Guide
The Ontario new home HST rebate guide
How do the Ontario and federal new home HST rebates actually work?
Three programs currently overlap: the federal first-time buyer GST rebate of up to $50,000, the Ontario Enhanced New Housing Rebate of up to $80,000 which has no first-time buyer test, and an Ontario 5% top-up of up to $50,000 reduced by any federal rebate claimed. Combined relief reaches roughly $130,000.
Ontario currently offers the largest new-home tax relief in its history, and a great many buyers are working from last year’s understanding of it. On a typical GTA low-rise purchase, the gap between knowing this and not knowing it is five or six figures.
HST in Ontario is 13%: a 5% federal portion and an 8% provincial portion. The programs below target different halves of it.
Program 1, Federal First-Time Home Buyers’ GST Rebate
Became law March 12, 2026 (Bill C-4).
- Rebates: the full 5% federal GST
- Maximum: $50,000
- Full rebate: up to $1,000,000
- Phase-out: straight line from $1,000,000 to zero at $1,500,000
- Window: agreements signed on or after March 20, 2025 and before January 1, 2031
- First-time buyer: required
The eligibility test is the part to read carefully. Neither you nor your spouse or common-law partner can have lived in a home either of you owned, anywhere in the world, in the current calendar year or the four preceding years.
It is not “have you owned property.” It is “have you lived in a home you or your partner owned.” Someone who has never owned anything but lives in their partner’s condo is disqualified. The spousal trap.
Program 2, Ontario Enhanced New Housing Rebate
The big one, and the temporary one.
- Rebates: the 8% provincial portion
- Maximum: $80,000
- Window: agreements signed April 1, 2026 – March 31, 2027
- First-time buyer: not required
| Price | ENHR |
|---|---|
| Up to $1,000,000 | Full 8% |
| $1,000,000 – $1,500,000 | Flat $80,000 |
| $1,500,000 – $1,850,000 | Partial, declining |
| $1,850,000+ | None, standard $24,000 only |
Two things people get wrong here.
It is not first-time-buyer relief. Early commentary described it that way and some explainers still do. The regulations tie it to the conditions of the existing Ontario new housing rebate, which has never had such a test. If you have owned before, you are probably still eligible. This one matters.
The flat band is generous. A $1,000,000 home and a $1,499,000 home both get $80,000.
What it does require: an individual buyer, the home as primary place of residence for you or a relation, and you as the first occupant. Primary residence.
Program 3. The Ontario 5% top-up
A provincial payment equivalent to the 5% federal portion, up to $50,000, for buyers who receive the ENHR, reduced by any federal GST rebate claimed. More.
Its effect is to equalise the outcome for buyers who are not first-time buyers.
How they combine
An $800,000 freehold townhome, inside both windows, owner-occupied:
| First-time buyer | Has owned before | |
|---|---|---|
| Federal GST rebate | $40,000 | $0 |
| Ontario ENHR | $64,000 | $64,000 |
| Ontario top-up | $0 (offset) | $40,000 |
| Total | $104,000 | $104,000 |
Deliberately similar. The top-up fills the federal gap.
The combined maximum lands near $130,000 around a $1,000,000 price. Above that the federal rebate phases out while the ENHR sits flat, so the total falls. Worked examples.
The three traps
1. The builder has your rebate. Nearly every Ontario builder agreement prices the home HST-inclusive and requires you to assign the rebate at closing. You already received it as a lower price. But if you turn out not to qualify, the builder bills you the full amount on closing day, up to $80,000 in certified funds. Read this.
2. Renting it out voids it. Both enhanced rebates require owner occupancy. Change your mind and you pay the HST at closing and claim the NRRP rebate yourself, months later. More.
3. The price cliffs. $1,500,000 federally and $1,850,000 provincially. Lot premiums and upgrades can push you across one without you noticing. The cliffs.
The deadline that is actually urgent
The ENHR window closes March 31, 2027, on the signing date, not the closing date.
On a $1.2M low-rise home, signing inside the window versus outside it is a difference of roughly $56,000 in provincial relief alone. In low-rise that matters more than it sounds, because you cannot sign for a lot that has not been released yet, and desirable phases release on the builder’s schedule, not yours.
Estimate your own position, then confirm it with your accountant before you waive anything.
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