1. Ontario Affordable Housing Program

If you are you renting, at least 18 years old, income under $59,000/yr and your buying a home under $200K then you may qualify for 5% government grant towards your down payment. Each qualification per municipality varies — Click here for more details.

2. Ontario Land Transfer Tax Refund for First Time Home Buyers

Land Transfer Tax applies to all transfers of land in Ontario. The maximum claim amount is $2,000. First-time homebuyers may be eligible for a refund of all or part of the tax. For agreements of purchase and sale entered into before December 14, 2007, the refund only applies on the purchase of a newly constructed home. For agreements of purchase and sale entered into after December 13, 2007, the refund applies to all homes, whether newly constructed or resale.

To qualify and claim a refund, you:

• must be at least 18 years of age; must occupy the home as your principal residence within 9 months of after the date of transfer; and
• cannot have owned a home, or an interest in a home, anywhere in the world. In addition:
• your spouse cannot have owned a home, or an interest in a home, anywhere in the world while being your spouse; and
• in the case of a newly constructed home, you must be entitled to a Tarion New Home Warranty.

Click here for more details.

Here is a handy Land Transfer Tax Calculator for your convenience: (based on purchase price of a resale residential home. Please note that this calculation is based on a resale property and not on a newly constructed home which typically includes GST in the price; if you are buying from a builder, i.e. buying a new contstructed home, the Ontario Land Transfer Tax is calculated on a price which is net of GST and therefore the Ontario Land Transfer Tax will be slightly less for a new home than for a resale home with the same price.)

3. GST New Housing Rebate

GST does NOT exist for resale homes and is only applicable when buying a new home from a builder.

GST GOVERNMENT REBATE (typically assigned by buyers to builders where GST is included sale price)

The GST government rebate applies to new homes purchased from a builder which are to be used as a primary place of residence for the purchaser or an immediate family member as defined by the governing rules. Purchasers of new homes priced up to $350,000.00 may qualify for the maximum rebate of $8,750.00 or 36 per cent of the GST paid on the purchase price, whichever is less. For homes priced at more than $350,000.00 (but less than $450,000.00), the rebate gradually reduces to no rebate for homes selling for $450,000.00 or more.

NOTE: The rebate is almost always assigned directly to the builder(as referred to in the fine print of most builder sale agreements) since GST is typically included in the purchase price; therefore, the GST rebate is not a practical consideration for most purchasers unless the purchaser is paying GST in addition to the purchase price.

TIPS: for projects on the subway line with small apartments (primarily one bedrooms) which are marketed by the builder primarily towards the investor purchaser (rather than an intended owner/occupier type of buyer). In some of these projects, the GST Rebate (that would usually be obtained by the builder directly from the government in a typical owner-occupied project) will be paid by the purchaser investor to the builder in addition to the purchase price as a closing adjustment. In such an event, or in any case when an investor does not qualify for the GST rebate to be paid directly to the builder (having been assigned to the builder by the purchaser as stated in the terms of the purchase agreement with the builder), the purchaser investor may apply for a return of the "lost" GST rebate (which will be paid to the builder by the buyer as a closing adjustment). Such an application form for a GST rebate refund can be obtained by phoning 1-800-959-2221 and ask for the GST rebate refund application form #524 and explanatory booklet #RC-4231.

The following chart shows how to calculate the GST New Housing Rebate for new homes.

The home should be either a single unit residential complex or a residential condominium unit. The home is intended for use as the primary place of residence. Please visit Revenue Canada website for more details or Download the form here.

4. Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP)

Home Buyers' Plan is a program that allows first time home buyer to borrow up to $20,000 from their "Self-directed Registered Retirement Savings Plan (SDRSP)". You must be a Canadian resident who has not used this plan before. The loan is not taxable as long as the funds are repaid into the RRSP (registered retirement savings plan) over a 15 year period. The money cannot be withdrawn until 90 days after the RRSP contribution. After 90 days one can use the Home Buyers' plan to withdraw $20,000 without penalty. This way you will receive a tax rebate. You have to meet the first-time buyer’s condition in order to qualify for HBP. You are not considered a first-time home buyer if you or your spouse owned a home that you occupied as your principal place of residence in the past 5 years. To determine past 5 years, the 4 years preceding the year you make your withdrawal plus the period in the year you make your withdrawal ending 31 days before your withdrawal is the rule adopted. Download the form here.