Ontario HST Rebate for First-Time Home Buyers

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Ontario’s New HST Rebate for First-Time Home Buyers

The Ontario government has recently announced a major incentive aimed at tackling home affordability in the province. If you’re still sitting on the sidelines thinking about when you should jump into the market, this announcement is worth looking at.

There is a proposal to remove the full 8% provincial portion of the HST for first-time homebuyers of new or substantially renovated homes priced up to $1 million. Homes priced between $1 million and $1.5 million would see a partial reduction.

When this is combined with the federal government’s proposal to eliminate the 5% federal portion, this could mean tens of thousands of dollars in potential savings for buyers.

Who Qualifies and How It Works

In order to qualify for this tax incentive, the home you’re buying must be a new or substantially renovated home, and it must be your primary residence. Investment properties are not allowed.

You must also meet the definition of a first-time home buyer.

You’re considered a first-time home buyer if you haven’t lived in a home you owned (or your spouse or partner owned) as your main residence during the last four years, plus the time from the start of this year up to 30 days before you buy.

For example, if you buy a home on July 31, 2025, you must not have lived in a home you or your partner owned between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2025.

The agreement of purchase and sale must be signed on or after May 27, 2025 to qualify.

Why This Incentive Could Make Buying Easier

Taking advantage of this incentive is incredibly beneficial to you.

Reducing the tax you pay means you can afford to increase your budget. The same mortgage approval now buys you more, or gives you room to manage monthly payments with less stress. You’ll also have access to pre-construction projects at a higher price point.

What to Know Before You Buy

Here are some things to consider before moving forward. The rebate may not always reduce the price at closing, as many programs refund the rebate after closing. This means you should plan to have financing in place for the full amount and then apply for the rebate afterward.

If the date of your Agreement of Purchase and Sale falls before the eligibility period, you won’t qualify. And if the home is used as a rental or investment property, you’re also out of luck.

Even with this rebate, you can’t forget that all the other closing costs stay the same. You will still need to prepare for land transfer tax, legal fees, mortgage insurance, and ongoing expenses like maintenance and utilities.

The rebate reduces one part of the cost, but you still need to plan your finances wisely.

How We Can Help You Benefit

RE/MAX Team Paliwal can help you make the most of this opportunity. Our team will let you know if you’re eligible, connect you with trusted mortgage professionals, and show you which new and upcoming pre-construction projects qualify for the rebate.

Our team has access to the most reputable builders and projects across the Greater Toronto Area, some of which are currently offering incredible incentives and discounts. By adding these incentives to the proposed government tax incentive, this may be the best time to purchase a new build.

If you’re unsure of your financial picture, we can also help you understand how this incentive fits into your overall budget and timeline. Our team can provide you with information to help you understand exactly how much you should spend on your next property (and it’s not always the maximum amount you can afford).

If you have been waiting for the right moment to buy your first home, this could be it. Contact RE/MAX Team Paliwal today to schedule a free consultation and let us help you plan your purchase with confidence.

Click to read the full news release by the Ontario government.

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Me and my wife Harshita comes with a background and strong belief of having the blessings of elders is ultra-important. Our signing the contract was purely because of Team Leader Gyanesh Paliwal. We really liked his knowledge, experience and as an elder and like a family member. Given this was our first Home experience and we were super anxious, on the closing day when we both were missing our parents the most to hear that voice go for it, you played that role. It was your voice in the end saying go for it gave me the courage to say yes. We hope that this would turn out to be one of our best decisions. In future we would love to work with you from the start till the end.

- Amit Arora, October 2023

It’s been an absolute pleasure working with Akanksha and Gyanesh Paliwal of RE/MAX Team Paliwal. What started as a relationship with our real estate broker quickly evolved into a personal connection. The team has a deep understanding of the housing market but what stood out was always their attention to our unique needs. Gyanesh and Akanksha took out time to educate us as first time home buyer about the process of searching and purchasing a home before diving into the real home hunt. Akanksha’s approach to shift through the inventory and filter it down to our needs was very methodical which made it easier for us to make the final decision.

- Nimish Sharma, October 2023

We wanted to take a moment to express our deepest gratitude for the outstanding support and guidance both of you provided throughout our investment property journey. Your expertise, dedication, and unwavering commitment played a pivotal role in helping us secure the perfect investment property. From the initial discussions about our requirements to the countless conversations around pricing and property types, your patience and professionalism shone brightly. Your in-depth knowledge of the real estate market and keen understanding of our needs made the entire process smooth and stress-free. RE/MAX Team Paliwal’s valuable insights not only saved us time but also helped us make informed decisions, ensuring that we found a property that aligns perfectly with our investment goals.

- Ruchi Naik, October 2023

I wanna share my experience with Re/Max, Gyanesh Paliwal and his team, when the idea of buying house came up in our minds, we called Remax team Paliwal they explained everything in details, and kept following up with us till we made the decision to buy the house, then we met Gyanesh Paliwal, and they did everything to make us understand all the details of buying house as that was our first time, then the journey of viewing houses started, we visited tens of them in different places, they gave us opinion about each house, if any of them is in bad location or has something bad, they right away told us about it, then we came to the point that we found the house that we loved.

- Mohamed Elghazaly, October 2023

I was thinking of making an investment in GTA market. RE/MAX Agent Gyanesh Paliwal’s name was strongly recommended by my family. Gyanesh suggested me a few hand-picked great projects. He provided me full analysis of the project from a top builder. His support to make the right decision is great and he also coordinated and communicated with the builder on my behalf to complete the whole buying process.

- Anu Chadha, August 2023

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