First-time buyers in Canada get more help than anyone else in the market. Here is what to use, in roughly the order you’ll need it.
1. First Home Savings Account (FHSA)
Contribute up to $8,000 a year (lifetime $40,000). Contributions are tax-deductible like an RRSP, and qualifying withdrawals are tax-free like a TFSA. Couples can each have one, so up to $80,000 together. Open it early: unused room carries forward only once you have an account.
2. RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan
Withdraw up to $60,000 per person from your RRSP tax-free and repay it over 15 years. You can combine it with the FHSA for the same purchase.
3. 30-year insured amortization
Since December 15, 2024, first-time buyers can take a 30-year amortization even with less than 20% down. The CMHC premium rises by 0.20%, but the lower payment helps you pass the stress test.
4. Land transfer tax relief
- Ontario: refund up to $4,000.
- Toronto: additional municipal rebate up to $4,475.
- B.C.: no property transfer tax up to $500,000; $8,000 off up to $835,000; partial to $860,000.
Calculate yours with the land transfer tax calculator.
5. Home Buyers’ Amount
A $10,000 non-refundable federal tax credit, worth $1,500 on your tax return for the year you buy.
6. GST/HST new housing rebates
Buying a newly built home? Federal and some provincial rebates of the GST/HST apply. Builders often credit them in the price.
Who counts as a “first-time buyer”?
Definitions differ by program. For the FHSA and HBP, you (and, for the FHSA, your spouse) generally must not have lived in a home you owned in the current or previous four calendar years. Ontario’s land transfer tax refund requires that you have never owned a home anywhere. Check each program’s rules before you count on it.