Ontario New-Home HST Rebate Calculator
Up to $130,000 of the HST on a new home is currently recoverable — through five different programs with different windows, caps and conditions. Most quotes bury this. Here it is in the open: what you would pay, what each program could return, and what has to be true for it to hold. The enhanced programs behind that $130,000 are time-limited — they apply to agreements dated by 31 March 2027 (owner-built: to construction that starts within the same window).
1 · The home
New construction or substantially renovated, bought from a builder, anywhere in Ontario.
Builder prices usually include HST — read this first
Most Ontario builders advertise prices with HST included and the rebates already deducted — you assign them to the builder at closing. This tool works from the price before HST. If your agreement states an HST-included price, the rebate value is already inside it — worth knowing exactly what it is.2 · How you will use it
The occupancy rebates exist only for homes lived in, not held or resold.
3 · First-time buyer test
Worth up to $130,000 combined — and stricter than it sounds.
The actual test (all four must hold)
(1) You are 18 or older and a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. (2) At no time in this calendar year or the four previous calendar years did you live in a home — anywhere in the world — that you owned. (3) Nor in one your spouse or common-law partner owned while you lived there. (4) Neither of you has claimed a first-time buyer GST/HST rebate before. If any of these is uncertain, answer “Not sure.”1 · The build
A home you are building (or substantially renovating) on land you own or lease — the open-book scenario.
Which costs carry HST?
Materials, trades, design, engineering, project management — most construction invoices carry 13% HST. Land usually does not when bought from a private owner (resale land is generally HST-exempt). Include the land price here only if HST actually applied to it.2 · How you will use it
The actual test (all four must hold)
(1) 18 or older, Canadian citizen or permanent resident. (2) At no time in this calendar year or the four previous calendar years did you live in a home — anywhere in the world — that you owned. (3) Nor in one your spouse or common-law partner owned while you lived there. (4) Neither of you has claimed a first-time buyer GST/HST rebate before.1 · The project
Long-term rental only. This screen shows costs and potential recoveries — it does not model rent, income or return.
2 · How it will operate
Different situation? · — one-line answers, no calculator needed.
The five programs, side by side
| Program | Worth up to | Who / when |
|---|---|---|
| Federal first-time buyer GST rebate | $50,000 (full 5% to $1M; nil at $1.5M) | First-time buyers; agreements or construction starts Mar 20 2025 – Dec 31 2030; complete before 2036 |
| Ontario first-time buyer HST rebate | $80,000 (full 8% to $1M; $24,000 floor from ~$1.35M) | Same first-time buyer test and windows |
| Ontario enhanced rebate (ENHR) | $80,000 (any buyer; declines $1.5M–$1.85M) | Agreements Apr 1 2026 – Mar 31 2027; owner-built starts in the same window (complete by end-2029) |
| Ontario 5% top-up (ONHAP) | $50,000, reduced by federal entitlements | Rides the ENHR automatically — no separate application |
| Existing new housing rebates | $24,000 Ontario at any price ($16,080 owner-built without land HST); federal part nil at or above $450,000 | Any qualifying primary residence today; Ontario portion scheduled to end after Mar 31 2027 |
Rental projects use separate programs: the 100% purpose-built rental rebate (4+ self-contained units, ≥90% long-term rental, construction begun after Sept 13 2023) removes both parts of the HST with no cap; smaller rentals recover up to $24,000/unit provincially (temporarily up to $80,000/unit for Apr 2026 – Mar 2027 agreements), with the federal part phased out entirely at $450,000 per unit. In every rental case the HST is still paid first — on construction or on the self-supply at completion — and recovered after filing.
What this tool does — and refuses to do
It models each program independently — amounts, value bands, date windows — and labels every figure with a status: likely eligible only when your answers support each condition, review required when something is unanswered or the government’s own guidance is still incomplete, appears ineligible when an answer rules a program out. It will not call a number “your rebate,” because eligibility belongs to the CRA — not to a web page. And it always shows the HST you would pay before any recovery, because that is the number that has to be financed. That is the open-book habit: the full cost first, the relief second.
Where guidance was still incomplete on the date these rules were checked — the owner-built enhanced rebate’s application process, the temporary rental enhancement’s claim mechanics, the scheduled end of the existing $24,000 rebate — this tool shows those amounts as potential only and says so. If that costs a cleaner headline, so be it.
Questions people actually ask
How much is the HST rebate on a new home in Ontario in 2026?
Depends on the program and price. For agreements signed April 1, 2026 – March 31, 2027, combined relief can reach the full 13% on homes to $1,000,000 — a $130,000 maximum — for any buyer using the home as a primary residence. First-time buyers reach the same 13% for agreements from March 20, 2025. Outside those, the long-standing Ontario rebate returns up to $24,000 at any price. Above $1,000,000 the two regimes differ: April 2026 – March 2027 agreements hold at $130,000 up to $1.5M, then decline to $24,000 at $1.85M; first-time buyer agreements outside that window decline above $1,000,000 to a $24,000 floor from about $1.35M.
Do first-time buyers pay HST on a new build?
A qualifying first-time buyer up to $1,000,000 recovers effectively all of it — federal to $50,000 plus Ontario to $80,000 — for agreements on or after March 20, 2025. The test covers this calendar year plus four previous years, worldwide, including homes a spouse owned while you lived there. HST is still charged; the rebates recover it, usually credited by the builder at closing.
Does this apply if I build on my own land?
Yes — owner-built homes have parallel versions of every program, calculated on the HST you actually pay on construction and tested against market value at completion. One difference matters: you pay the HST invoice by invoice while building, and the recovery comes after filing. On a large custom home that gap is a six-figure financing item. It belongs in the budget from day one — which is why our build cost calculator carries HST as its own line.
What are the deadlines?
Enhanced Ontario programs: agreements April 1, 2026 – March 31, 2027 (owner-built: construction starts in that window, complete by end-2029; builder purchases: start by end-2028, complete by end-2031). First-time buyer programs: agreements or starts March 20, 2025 – end-2030, complete before 2036. Applications are generally due within two years of closing or completion.
Do rental builds qualify?
Through separate programs, yes. Four or more self-contained units held ≥90% for long-term rental, begun after September 13, 2023: 100% of the HST back, uncapped. One to three units: the Ontario part returns up to $24,000/unit (temporarily up to $80,000/unit in the 2026–27 window); the federal part phases out entirely at $450,000 per unit. The HST is still paid first and recovered after filing — including the self-supply on completion if you build to rent. Planning one? Start with a feasibility study.
Is HST already in the builder’s advertised price?
Usually — with the rebates netted out and assigned to the builder. Which means the rebate is real money inside your price, and its size is worth knowing before you sign. This is exactly the kind of number we put in daylight.
Can I lose the rebate?
Yes: not using the home as a primary residence; assigning from a pre-March 2025 agreement; a prior first-time buyer claim by you or your spouse; selling a rental unit within a year; short-term rental use; or building to sell — which makes you a “builder” for GST purposes, with no occupancy rebate and HST owed on the sale.
Sources — rules checked August 9, 2026
Federal first-time buyer rebate: CRA — FTHB GST/HST rebate · S.C. 2026, c. 2 (Bill C-4)
Ontario programs: CRA Notice 346 — Ontario Enhanced New Housing Rebate · Ontario Budget 2026 — HST relief
Existing rebates: CRA Guide RC4028
Rental programs: CRA Guide RC4231 · CRA Memorandum 19-3-9 — Purpose-built rental rebate · CRA GI-093 — Ontario rental rebate
This page summarizes legislation and published guidance as of the date above. Where official guidance was incomplete, the tool says so rather than guessing. Figures are estimates for planning; your agreement, your dates and your facts decide the real outcome.
The rebate is one line. See the whole budget.
Trades, design and permits, management, contingency, escalation, finance carry — and HST with this rebate logic built in. Our build cost calculator shows the numbers other quotes leave out, the same way we run projects: on an open book.