Buying your first home can be a daunting task, especially when it comes to the financial aspect. Luckily, the Canadian government offers a number of programs designed to make homeownership more accessible for first-time homebuyers. In this blog post, we’ll explore some of the government programs available in Canada for first-time homebuyers.

First-Time Home Buyer Incentive

The First-Time Home Buyer Incentive is a program offered by the Canadian government that aims to make homeownership more affordable for first-time homebuyers. This program allows eligible homebuyers to receive a shared equity mortgage with the government. This means the government will provide funding of either 5% or 10% for your downpayment, which you would payback either 5% or 10% of the homes market value once you sell or after  25 years. There are no partial payments, this can only be paid in full. This incentive could be a whole blog post on its own, if you would like more info give this a read.

Home Buyer’s Plan (HBP)

The Home Buyer’s Plan is another program offered by the Canadian government that allows first-time homebuyers to withdraw up to $35,000 from their Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) to use towards the purchase of their first home. This money must be repaid over a period of 15 years, and can also be taken from more than one RRSP as long as you are the owner of each account. For more details on how to participate in the Home Buyers’ Plan, click here.

Ontario New Housing Rebate

The Ontario new housing rebate is a program that allows you to claim a GST/HST rebate for some of the federal part of the HST when purchasing a new home or substantially renovated home from a builder. Eligibility for this rebate applies only when the fair market value of the home is lower than the applicable threshold. More information on how to calculate and claim can be found here.

First-Time Homebuyers’ Tax Credit

The First-Time Homebuyers’ Tax Credit is a program that provides a non-refundable tax credit of up to $10,000 to first-time homebuyers to help with the costs associated with purchasing a home. Prior to 2021 the amount was $5000, but thanks to legislation passed in 2022 the amount was doubled. This credit can result in a $1500 tax rebate, which may not sound like much but it can make that first home purchase a little easier.

There are a number of government programs available in Canada to help make homeownership more accessible for first-time homebuyers. If you’re thinking about purchasing your first home, I’m more than happy to help navigate the many options you have available to you.

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Mortgage Calculator – How much you can afford, mortgage payment amounts, closing costs, cost of renting vs buying and many more!

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