First-Time Home Buyers’ GST/HST Rebate: What If Your Purchase Agreement Predates March 20, 2025?

Key Takeaways

• For a home bought from a builder, the federal First-Time Home Buyers’ GST/HST Rebate generally requires an agreement of purchase and sale entered into on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031.
• A later closing, possession date, amendment, extension, assignment or Tarion notice does not ordinarily cure a pre-March 20, 2025 agreement.
• Anti-avoidance rules can treat a cancelled-and-replaced agreement as if it were signed before the cutoff.
• Ontario’s First-Time Home Buyers’ rebate (up to $80,000) follows the same federal eligibility conditions, so it is generally also unavailable.
• Ontario’s temporary $130,000 enhanced rebate requires an agreement signed between April 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027. It does not rescue older agreements.
• Pre-cutoff purchasers should still check the ordinary federal and Ontario new housing rebates, explained in our GST/HST new housing rebate guide.

In This Article

Overview: Canada’s First-Time Home Buyers’ GST/HST Rebate

Background: Why the March 20, 2025 Agreement Date Matters

Why You May Have Seen May 27, 2025 Instead

Key Issues and Findings: Federal FTHB Eligibility Conditions

What If the Original Agreement Was Signed Before March 20, 2025?

Can an Amendment, Extension or Assignment Create a New Qualifying Agreement?

What If the Original Agreement Was Cancelled and Replaced?

Does a Tarion Closing Notice Create a New Agreement?

Practical Implications: What Pre-March 20, 2025 Purchasers May Still Claim

Closing Before Royal Assent

How to Claim: Builder Credit vs. Direct Application

Builder Credits Are Not Proof of Entitlement

Pro Tax Tips: Review the Entire Builder Agreement History

FAQs: First-Time Home Buyers’ GST/HST Rebate and Pre-Cutoff Agreements

Takeaway: The Original Agreement Date Controls the FTHB Rebate

Overview: Canada’s First-Time Home Buyers’ GST/HST Rebate

The First-Time Home Buyers’ (FTHB) GST/HST Rebate can provide significant tax relief to eligible purchasers of newly constructed or substantially renovated homes.

For qualifying homes purchased from a builder, the rebate can increase total federal GST or federal HST relief to as much as $50,000. The thresholds work as follows:

• Up to $1 million: the full federal benefit is generally available where total consideration is no more than $1 million.
• $1 million to $1.5 million: the rebate is reduced on a straight-line basis. For example, a home at $1.25 million generally qualifies for 50% of the maximum, or up to $25,000.
• $1.5 million or more: no FTHB rebate is available.

For a home purchased from a builder, one of the most important eligibility conditions is the date of the agreement of purchase and sale. The agreement generally must have been entered into on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031.

The closing date is a separate matter. A purchaser who signed before March 20, 2025 does not ordinarily become eligible merely because the transaction closed after that date.

Background: Why the March 20, 2025 Agreement Date Matters

The Making Life More Affordable for Canadians Act (Bill C-4) received Royal Assent on March 12, 2026. The amendments to the Excise Tax Act that implement the FTHB rebate apply retroactively to qualifying agreements entered into on or after March 20, 2025. The rebate can therefore apply to an eligible builder agreement signed in 2025, even though the legislation was enacted later.

For example, assume a purchaser signed a pre-construction agreement on September 30, 2024 and took ownership in February 2026. The February 2026 closing does not satisfy the agreement-date requirement. The purchaser would generally be ineligible for the federal FTHB rebate because the original agreement predates March 20, 2025. The same analysis applies to a purchase agreement for a new home in Ontario.

Why You May Have Seen May 27, 2025 Instead

When the rebate was first proposed in 2025, the draft legislation applied only to agreements entered into after May 26, 2025. Bill C-4 was later amended to move the effective date back to agreements entered into after March 19, 2025.

Builder documents, rebate clauses and articles written in mid-2025 may still refer to the May 27, 2025 date. The enacted March 20, 2025 date governs. Agreements signed between March 20 and May 26, 2025 can qualify if every other condition is met.

Key Issues and Findings: Federal FTHB Eligibility Conditions

For a home purchased from a builder, the federal FTHB rebate generally requires that:

• the purchaser is an individual who is at least 18 years old;
• the purchaser is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident;
• the purchaser acquires the home for use as the purchaser’s own primary place of residence;
• the purchaser has not occupied a home owned by the purchaser, or by the purchaser’s spouse or common-law partner, as a primary place of residence in the calendar year in which ownership is transferred or in the four preceding calendar years (first-time buyer status is tested on the ownership-transfer date, not the signing date);
• the agreement of purchase and sale is entered into on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031;
• construction or substantial renovation begins before 2031;
• construction or substantial renovation is substantially completed before 2036;
• ownership of the home is transferred before 2036;
• the purchaser is the first individual to occupy the home as a residence after substantial completion; and
• neither the purchaser nor the purchaser’s spouse or common-law partner has previously claimed, or been deemed to have claimed, the FTHB rebate.

In certain respects, the FTHB rebate is stricter than the ordinary GST/HST new housing rebate. The ordinary rebate may be available where the home is intended to be the primary residence of the purchaser’s relation. The FTHB rebate generally requires the claimant to acquire the home for that individual’s own primary residence and to be the first individual to occupy it.

• Co-purchasers are tested too. For the FTHB rebate, the Excise Tax Act applies a two-layer test. First, every co-purchaser must meet the ordinary new housing rebate conditions (read with a $1.5 million ceiling), including acquiring the home for use as the primary place of residence of that individual or of a relation. The Federal Court of Appeal held in Canada v. Cheema, 2018 FCA 45, that this applies to each individual who signs the purchase agreement, including a co-signer who holds title only as a bare trustee. Second, at least one co-purchaser must be a first-time home buyer who acquires the home as his or her own primary place of residence and is the first individual to occupy it, and that individual must be the one who applies. A parent who co-signs for an adult child can therefore generally satisfy the first layer through the child, while an unrelated friend, aunt or uncle who co-signs only to help with financing defeats both rebates.
• Intent must exist at signing. Primary-residence intent is tested when the purchaser becomes liable under the agreement. Documented intent matters, and an intention to flip the property is fatal.

The price thresholds must also be determined carefully. For a house and land purchased from the same builder, the test generally turns on the statutory concept of “total consideration.” It does not simply use an appraisal value or the amount shown on a closing statement.

What If the Original Agreement Was Signed Before March 20, 2025?

A purchaser who signed before March 20, 2025 generally will not qualify for the federal FTHB rebate, even if:

• the home was not completed until after March 20, 2025;
• the purchaser took possession after March 20, 2025;
• ownership was transferred after Royal Assent;
• the purchaser paid GST or HST at closing after March 20, 2025; or
• the builder issued a later closing notice or extension.

The legislation treats the agreement-date requirement and the ownership-transfer date as separate conditions, and each must be considered independently. The purchaser should therefore preserve and review the entire contractual history:

• the original agreement of purchase and sale;
• amendments and change orders;
• assignments;
• extension agreements;
• termination or cancellation documents;
• replacement agreements;
• Tarion notices;
• statements of adjustments;
• closing documents; and
• GST/HST rebate forms.

The final closing statement alone may not establish eligibility.

Can an Amendment, Extension or Assignment Create a New Qualifying Agreement?

Generally, no.

The legislation contains rules intended to prevent a pre-March 20, 2025 agreement from being converted into a qualifying agreement simply by changing the documentation after the cutoff. Where such an agreement is later varied, altered or assigned, it may continue to be treated as entered into before March 20, 2025. This can apply even where the amended or assigned agreement is dated after March 19, 2025.

A purchaser should not assume that any of the following creates a new qualifying purchase agreement:

• an amendment;
• a price adjustment;
• a construction extension;
• an assignment;
• a change in purchaser;
• a change in unit;
• a closing-date extension; or
• a revised builder document.

The legal effect depends on the nature of the document and the statutory rules that apply. Assignors should also remember that assignment sales of new housing have been taxable since May 7, 2022, which raises separate GST/HST issues.

What If the Original Agreement Was Cancelled and Replaced?

A replacement agreement entered into after March 19, 2025 is not automatically disqualified in every circumstance. However, specific anti-avoidance rules may apply where a pre-March 20, 2025 agreement is cancelled and replaced.

The replacement agreement may be treated as having been entered into before March 20, 2025 where, broadly, all of the following apply:

• the original agreement was entered into before March 20, 2025;
• the original agreement is terminated after March 19, 2025;
• the purchaser, a non-arm’s-length individual or a non-arm’s-length group enters into another agreement involving the original builder, a non-arm’s-length builder or another builder of the home; and
• the replacement arrangement cannot reasonably be regarded as having been undertaken primarily for bona fide purposes other than obtaining the FTHB rebate.

This is not necessarily a blanket prohibition on every genuine cancellation and replacement. A commercially genuine transaction may call for a different analysis than an arrangement designed primarily to obtain the rebate. Relevant facts may include:

• why the original agreement was cancelled;
• whether the builder or the purchaser required the cancellation;
• whether the replacement agreement concerns the same home;
• whether the parties were dealing at arm’s length;
• whether the economic terms materially changed;
• whether the replacement was commercially necessary; and
• whether obtaining the rebate was a principal purpose of the arrangement.

Does a Tarion Closing Notice Create a New Agreement?

Tarion Warranty Corporation administers Ontario’s new home warranty program, and every builder agreement for a new home in Ontario must include the Tarion Addendum. The Addendum sets the tentative and firm closing dates and requires the builder to give formal written notice when those dates are extended. A Tarion closing notice is one of these notices. Ordinarily, a closing notice, construction extension notice or similar document should not simply be assumed to replace the original agreement of purchase and sale.

Its legal effect depends on the original contract and the surrounding documentation. A Tarion notice may provide evidence about construction, occupancy or closing, but it does not necessarily create a new agreement for GST/HST rebate purposes. The original agreement, amendments, extensions, assignments and Tarion documents should be reviewed together.

Practical Implications: What Pre-March 20, 2025 Purchasers May Still Claim

A purchaser who misses the FTHB cutoff may still be entitled to other federal and provincial relief. The table below compares the rebates, followed by a short discussion of each.

Rebate Comparison at a Glance

Rebate	Portion of tax	Agreement-date requirement (builder sales)	Owner-built requirement (construction dates)	Maximum	Value limits
Ordinary federal new housing rebate	GST / federal part of HST	None	None	$6,300	Phases out $350,000–$450,000
Federal FTHB GST/HST rebate	GST / federal part of HST	March 20, 2025 to end of 2030	Construction begins on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031; substantially completed before 2036	$50,000 (combined federal relief)	Phases out $1M–$1.5M
Ordinary Ontario new housing rebate	Provincial part of HST	None	None	$24,000 ($16,080 owner-built where no HST paid on the land)	No upper value cap
Ontario First-Time Home Buyers’ rebate	Provincial part of HST	Follows federal FTHB conditions	Follows federal FTHB conditions	$80,000	Full to $1M, reduced $1M–$1.5M, but never below the $24,000 ordinary Ontario rebate
Ontario Enhanced New Housing Rebate + ONHAP	Provincial part, plus an amount equal to the federal part	April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027	Construction begins April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027; substantially completed by December 31, 2029	$80,000 + $50,000 = $130,000	Reduced $1.5M–$1.85M

Provincial Programs Outside Ontario at a Glance

The programs below are administered by their own provinces, and the last three rebate a different tax than the GST/HST. None of them can replace a missed federal FTHB rebate.

Rebate	Portion of tax	Agreement-date requirement (builder sales)	Owner-built requirement (construction dates)	Maximum	Value limits
Nova Scotia First-Time Home Buyers’ Rebate	Provincial part of HST	None (newly built homes only)	Available; apply within 24 months of the occupancy permit	$3,000 (18.75% of provincial part)	No value limit; administered by Nova Scotia
New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island	Not applicable (no provincial rebate)	Not applicable	Not applicable	No provincial rebate for owner-occupied new homes	Not applicable
Saskatchewan PST Rebate for New Home Construction	Provincial sales tax (not HST)	None (permanent program)	Available; owner must occupy on or after April 1, 2023	42% of PST paid	Reduced $450,000–$550,000; none at $550,000
British Columbia newly built home exemption	Property transfer tax (not a sales tax rebate)	None	Available for owner-built homes	Full exemption from provincial property transfer tax	Full to $1.1M, partial to $1.15M
Quebec QST new housing rebate	QST (administered by Revenu Québec)	None	Available; same value limits	$9,975	Reduced above $200,000; none at $300,000
Alberta, Manitoba and the territories	No provincial sales tax on new housing	Not applicable	Not applicable	No provincial rebate	Not applicable

Ordinary Federal New Housing Rebate

The ordinary federal GST/HST new housing rebate is separate from the FTHB rebate. For a house and land purchased from the same builder, it generally requires total consideration of less than $450,000. The maximum is generally $6,300. The full rebate is generally available where the purchase price is $350,000 or less, phases out between $350,000 and $450,000, and is unavailable where the purchase price is $450,000 or more.

A purchaser who misses the FTHB rebate because of the March 20, 2025 cutoff should separately determine whether the ordinary federal rebate remains available. For most new homes in the Greater Toronto Area, it will not be, because of the $450,000 ceiling.

Ordinary Ontario New Housing Rebate

Ontario purchasers should also consider the ordinary Ontario new housing rebate. It is separate from the federal FTHB rebate and has its own eligibility requirements. It is generally worth up to $24,000 and, unlike the federal rebate, is not subject to an upper value cap.

A purchaser may remain eligible for it even where the federal FTHB rebate is unavailable. The amount depends on the statutory rules, the provincial part of the HST paid and the nature of the transaction. The HST shown on a statement of adjustments does not, by itself, establish the rebate available.

Ontario First-Time Home Buyers’ Rebate

Ontario’s First-Time Home Buyers’ rebate provides up to $80,000 of relief from the provincial part of the HST. It follows the federal FTHB eligibility conditions, including the March 20, 2025 agreement-date requirement.

A purchaser with a pre-March 20, 2025 builder agreement should therefore not assume this rebate is available merely because:

• the home closed after March 20, 2025;
• the purchaser became the registered owner later; or
• the builder credited an amount described as a rebate.

The federal and Ontario FTHB rules should be reviewed together. They should not be confused with the ordinary federal or Ontario new housing rebates.

Ontario Enhanced New Housing Rebate

The Ontario Enhanced New Housing Rebate (ENHR) is a separate temporary measure. It is not the same as the federal FTHB rebate or Ontario’s First-Time Home Buyers’ rebate, and it is not limited to first-time buyers.

For a house and land purchased from the same builder, the principal conditions include:

• an agreement of purchase and sale entered into on or after April 1, 2026 and on or before March 31, 2027;
• construction or substantial renovation beginning on or before December 31, 2028;
• substantial completion on or before December 31, 2031; and
• a value below $1.85 million, with the enhanced relief reduced between $1.5 million and $1.85 million.

The ENHR rebates up to $80,000 of the provincial part of the HST. A separate Ontario New Home Affordability Payment (ONHAP), administered by the Province of Ontario rather than the CRA, covers an amount equal to the federal part of the HST, up to $50,000, for combined relief of up to $130,000.

A parallel enhancement applies to qualifying new residential rental property. Different requirements may apply to leased-land and co-operative housing transactions. Where a purchaser also qualifies for the FTHB rebates, the measures are coordinated rather than stacked, so total provincial relief remains capped.

The ENHR does not help a purchaser whose builder agreement predates April 1, 2026:

• A February 2026 closing does not qualify merely because it occurred near the program’s effective period. The builder agreement itself generally must fall within the April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027 window.
• An assignment signed in 2026 does not help an older builder agreement. For assignments, both the original builder agreement and the assignment agreement generally must fall within the window, and anti-avoidance rules apply.

New Housing Rebates in Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Quebec

Outside Ontario, little provincial relief is available for owner-occupied new homes. Nova Scotia’s First-Time Home Buyers’ Rebate returns 18.75% of the provincial part of the HST on a newly built home, to a maximum of $3,000, where no purchaser has owned and occupied a home in Canada in the previous five years. It is administered by the Province of Nova Scotia rather than the CRA, is not tied to the March 20, 2025 agreement date and must generally be claimed within 24 months. The CRA administers no provincial new housing rebate for owner-occupied homes in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador or Prince Edward Island, so a purchaser in those provinces who misses the federal FTHB cutoff is generally left with the ordinary federal rebate alone.

Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and the territories charge no provincial sales tax on new housing, so only the 5% GST applies and there is no provincial new housing rebate to claim. Three provinces outside the HST system run programs of their own, but each rebates a different tax and none of them can replace a missed federal FTHB rebate. Saskatchewan’s PST Rebate for New Home Construction refunds up to 42% of the provincial sales tax on a newly built home priced under $550,000, and became a permanent program in the 2025-26 provincial budget. British Columbia has no provincial rebate of sales tax on new housing, but its newly built home exemption eliminates provincial property transfer tax on a qualifying principal residence valued up to $1,100,000, with a partial exemption to $1,150,000. In Quebec, Revenu Québec administers both the GST and the QST, and the QST new housing rebate is worth up to $9,975, reduced above a purchase price of $200,000 and unavailable at $300,000 or more. A purchaser outside Ontario should confirm the rules of the province where the home is located rather than assuming that Ontario’s treatment applies.

Closing Before Royal Assent

Some purchasers took ownership of a qualifying home before Royal Assent on March 12, 2026. Because builders could not credit the FTHB rebate before the legislation was enacted, many of these purchasers must apply directly to the CRA.

The CRA’s administrative guidance provides a filing process for transactions that closed before Royal Assent or where the builder did not credit an enhanced rebate. In appropriate circumstances, a purchaser may be able to submit an additional rebate application within the applicable filing period.

That procedural accommodation does not remove the substantive eligibility requirements. In particular, it does not generally allow an FTHB claim where:

• the agreement was entered into before March 20, 2025; or
• an amendment, assignment or replacement arrangement is treated as pre-dating March 20, 2025 under the anti-avoidance rules.

A transitional filing rule should not be confused with a transitional eligibility rule.

How to Claim: Builder Credit vs. Direct Application

There are generally two routes for a builder sale.

Builder credit. The purchaser completes the prescribed rebate application and provides it to the builder within the applicable period. The builder credits the rebate against the amount payable at closing and claims it from the CRA. The builder, rather than an assignor or unrelated intermediary, is generally the party authorized to pay or credit a rebate in a builder sale.

Direct application. Where the builder did not credit the rebate, the purchaser applies to the CRA using Form GST190, GST/HST New Housing Rebate Application for Houses Purchased from a Builder. In Ontario, Form RC7190-ON, GST190 Ontario Rebate Schedule, is filed with it to claim the provincial part of the HST. This can be done online through CRA My Account or by mail. Supporting documents typically include:

• the purchase agreement;
• the statement of adjustments; and
• evidence of first-time buyer status.

For a house and land purchased from the same builder, the purchaser generally has two years after ownership is transferred to file where the builder did not pay or credit the rebate. For leased-land transactions, the period may generally run from the date possession is transferred.

Builder Credits Are Not Proof of Entitlement

A builder may credit a rebate to which the purchaser is not entitled, or more than the purchaser is entitled to receive. If the builder knew, or could reasonably be expected to know, the builder and purchaser may face joint and several liability for the overpayment.

Rebate claims on new homes are a known CRA tax audit focus in Ontario. The CRA can generally reassess a GST/HST rebate within four years of the rebate application.

A purchaser who suspects a rebate was improperly claimed or credited may be able to correct it through a voluntary disclosure before the CRA raises the issue. Under Information Circular IC00-1R7, voluntariness is assessed issue by issue, and even a routine CRA notice about the rebate can make the disclosure prompted, which reduces the interest relief available.

Example: HST Shown on a Closing Statement

Suppose a closing statement for a builder agreement signed on September 30, 2024 shows:

• $43,092.92 of federal HST; and
• $68,948.67 of Ontario HST,

with a $24,000 Ontario new housing rebate already credited.

These figures imply a pre-tax price of roughly $861,858. They show that substantial HST was paid, but they do not establish eligibility for any additional rebate. Applying the rules above:

• Federal FTHB rebate: generally unavailable, because the agreement predates March 20, 2025.
• Ontario First-Time Home Buyers’ rebate: generally unavailable for the same reason.
• Ontario Enhanced New Housing Rebate: unavailable, because the agreement was not signed between April 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027.
• Ordinary federal new housing rebate: generally unavailable, because total consideration exceeds $450,000.
• Ordinary Ontario new housing rebate: likely already claimed at its $24,000 maximum.

In this scenario, the purchaser generally has no further rebate to claim unless the review uncovers something else. Examples would be a qualifying replacement agreement, an error in the consideration figures, or an unclaimed ordinary rebate.

Each case must be calculated under the legislation. The analysis may depend on:

• the date of the original agreement;
• the total consideration;
• the dates construction began and was substantially completed;
• the date ownership was transferred;
• the identity and use of the occupants;
• first-time buyer status;
• whether the builder credited an ordinary rebate; and
• any amendments, assignments or replacement agreements.

The HST on the closing statement should never simply be added up and treated as the available rebate.

Pro Tax Tips: Review the Entire Builder Agreement History

If the original agreement predates March 20, 2025, do not assume that a later closing, amendment, assignment or extension makes the purchaser eligible for the FTHB rebate. Preserve and review:

• the original agreement;
• every amendment and extension;
• all assignments;
• cancellation and replacement documents;
• Tarion notices;
• the statement of adjustments;
• builder rebate forms; and
• proof of occupancy and ownership.

Assess the contractual history against the Excise Tax Act and CRA guidance before filing a significant rebate claim. Where the facts are complex, have them reviewed by an experienced Canadian tax lawyer.

FAQs: First-Time Home Buyers’ GST/HST Rebate and Pre-Cutoff Agreements

What is the First-Time Home Buyers’ GST/HST Rebate?

It is a federal rebate for eligible first-time home buyers who acquire qualifying newly constructed or substantially renovated housing. It can increase total federal GST or federal HST relief to as much as $50,000. The amount depends on:

• the tax paid;
• the statutory formula;
• the ordinary new housing rebate; and
• the $1 million and $1.5 million value thresholds.

When did the First-Time Home Buyers’ GST/HST Rebate become law?

It was enacted through the Making Life More Affordable for Canadians Act, which received Royal Assent on March 12, 2026. The Excise Tax Act amendments apply retroactively to qualifying agreements entered into on or after March 20, 2025.

Do both co-purchasers or spouses have to be first-time home buyers?

No, but every co-purchaser is tested. Only one co-purchaser needs to be a first-time home buyer, and that individual must acquire the home as his or her own primary place of residence, be the first to occupy it and be the one who applies. Every other co-purchaser must still meet the ordinary new housing rebate conditions, which under Canada v. Cheema, 2018 FCA 45, include acquiring the home for his or her own or a relation’s primary place of residence. A parent co-signing for an adult child can generally qualify on that basis; an unrelated friend, aunt or uncle generally cannot. A spouse raises two further points: the first-time buyer cannot have lived in a home the spouse owned during the lookback period, and a spouse who is a co-purchaser is deemed to have claimed the FTHB rebate too, which bars that spouse from a later claim.

When is first-time home buyer status tested?

For a home purchased from a builder, on the date ownership is transferred, not the date the agreement is signed. The purchaser must not have lived, as a primary place of residence, in a home that he or she (or his or her spouse or common-law partner) owned at any time from the beginning of the fourth preceding calendar year up to the day before ownership is transferred. A purchaser who sold a home he or she lived in during 2022 would not qualify on a 2026 closing, but could qualify on a closing in 2027.

I’ve seen May 27, 2025 as the start date. Which date is correct?

March 20, 2025. The May 27, 2025 date came from the original 2025 proposal. Parliament amended Bill C-4 to apply to agreements entered into after March 19, 2025.

What if I signed my agreement before March 20, 2025 but closed afterward?

For a home purchased from a builder, a later closing generally does not cure an agreement date before March 20, 2025. The ordinary federal and Ontario new housing rebates should be considered separately.

Can an amendment to my purchase agreement change the relevant date?

Generally, no. The legislation may treat an amended, varied, altered or assigned agreement as having been entered into before March 20, 2025.

What if my original agreement was cancelled and replaced?

A replacement agreement is not automatically disqualified. However, anti-avoidance rules may apply where the replacement cannot reasonably be regarded as undertaken primarily for bona fide purposes other than obtaining the rebate. The reason for the cancellation, the relationship among the parties and the commercial purpose of the replacement should all be examined.

Does a Tarion closing notice create a new agreement of purchase and sale?

Not necessarily. Its legal effect depends on the original purchase agreement and the surrounding documents.

Can I qualify because my home closed before the legislation received Royal Assent?

Closing before Royal Assent does not, by itself, make a purchaser eligible or ineligible:

• A qualifying agreement entered into on or after March 20, 2025 may still be eligible even if ownership transferred before Royal Assent, provided all other conditions are met.
• A pre-March 20, 2025 agreement does not become eligible merely because the purchaser closed after Royal Assent.

Can Ontario’s $130,000 enhanced rebate help if I signed before March 20, 2025?

Generally, no. The Ontario Enhanced New Housing Rebate requires an agreement of purchase and sale entered into between April 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027. A later assignment does not help an older builder agreement, because both the builder agreement and the assignment generally must fall within that window.

Is the Ontario Enhanced New Housing Rebate the same as the federal First-Time Home Buyers’ rebate?

No. The ENHR is a separate, temporary measure open to all eligible buyers, with its own agreement-date, construction, completion and value requirements. Ontario’s First-Time Home Buyers’ rebate, by contrast, follows the federal FTHB eligibility conditions.

What form do I use to apply directly to the CRA?

For a home purchased from a builder, the purchaser generally uses Form GST190 (together with Form RC7190-ON for the Ontario portion of the HST), filed online through CRA My Account or by mail, with the supporting documents the form requests.

How long do I have to apply?

For a house and land purchased from the same builder, the application period is generally two years after ownership is transferred where the builder did not pay or credit the rebate. Different timing rules may apply to leased-land transactions or where the builder credited the rebate.

Should I request a GST/HST ruling from the CRA?

A written ruling or technical interpretation may be useful where there is genuine uncertainty about how the legislation applies to particular contractual facts. Keep in mind that CRA interpretations do not bind the courts. Before requesting a ruling, identify the precise legal question and the complete factual background.

Should I file a rebate claim if eligibility is doubtful?

A claim should have a reasonable factual and legal basis and comply with the filing requirements. A rebate paid in error may have to be repaid, and knowingly false statements can attract gross negligence penalties. A builder that improperly credits a rebate may also face liability.

Can I object if the CRA refuses my GST/HST rebate?

Depending on the type of determination or assessment issued, objection rights may be available under the Excise Tax Act. Review the specific notice, assessment and deadline promptly. Remedies may include an objection, a request for reassessment or, in appropriate circumstances, an appeal to the Tax Court of Canada.

A CRA denial is not always the final word.

Should the builder agreement be reviewed for rebate clauses?

Yes. An agreement of purchase and sale may contain provisions dealing with:

• GST/HST rebates;
• government incentives;
• builder credits;
• adjustments;
• assignments of rebates; and
• amounts credited or payable to the builder.

Review these provisions separately from statutory eligibility. The person who receives an economic benefit under the agreement may not be the person legally entitled to claim a rebate from the CRA.

Takeaway: The Original Agreement Date Controls the FTHB Rebate

For a home purchased from a builder, the First-Time Home Buyers’ GST/HST Rebate generally requires an agreement of purchase and sale entered into on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031. A later closing, amendment, assignment, construction extension or closing notice will not ordinarily cure a pre-cutoff agreement. Replacement agreements may also be caught by the anti-avoidance rules.

“The date on the original builder agreement decides this rebate. A later closing, an extension or a fresh set of builder paperwork does not reset that date, and a replacement agreement designed to chase the rebate invites exactly the anti-avoidance challenge Parliament wrote into the legislation,” says David J. Rotfleisch, founding tax lawyer and CPA at Rotfleisch & Samulovitch, and a Law Society of Ontario Certified Specialist in Taxation.

Purchasers with pre-March 20, 2025 agreements should separately examine four measures:

• the ordinary federal GST/HST new housing rebate;
• the ordinary Ontario new housing rebate;
• Ontario’s First-Time Home Buyers’ rebate; and
• the Ontario Enhanced New Housing Rebate.

Each has its own eligibility, timing and value requirements. In many GTA transactions, only the $24,000 ordinary Ontario rebate will remain available. Review the original purchase agreement and the complete contractual history before filing a significant GST/HST rebate claim.

DISCLAIMER: This article provides broad information. It is only accurate as of the posting date. It has not been updated and may be out-of-date. It does not give legal advice and should not be relied on as tax advice. Every tax scenario is unique to its circumstances and will differ from the instances described in the article. If you have specific legal questions, you should seek the advice of a Canadian tax lawyer.