If you sign an agreement with a builder in Ontario between April 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027, you may recover up to $130,000 of the 13% HST on a new home: up to $80,000 of the 8% provincial part through the Ontario enhanced new housing rebate (ENHR), and up to $50,000 of the 5% federal part through the federal first-time home buyers’ rebate, the Ontario New Home Affordability Payment (ONHAP), or a combination of the two. The ENHR is not limited to first-time buyers, and unlike the first-time buyer rebates it does not require you to be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. That matters for newcomers on work permits. The rules are new, temporary and detailed, so confirm the current CRA and Ontario postings before you sign.
Key Takeaways
- There are now three layers: the long-standing new housing rebates, the first-time home buyers’ (FTHB) rebates for the federal and Ontario parts of the HST, and the temporary Ontario ENHR plus ONHAP.
- For homes valued up to $1 million, the ENHR and ONHAP together can relieve the full 13% HST. Between $1 million and $1.5 million, the relief is a flat amount. It phases out completely at $1.85 million.
- The FTHB rebates require you to be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and not to have lived in a home you owned, in or outside Canada, in the current year or the previous four calendar years.
- The ENHR requires that the home be your, or your relation’s, primary place of residence. It does not require citizenship, PR status or first-time buyer status.
- Timing is everything. For the ENHR, the agreement of purchase and sale with the builder generally must be signed between April 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027. Re-signing an older agreement usually does not help.
How HST works on a new home
HST in Ontario has two parts: a 5% federal part (GST) and an 8% provincial part. On a new home bought from a builder, HST is payable on the purchase price, and the advertised price usually already assumes that the builder will receive your rebates. A speaker at the 2026 Ontario Legal Conference, Maurizio Romanin, walked through how this works on the closing documents: the rebates are typically included in the purchase price and assigned to the builder, so the buyer’s eligibility is what the whole price depends on.
Layer 1: the long-standing new housing rebates
Before 2025, most buyers of new homes relied on two older rebates:
- The federal GST/HST new housing rebate, which is small and only available for lower-priced homes (CRA states the threshold as under $450,000 for owner-built homes). The conference materials described it as 36% of the GST to a maximum of $6,300, phasing out between $350,000 and $450,000.
- The Ontario new housing rebate, which CRA describes as up to $24,000 of the provincial part. It remains available even above $1.85 million.
Both require that the home be the primary place of residence of the buyer or a relation, and that the buyer or relation be the first to occupy it after construction.
Layer 2: the first-time home buyers’ rebates
The federal FTHB GST/HST rebate, available for agreements signed with a builder on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031, provides:
- 100% of the GST (or federal part of the HST), up to $50,000, on a new home valued up to $1 million; and
- a reduced rebate between $1 million and $1.5 million, phasing to zero at $1.5 million. CRA’s own example: a $1.25 million home is eligible for 50% of the maximum, or $25,000.
Ontario added a matching Ontario FTHB rebate of up to $80,000 of the provincial part, which follows the federal eligibility conditions.
To be a first-time home buyer, CRA says all of the following must be true:
- you are at least 18;
- you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident;
- you have not lived in a home that you or your spouse or common-law partner owned, whether in or outside Canada, as your primary place of residence in the calendar year you take ownership or in the previous four calendar years; and
- neither you nor your spouse or partner has received an FTHB rebate before.
For newcomers, two of these conditions often decide the case. A work permit holder is not a citizen or permanent resident on the closing date, so is not eligible. And a newcomer who lived in an apartment they owned in Shanghai, Mumbai or Lagos until 2023 is not a first-time buyer for a home that closes in 2026. The test is applied on the day ownership transfers to you, not the day you sign.
Layer 3: the Ontario ENHR and ONHAP (2026 to 2027)
What they are
The Ontario enhanced new housing rebate is a temporary top-up to the Ontario new housing rebate, administered by the CRA. Combined with the Ontario new housing rebate, CRA states that it provides:
| New home value | Provincial relief (ENHR plus Ontario new housing rebate) |
|---|---|
| Up to $1 million | 100% of the 8% provincial part, up to $80,000 |
| Above $1 million, up to $1.5 million | Flat $80,000 |
| Above $1.5 million and below $1.85 million | Partial rebate |
| $1.85 million and above | Only the Ontario new housing rebate, up to $24,000 |
The Ontario New Home Affordability Payment is a separate provincial payment, administered by Ontario, of up to $50,000 for the federal part of the HST. Ontario’s table follows the same structure: full relief up to $1 million, a flat $50,000 between $1 million and $1.5 million, partial relief up to $1.85 million and none above that. You only qualify for ONHAP if you are eligible for and receive the ENHR. There is no separate ONHAP application; you give consent on the CRA rebate form so that the CRA can share your information with Ontario.
Who qualifies
For a house and land bought from the same builder, CRA lists these conditions:
- the agreement of purchase and sale is entered into on or after April 1, 2026 and on or before March 31, 2027;
- construction begins on or before December 31, 2028 and is substantially completed on or before December 31, 2031;
- total consideration is less than $1,850,000 (excluding HST);
- the home is a single-unit house or a condominium unit bought for use as the primary place of residence of you or your relation, not as a rental; and
- you or your relation are the first to occupy it after construction.
Different conditions apply to owner-built homes, homes on leased land and co-op shares.
Notice what is missing: there is no citizenship, permanent residence or first-time buyer requirement. A family that arrived on work permits, or a buyer who owned a home abroad last year, may still qualify if the home will genuinely be their primary residence.
Agreements signed before April 1, 2026
CRA addresses this directly. If you amend an older agreement so that it would be treated as a new one, the agreement is still deemed to have been made before April 1, 2026, and the ENHR is not available. If an older agreement is terminated and a new one signed, the new agreement must have been made for genuine purposes other than obtaining the rebate. For assignment sales, both the original agreement and the assignment must fall within the April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027 window.
How the rebates interact
CRA sets an order of operations:
- If you qualify for the federal FTHB rebate, you must claim it first. ONHAP then covers any part of the federal 5% that the FTHB rebate did not.
- For the provincial 8%, you may claim the ENHR, the Ontario FTHB rebate, or both, but the total cannot exceed the lesser of $80,000 and the provincial HST actually payable.
In practice, for a home up to $1 million, an eligible first-time buyer and a non-first-time buyer may end up with similar total relief. The difference shows up in who pays, how the claim is filed and what happens if eligibility fails. The CRA’s GST190 application and the RC7190-ON Ontario schedule carry check boxes for each combination (new housing rebate only, FTHB, FTHB plus enhanced, enhanced only), which is why the closing lawyer needs to know your status and housing history precisely.
Risks for buyers
- You carry the eligibility risk. CRA states that if you are not eligible and the builder credited the rebate to you, you must repay it, and the builder can be jointly and severally liable if it knew or ought to have known. Builders’ agreements commonly require the buyer to pay the builder back.
- Primary residence is a real test. A home bought to rent out does not qualify. Your intention must be evident from the start, and you or a relation must be the first occupant.
- Changes in your plans matter. If you relocate for work, or a family member who was to occupy the unit stays abroad, the rebate assumptions in your agreement may no longer hold.
- Closing dates move. Pre-construction timelines slip. Check how the construction-start and completion deadlines fit the builder’s schedule.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get the Ontario HST rebate if I am on a work permit?
The federal and Ontario first-time home buyers’ rebates require Canadian citizenship or permanent residence. The Ontario ENHR and ONHAP do not list that requirement; they turn on the home being your, or your relation’s, primary place of residence and on the signing dates. Confirm the current CRA conditions for your situation.
I owned an apartment in my home country. Am I a first-time buyer?
Not if you lived in it as your primary place of residence in the year you take ownership of the new home or in the previous four calendar years. CRA’s test expressly includes homes outside Canada.
Does the enhanced rebate apply to resale homes?
No. These rebates apply to new or substantially renovated homes, generally bought from a builder or built by you.
I signed with a builder in 2025. Can I re-sign to get the enhanced rebate?
Generally no. CRA treats an amended agreement as made before April 1, 2026, and a terminated and replaced agreement must have a genuine purpose other than obtaining the rebate. You may still qualify for the FTHB or Ontario new housing rebates.
For the other closing costs, see our guides to buying property in Ontario step by step, land transfer tax refunds for first-time buyers, and buying as a non-resident.
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Disclaimer: This article is for general information only and is not legal advice. Ontario real estate, tax and estates law change frequently, and every matter turns on its own facts. Reading this article does not create a lawyer–client relationship. Obtain advice tailored to your situation before you act.
Talk to an Ontario lawyer. BridgePoint Law advises individuals and businesses across Canada — and on Canada–US–China cross-border matters — on new home purchases, HST rebates and Ontario real estate closings. Book a consultation with our team in Toronto and Kingston. We work in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese.
