On May 27, 2025, the Government of Canada introduced proposed
legislative amendments to the Excise Tax Act (Canada) to
establish a new Goods and Services Tax
("GST") rebate for first-time home
buyers (the "FTHB GST Rebate"). This
initiative is part of the federal government's efforts to
increase housing affordability and to stimulate the construction of
new homes across the country.
The proposed FTHB GST Rebate would allow eligible first-time
home buyers to recover up to 100% of the GST (or the federal
portion of harmonized sales tax ("HST"))
paid on a new home, as more particularly described below,
potentially resulting in savings of up to $50,000.
The FTHB GST Rebate applies to new homes where the purchase
price is up to $1 million. For new homes priced between $1,000,001
and $1,499,999, the FTHB GST Rebate will be phased out on a linear
basis. For example, a new home priced at $1,250,000 would qualify
for a 50% rebate, which is up to $25,000. Unfortunately,
