Ontario First-Time Home Buyer Incentives 2026: 7 Rebates, Credits and Accounts

Five that work on any home, two that only exist for new builds. For each: who pays it, the most you can get, when it reaches you, and who gets turned away.

I’m Arthur Zhao, a full-time GTA broker for 12 years. “How much will the government give me?” is the first money question almost every first-time buyer asks, and there’s no single number. Some of these programs lower your tax while you save, some cut what you pay on closing day, one trims your tax bill the following spring, and two exist only if you buy new. Below they’re sorted by when they actually touch your money. Each one also defines “first-time buyer” its own way; that gets its own section near the end.

For the step-by-step process from pre-approval to keys, see the first-time home buyer guide for the GTA. This article is only about the money.

Ontario first-time home buyer incentives at a glance

These are ceilings; what you actually get depends on the price, your eligibility and your share of ownership. FHSA and HBP limits are per person, so a couple gets two of each if both qualify. On a new home up to $1 million the two new-build rebates top out at $130,000 combined, and that figure already includes the general new housing rebate. The two are not added together.

While you save: the FHSA

The First Home Savings Account, introduced in 2023, is the best of an RRSP and a TFSA in one: contributions are tax-deductible, growth inside the account isn’t taxed, and a qualifying withdrawal to buy your first home comes out tax-free. You can contribute $8,000 a year up to $40,000 over your lifetime; unused room carries forward, but only up to $8,000. Room only starts building in the year you open the account, so open one now even if you can only put in a little. Each spouse can have their own. To qualify as a “first-time home buyer” for the FHSA, you can’t have lived in a home owned by you or your spouse in the current year or the four calendar years before it.

When you pay the down payment: the RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan

The HBP lets you take up to $60,000 out of your own RRSP toward a first home without paying tax on it, as long as you pay it back; a couple who both qualify can take $120,000 between them. It’s a loan to yourself: the money goes back into your RRSP over 15 years, and any year you fall short, the missed amount is added to your income. Repayment normally starts in the second year after the withdrawal. If your first withdrawal was between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2025, repayment doesn’t start until the fifth year, and the CRA has said the same applies to first withdrawals from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2028. One catch: money you put into your RRSP less than 90 days before the HBP withdrawal may not be deductible. You can use the HBP and an FHSA for the same home.

On closing day: Ontario and Toronto land transfer tax rebates

Both rebates are normally taken off the land transfer tax by your lawyer when the deed is registered, so there’s nothing to file separately. If it wasn’t claimed at registration, the Ontario refund can still be applied for within 18 months. Ontario’s refund is capped at $4,000, which wipes out the provincial tax on a home up to $368,333. Toronto’s rebate is capped at $4,475, which covers the municipal tax up to $400,000, and it only applies to homes inside the City of Toronto. For the Ontario refund you must be at least 18, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident (or become one within 18 months), move in as your principal residence within nine months, and never have owned a home anywhere in the world. If your spouse owned a home while you were spouses, neither of you qualifies.

The following spring: the Home Buyers’ Amount

On your return for the year you buy, claim the $10,000 Home Buyers’ Amount on line 31270. It’s a non-refundable credit, so it only lowers tax you’d otherwise owe. At the lowest federal rate it’s worth about $1,400 for the 2026 tax year (14%) and about $1,450 for 2025 (14.5%); the “about $1,500” you’ll still see online predates the rate cut. If both spouses qualify they can split it, but the combined claim can’t go over $10,000; if only one qualifies, that person claims it all.

New builds only: the first-time buyer GST rebate and Ontario’s 8% HST rebate

Buying a newly built home (including pre-construction) from a builder as a first-time buyer opens two much larger rebates. The federal first-time buyer GST rebate refunds the full 5% GST, up to $50,000, on a home priced up to $1 million, phases out between $1 million and $1.5 million, and is gone at $1.5 million. The agreement with the builder has to be signed on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031, construction has to start before 2031, and the home has to be substantially complete before 2036. It became law when Bill C-4 received Royal Assent on March 12, 2026. Ontario’s first-time buyer rebate removes the 8% provincial portion of the HST, up to $80,000, in full up to $1 million and nothing at $1.5 million or more, for agreements signed from March 20, 2025 to December 31, 2030. Together that’s up to $130,000 on a new home up to $1 million, and that total already includes the general new housing rebate in the next section. Resale homes don’t qualify for either.

The CRA’s rules and an example calculation are in our post on the first-time home buyer GST rebate.

Often mistaken for a first-time perk: the general new housing rebate

Anyone buying a new home to live in, first-time or not, can claim the older GST/HST new housing rebate. The federal part is 36% of the GST to a maximum of $6,300, in full up to $350,000 and phased out to nothing at $450,000. Ontario’s part is 75% of the provincial HST to a maximum of $24,000, with no price ceiling; Ontario has announced it is ending: it now applies only to agreements signed by March 31, 2027 that close by the end of 2035. That’s about $30,300 at most. For a first-time buyer claiming the new-build rebates, this isn’t extra money: the federal first-time rebate tops up the general one to a combined $50,000 at most, and all of Ontario’s 8% rebates together are capped at $80,000. Many pre-construction prices are quoted net of this rebate, with the builder claiming it, so check which way your agreement is written.

Separately, Ontario’s 2026 Budget introduced temporary relief (confirmed in the 2026 Fall Statement) for any buyer, first-time or not, of a new home bought as a principal residence. The agreement has to be signed from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027, construction has to start by the end of 2028, and the home has to be substantially complete by the end of 2031. The full 13% HST is relieved up to $1 million and a flat $130,000 applies between $1 million and $1.5 million; above that the relief steps down, and at $1.85 million and over only the regular Ontario rebate of up to $24,000 is left. Some of the payments aren’t expected to start until early 2027. Up to $1 million, a first-time buyer already getting the $130,000 above gets nothing extra from it. Above $1 million, though, it can be worth more than the first-time rebates, so if you sign by March 31, 2027, have both calculated. How to claim it and how it fits with the rebate clauses in your agreement depend on the latest CRA and Ontario rules, so have your lawyer run the numbers before you sign.

“First-time buyer” means something different in each program

The most common mistake is assuming that qualifying for one means qualifying for all. The FHSA and HBP look at the current year plus the four calendar years before it: did you live in a home owned by you or your spouse? Once four full calendar years have passed since you moved out, you can qualify again. The Ontario land transfer tax refund is the strictest: you must never have owned a home anywhere in the world, so an apartment you once owned overseas rules you out. The new-home GST rebate has its own conditions again. The same person can easily qualify for some of these and not others. The four definitions are compared side by side in four definitions of “first-time home buyer” in Ontario.

Three things to do early

1. Open an FHSA now, even with a small deposit. Contribution room only starts the year the account exists; every year you wait is $8,000 of room you can’t use yet, which matters if you plan to buy within five years.

2. Be specific about your down payment at pre-approval. Lenders want paper for every source: FHSA, HBP, gifts from family. Remember the 90-day rule on recent RRSP contributions before an HBP withdrawal.

3. Check which “first-time” tests you pass before you sign an offer. Especially if a spouse has owned before, or a parent is going on title, the land transfer tax refund can shrink or disappear.

This article is general information, not tax or legal advice. Eligibility is decided under the CRA’s, Ontario’s and the City of Toronto’s rules; confirm with your accountant and real estate lawyer before you claim.