first-time buyers, which covers all of the tax on a home up to about $368,333. You must be at least 18, occupy the home as your principal residence within nine months of the transfer, and never have owned a home or an interest in a home anywhere in the world. If your spouse owned a home while they were your spouse, you are not eligible. If you buy with someone who does not qualify, the refund is reduced to the qualifying buyer's share of the home. Your lawyer normally claims the refund when the transfer is registered.
4. Toronto municipal land transfer tax rebate: up to $4,475
Inside the City of Toronto you pay a municipal land transfer tax on top of Ontario's, and the city rebates up to $4,475 for eligible first-time buyers. Worked example: on a $900,000 Toronto home, the two taxes add up to $28,950; an eligible first-time buyer pays $20,475 after both refunds. Outside Toronto, on a $750,000 home the Ontario tax is $11,475 and $7,475 after the refund.
5. The home buyers' amount (federal tax credit)
You can claim up to $10,000 on line 31270 of your tax return for the year you buy a qualifying home, which reduces federal tax by up to $1,500 (15%). The first-time test is the same four-year test as the FHSA.
Buying a newly built home? The GST/HST rebates
Resale homes are generally sold without HST. New homes carry 13% HST in Ontario: the 5% federal part (the GST) and the 8% provincial part. Several rebates now apply, and it is worth being precise about which is law and which part of the tax each one covers.
- Federal first-time home buyers' GST/HST rebate (law). Bill C-4 received Royal Assent on March 12, 2026. It rebates the GST, or the 5% federal part of the HST only: up to $50,000, in full on a qualifying new home valued up to $1 million, reduced on a straight line to nothing at $1.5 million. 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, construction must begin before 2031, and the home must be substantially completed before 2036. It must be your primary place of residence.
- Ontario first-time home buyers' rebate (in force). Announced in Ontario's 2025 fall economic statement and now administered by the CRA, it rebates up to $80,000 of the 8% provincial part on a qualifying new home up to $1 million, reduced for homes up to $1.5 million. It follows the federal rebate's eligibility conditions. Together, the two can return up to $130,000 of HST to an eligible first-time buyer.
- Ontario enhanced new housing rebate (in force, temporary, not only for first-time buyers). For agreements signed from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027, up to $80,000 of the provincial part on homes up to $1.5 million, phased out by $1.85 million, with Ontario's New Home Affordability Payment of up to $50,000 toward the federal part for people who receive it. Rebates do not stack past the tax you actually paid; your lawyer and the builder will apply the right combination.
- The permanent new housing rebates still exist: Ontario's, up to $24,000 of the provincial part, and the federal GST new housing rebate, which only applies to homes under $450,000.
Builders usually quote "HST included" prices with the rebates assigned to them, so check with your lawyer, before the condo cooling-off period ends, which rebates the price already assumes and what happens if you turn out not to qualify. Our guide to pre-construction condos in Ontario covers this clause.
Rules that help every first-time buyer
- Lower minimum down payment: 5% of the first $500,000 and 10% of the rest, on homes under $1.5 million (the insured-mortgage cap rose from $1 million on December 15, 2024). On a $900,000 home that is $65,000.
- 30-year amortization on an insured mortgage for first-time buyers (and anyone buying a new build), instead of 25 years. It lowers the payment but costs more interest, and the insurance premium is 0.2 percentage points higher.
How the pieces fit together
- Open an FHSA as soon as you think you may buy, even with a small deposit, so the room starts building.
- Use the FHSA before the HBP where you can: an FHSA withdrawal is never repaid.
- Confirm first-time status for each program with your lawyer before you sign. The tests differ: the land transfer tax refund asks whether you have ever owned a home anywhere; the FHSA, HBP and the home buyers' amount use a four-year test.
- Get a pre-approval at the stress-test rate, not today's rate. Our calculators apply the Canadian rules.
- If you are buying new, ask the builder in writing which rebates the price assumes.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use the FHSA and the Home Buyers' Plan on the same home?
Yes. The CRA allows both for the same qualifying home if you meet each program's conditions when you withdraw. Two spouses can each use their own FHSA and HBP.
Does the first-time buyer GST rebate cover the full 13% HST?
No. The federal rebate covers only the 5% federal part. The 8% provincial part is covered, for eligible first-time buyers, by Ontario's separate first-time buyer rebate, and for many buyers who sign between April 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027 by the Ontario enhanced new housing rebate.
I owned a home overseas before moving to Canada. Do I qualify?
Not for Ontario's or Toronto's land transfer tax refund, which exclude anyone who has owned a home anywhere in the world. You may still qualify for the FHSA, the HBP and the home buyers' amount if you have not lived in a home you owned in the current year or the previous four calendar years.
Want help mapping these programs to your situation? Ask Zara, Summitly's AI virtual agent, or book a call with a licensed Summitly agent. Zara gives general information, not tax or legal advice.
