Quick Answer Box: A new home HST rebate calculator estimates how much GST or HST you can recover on a newly built or substantially renovated home. The federal rebate returns 36% of the 5% federal tax, capped at $6,300. Ontario adds up to $24,000, and temporary 2026 programs push the combined ceiling much higher.
What is the new home HST rebate?
The new home HST rebate is a Canada Revenue Agency refund that returns part of the GST, or the federal part of the HST, you paid on a newly built or substantially renovated home used as your primary residence. Separate provincial rebates cover some of the provincial share in Ontario and Nova Scotia.
Resale homes don’t attract the tax at all. A used house sold by the person who lived in it is an exempt supply, so there is nothing to claim back. The tax lands on new builds from a builder, gut renovations where 90% or more of the interior is removed or replaced, and commercial buildings converted to residential use.
That 90% test decides more projects than people expect, and it often settles whether you renovate or rebuild on a lot you already own. Corporations and partnerships cannot claim a cent of it. This is an individual’s rebate, tied to a primary place of residence, and the CRA does check.
How much HST on a new house can you actually get back?
The new home HST rebate stacks in three layers. The federal piece pays 36% of the GST or federal part of the HST to a maximum of $6,300, and it vanishes once fair market value hits $450,000. First-time buyers can claim up to $50,000 more. Ontario then runs its own rebate on top.
The first-time home buyers’ GST/HST rebate is the biggest change in years. It refunds 100% of the federal 5% on a new home worth up to $1 million, tapers to nothing at $1.5 million, and applies to agreements signed on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031.
Ontario new housing rebate and the 2026 enhanced top-up
Ontario’s rebate returns 75% of the 8% provincial part of the HST, capped at $24,000. Unlike the federal side, it carries no price ceiling. A $2 million house in Toronto still collects the full $24,000 when the other conditions are met. Owner-builders who did not pay HST on their land are capped at $16,080 instead, a detail most calculators skip.
Sitting on top of that is the Ontario enhanced new housing rebate, a temporary program covering purchase agreements signed between April 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027, plus owner-built homes where construction starts inside that window. Combined with the standard rebate, it returns as much as $80,000 of the provincial 8% on homes valued up to $1,850,000.
| New home value | Ontario provincial rebate | Federal rebate for first-time buyers |
|---|---|---|
| Up to $1 million | Full 8% back, to $80,000 | 100% of the 5% GST |
| $1M to $1.5 million | Flat $80,000 | Reduced on a sliding scale |
| $1.5M to $1.85 million | Partial rebate of tax paid | None |
| $1.85 million and up | Standard $24,000 cap only | None |
Provincial HST rebate rules elsewhere, including HST for New Brunswick
Ontario and Nova Scotia are the only provinces offering a provincial HST rebate on owner-occupied new housing, and the Nova Scotia version is claimed through the province rather than the CRA. Everywhere else, that federal $6,300 is the whole story unless you qualify as a first-time buyer.
Most calculators quietly assume Ontario.
HST for New Brunswick buyers sits at 15%, with 10 of those points going to the province, and there is no New Brunswick rebate for a home you plan to live in. On a $600,000 build in Moncton, that provincial share stays paid. Nova Scotia cut its provincial rate from 10% to 9% on April 1, 2025, bringing total HST there to 14%.
How do you file an HST rebate application with the CRA?
Two paths exist. Most buyers never file anything: the builder credits the rebate against the purchase price at closing and sends the paperwork in. If your builder does not do that, you file directly and wait. Either way somebody signs a form, and the deadline is two years.
Which form depends on how the house came to be. Buyers use Form GST190 plus Schedule RC7190-ON in Ontario. Owner-builders use GST191 with the GST191-WS construction worksheet, filled in receipt by receipt, and RC7191-ON. The clock runs two years from the transfer of ownership on a purchase, or from substantial completion on a build.
Budget for a wait. Every HST rebate application the CRA receives is subject to audit, and payment can take up to six months. Keep original invoices for six years, as Guide RC4028 sets out. Photocopies and credit card slips are not accepted, and estimates or quotes will not stand as proof.
One ordering rule catches people out. Ontario’s new home affordability payment, worth up to $50,000 against the federal 5%, is reduced by any federal rebate you receive, so the first-time buyers’ claim has to go in first. The payment also only reaches you if the consent to share information section on your rebate form is filled out.
Run an HST rebate estimator before you sign
An HST rebate estimator earns its ten minutes before you sign an agreement of purchase and sale, not after. Pre-construction contracts usually quote a price with the new home HST rebate already assigned to the builder, so the number moves if you later decide to rent the unit out instead of living in it.
Anyone running an HST rebate calculator in Toronto for a pre-construction condo should test two closing scenarios: one before March 31, 2027, and one after. That single date swings the Ontario ceiling between $80,000 and $24,000. Our planning and financial guidance pages cover the rest of the closing math.
Frequently asked questions
1. Who applies for the new home HST rebate, me or my builder?
Usually the builder. Buy from a builder under one written agreement and they credit the rebate against your purchase price, then file Form GST190 with the CRA on your behalf. If they don’t, you file yourself within two years of ownership transferring. Only the selling builder can credit it.
2. How long does the CRA take to pay a new housing rebate?
Up to six months, because every claim is subject to audit. Incomplete forms and missing documents stretch that further or get the claim denied outright. Owner-built applications filed with a fully itemized GST191-WS worksheet tend to move through review faster than thin ones.
3. Can I claim the rebate on a cottage or a rental property?
No. The home has to be the primary place of residence for you or a relation, and that intention must be clear from the outset. Recreational cottages and investment properties are excluded. Buying to lease it out points you toward the new residential rental property rebate instead.
4. What counts as a first-time home buyer for the federal rebate?
The CRA applies four tests:
- You are at least 18 years old.
- You are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada.
- Neither you nor your spouse or common-law partner owned and lived in a home as a primary residence this calendar year or in the previous four.
- You have never received this rebate before.
5. Does the Ontario rebate still apply above $450,000?
Yes. The Ontario new housing rebate carries no upper price limit. Once fair market value passes $450,000 the federal portion falls to zero, yet Ontario still pays up to $24,000, and the enhanced 2026 rebate lifts that to $80,000 on qualifying homes valued below $1,850,000.
Conclusion
Getting the new home HST rebate right is worth anywhere from $6,300 to roughly $130,000 in Ontario, depending on where you build and when you sign. Two dates do most of the work: March 20, 2025 for the first-time buyers’ rebate, and the April 2026 to March 2027 window for Ontario’s enhanced program. Check your figures against the CRA’s rebate page before closing, and ask whoever is running your custom home or design-build project how the rebate is handled in your contract.
