What programs and rebates can first-time home buyers in Ontario get?

Ontario refunds up to $4,000 in land transfer tax to qualifying first-time buyers (as of 2026), covering the full tax on homes up to about $368,000. Apply within 18 months of closing. Toronto adds a separate municipal rebate of up to $4,475. You and your spouse generally must never have owned a home anywhere.

A First Home Savings Account lets you contribute up to $8,000 a year to a $40,000 lifetime maximum (as of 2026). Both the contribution and the growth are tax-free when used for a qualifying first home, and unused room carries forward. It's a federal program set up through your bank, not something a lawyer handles.

The Home Buyers' Plan lets each eligible individual withdraw up to $60,000 from their RRSP tax-free (as of 2026) to buy a qualifying first home. Two eligible buyers purchasing together may therefore be able to withdraw up to $120,000 between them. You repay it over 15 years. For a first withdrawal made from 2022 through 2028, repayments start in the fifth year after the withdrawal year (2031 for a 2026 withdrawal); otherwise they start in the second year. Missed repayments get added to your taxable income that year.

Yes, for newly built homes. As of 2026, eligible first-time buyers can get a federal rebate of up to $50,000 that fully offsets the GST (or federal part of the HST) on new homes up to $1,000,000, phasing out up to $1,500,000. It generally applies where the agreement with the builder was signed on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031, construction starts before 2031, and the home is substantially completed before 2036. It doesn't apply to resale homes. Ontario adds its own rebate of up to $80,000 on the 8% provincial part of the HST for eligible first-time buyers, on the same conditions as the federal rebate. Separately, for agreements signed with a builder from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027, Ontario's enhanced new housing rebate offers up to $80,000 to any buyer on homes up to $1,500,000, reducing for homes up to $1,850,000. If both apply, you get the larger one, not both. Each rebate has its own conditions, including using the home as a primary residence. See our condo and pre-construction page for more on new builds.

Yes, the same as anyone else. Lenders qualify you at whichever is higher, 5.25% or your contract rate plus 2 percentage points (as of 2026), even if your actual rate is lower.