GST relief for first-time home buyers now in effect 

March 13, 2026 – Ottawa, ON –  After almost a year since the Prime Minister announced the government’s intention to remove the GST on new homes under $1 million and lower it on homes between $1 million and $1.5 million for first-time buyers, Bill C-4 (the bill containing the legislation) has finally received Royal Assent. Now first-time home buyers who have been waiting for the federal government to finalize its promised First-Time Home Buyer GST Rebate can actually move forward with their purchases. 

While the intent of this measure was to increase housing supply, the impact of not getting this through parliament has been extremely difficult for industry and for would-be buyers, which contributed to stifling new home construction at a time when much more housing supply is needed.  

“Having this relief hung up in parliamentary process was a big problem for an already challenged industry, so it’s very good, at least for first-time homebuyers,  that the federal government finally passed this measure to adjust the GST thresholdswhich have not changed since they were introduced in 1991 even though the New Housing Price Index has more than doubled in that time. That said, first-time buyers make up only 5.8% of buyers of new homes. The GST relief should be extended to all buyers of new homes to be more in line with today’s housing prices. The only way to address affordability and to be successful in getting more housing starts for ownership will be through concentrated efforts on a suite of policy measures. GST relief for all buyers (and for renovations that create new housing units) and development charge relief are at the top of that list,” said CHBA CEO Kevin Lee.  

The First-Time Home Buyer GST Rebate is available to qualifying purchasers if the agreement of purchase and sale for the home was entered into with the builder on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031. If ownership was transferred to the buyer before the proposed legislation received Royal Assent, the buyer will need to apply separately to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for the FTHB GST/HST rebate. Now that the legislation has received Royal Assent, builders will be able to credit the FTHB GST/HST rebate to their buyers using the CRA forms going forward.   

To further address housing supply and improve affordability, CHBA continues to recommend that GST relief be extended to all buyers of new homes (not solely first-time buyers), which would enable move-up buyers and downsizing buyers to purchase new homes and ensure a further boost of housing supply, freeing up entry-level homes for first-time buyers in the existing housing market.  

CHBA also recommends including renovations that result in additional housing, like accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and secondary suites in the eligibility criteria, given they are important forms of new housing units (and would also enable the renovation industry to get moving on more supply).  

According to a recent Canada-wide opinion poll done by Abacus Data for CHBA, nearly 60% of Canadians support expanding the GST relief to all buyers once the rational for doing so is explained.  

“Our Abacus data polling showed that only 17% of Canadians think the federal government is doing enough to address affordability for homeownership. While the passing of the GST relief for first-time buyers might help with that perception, the vast majority of Canadians know more needs to be done. Addressing housing affordability is complex and there is no silver bullet solution. CHBA has recommendations driven by industry insight on how to unlock the door to homeownership in Canada, and that can only be done through comprehensive policy change,” said Lee.  

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About the Canadian Home Builders’ Association

The Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) is the voice of the residential construction industry in Canada, representing some 8,500 member firms across the country. Our membership spans new home builders, renovators, developers, trade contractors, building material manufacturers and suppliers, lenders, and other professionals in the housing sector.