GST/HST on New Homes, Rentals, Assignments and Sales

Do I pay GST/HST when I buy a home?

You generally pay GST/HST when you buy a new or substantially renovated home from a builder. You generally do not pay it on the resale of a previously occupied home. The tax on a taxable sale depends on the province where the property sits and the rate in effect when tax becomes payable, usually when ownership or possession transfers (CRA: construction industry guide; CRA: residential sales).

An ordinary renovation of a used home does not by itself turn its resale into a new-home sale. A substantial renovation is a much higher bar: the CRA generally looks for the interior to be essentially gutted and replaced. The purchase agreement and statement of adjustments should show whether the quoted price includes tax and any rebate credited at closing (CRA: new housing rebate).

A GST/HST-registered buyer other than an individual generally pays tax on a taxable residential property purchase directly to the CRA, not the builder. A registered rental buyer files Form GST60 and pays by the end of the month after the month tax becomes payable; a long-term rental purchase does not itself qualify for an input tax credit (CRA: rental rebate guide; Excise Tax Act, section 228).

Do I qualify for the GST/HST new housing rebate?

An individual may qualify when a new or substantially renovated home was bought or built for use as the individual's or a relation's primary place of residence. That intention must exist at the outset, and the owner or relation normally must be the first occupant. All co-owners must be individuals; one makes the claim. A corporation or partnership cannot claim or co-own a home for this rebate (CRA: RC4028).

For a builder sale, the test generally uses the purchase price before tax, including the price of a taxable assignment. For an owner-built home, it generally uses fair market value when construction or substantial renovation is substantially complete. Different limits apply to homes on leased land and co-op shares (CRA: RC4028).

The builder may credit an eligible rebate at closing and file the application, or the buyer may apply directly, generally within two years after ownership transfers. An owner-builder applies on Form GST191 within two years after the earliest of substantial completion, an exempt sale of the home, and the second anniversary of first occupancy. Ontario has a separate provincial new housing rebate that may still apply when the federal price limit is exceeded; its first-time and temporary enhanced programs have additional conditions (CRA: RC4028).

Can I get the first-time home buyers' GST/HST rebate?

An eligible first-time buyer of a new or substantially renovated primary home may recover the full federal GST or federal part of HST at values up to $1,000,000, capped at $50,000. The rebate phases out above that value and ends at $1,500,000. It tops up, rather than duplicates, any standard new housing rebate already claimed (CRA: first-time rebate; CRA: RC4028).

You generally must be at least 18, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and not have lived in a home owned by you or your spouse or common-law partner as a primary residence in Canada or abroad during the relevant calendar year or four preceding years. Neither you nor your spouse or partner may have received this rebate before. For an ordinary builder purchase, the agreement must be signed on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031; construction must begin before 2031 and be substantially complete, with ownership transferred, before 2036. For an owner-built home, construction must begin on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031; substantial completion and first occupancy must occur before 2036. An assignment or amendment does not make an earlier original builder agreement eligible. The claimant must be an eligible first-time buyer and first occupant; a corporation, rental purchase or resale does not qualify (CRA: who can apply; CRA: RC4028).

Ontario offers a separate first-time rebate of provincial HST, up to $80,000. Its temporary enhanced new housing rebate may also help eligible owner-occupiers whose builder agreements fall between April 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027; the provincial rebates cannot together exceed the provincial tax paid. Check the agreement and construction dates before relying on either program (CRA: RC4028).

Someone eligible for Ontario's enhanced rebate may also qualify for its new home affordability payment, up to $50,000 toward the federal HST portion after federal housing rebates. It is a provincial payment, requested through the consent section of the housing rebate form (CRA: RC4028).

I bought a new condo to rent out. Can I get some HST back?

A new condo bought for a long-term tenant generally uses the new residential rental property rebate, not the owner-occupier rebate. Individuals and corporations can qualify if they paid tax on the purchase, the unit is a self-contained residence, and its first use is reasonably expected to be an individual's primary residence for at least one continuous year under one or more leases. A shorter period can qualify in limited cases, such as a sale to someone who will use it as a primary residence. Later use by a related person has an extra primary-residence test (CRA: rental rebate guide).

For the rental rebate, fair market value is what the property could sell for between unrelated buyers when purchase tax first becomes payable. It may differ from the presale price; keep comparable sales or an appraisal. A duplex is valued as one unit. Ontario's ordinary provincial rental rebate can apply above the federal limit. Its temporary enhanced rebate generally requires construction to begin from April 1, 2026 through March 31, 2027; an earlier-started single home or condo can qualify if the purchase agreement falls in that window. For an assignment, both agreements must fall in that window. Other timing conditions apply. A purpose-built rental building has separate size and use tests (CRA: RC4231).

An Ontario landlord eligible for that enhanced rebate may also qualify for the province's new home affordability payment, up to $50,000 toward the federal HST portion after the federal rental rebate. The consent section of Form GST524 requests it without a separate application (CRA: RC4231).

Apply on Form GST524, adding Ontario rebate schedule RC7524-ON if claiming Ontario relief, with the signed purchase agreement, statement of adjustments and lease. For a purchased unit, the filing deadline is generally two years after the end of the month when tax first becomes payable. Long-term residential rent is exempt, so its landlord generally cannot instead claim an input tax credit for the purchase tax (CRA: RC4231; Excise Tax Act, section 256.2).

The builder credited a home rebate, but I rented the unit. What now?

If the first occupant is a tenant and the purchase was for rental use, an owner-occupier rebate credited at closing is not yours to keep. Check the statement of adjustments and rebate application, correct the ineligible credit with the builder and CRA, and assess a separate rental rebate claim before its deadline. The rental rebate cannot simply be substituted on the builder's owner-rebate form (CRA: RC4028; CRA: RC4231).

The facts at signing and first occupancy matter. If an individual genuinely bought the home to live in and first occupied it as a primary residence, a later rental does not by itself establish that the original rebate was ineligible. If the CRA finds the buyer was not entitled to a credited rebate, the buyer can be liable to return it, and a builder who knew or should have known may be jointly liable (CRA: RC4028; CRA: construction industry guide).

Is GST/HST charged on a presale assignment, and who pays it?

An assignment agreement entered into on or after May 7, 2022 for a new or substantially renovated single-unit home or condo is taxable, even if the assignor planned to live there. An agreement signed before that date by an individual may be exempt depending on the original purchase purpose. The assignee may also pay GST/HST on the builder's separate sale. The assignor generally collects assignment tax; the assignee instead pays it directly to the CRA if the assignor is a non-resident or the assignee is GST/HST-registered and not an individual (Excise Tax Act, section 192.1; Excise Tax Act, section 221; CRA: construction industry guide).

Tax is generally on the assignment consideration. Reimbursement of a deposit paid to the builder is excluded only when the assignment agreement identifies it in writing and the amount is solely a reimbursement. Keep both contracts, deposit records and the assignment's tax wording; a tax-inclusive price changes the arithmetic (Excise Tax Act, section 192.1).

I built a house, laneway suite or addition to rent. Do I owe tax on it?

A person who builds or substantially renovates residential property for long-term rental can be a builder for GST/HST purposes, even without GST/HST registration. On the later of first residential possession and substantial completion, the self-supply rule can deem the builder to have sold and bought the property at fair market value, creating GST/HST to report. An eligible builder-landlord may claim the rental rebate on the same return to reduce the tax due; any remaining net tax must be paid. A registrant uses its regular return. A non-registrant uses Form GST62 and generally files and pays by the end of the following month (CRA: construction industry guide; CRA: RC4231).

A newly constructed detached laneway home can be a new residential complex. An addition to a multiple-unit rental building can trigger its own self-supply. An ordinary room addition or modest renovation to an existing home does not automatically create a new complex; whether work is a substantial renovation, a separate unit or a qualifying addition depends on its physical layout and legal use. Record construction invoices, completion date, first occupancy date, lease and a supportable fair market value (CRA: RC4052; CRA: RC4231).

Do I charge GST/HST on rent, including short-term stays?

Ordinary residential rent is exempt when the same individual has continuous occupancy or a right to occupy for at least one month as a place of residence or lodging. A short stay is generally taxable when charged above $20 per day, so a registered host charges GST/HST. For bookings through a registered platform, the platform may collect instead when the host is not registered (CRA: residential rentals; CRA: platform accommodation).

Repeated weekly bookings do not become one long-term lease merely because the same guest returns. The actual continuous right of occupancy controls (CRA: residential rentals).

Do I charge GST/HST when I sell a home or rental?

The sale of an occupied personal home or ordinary long-term rental is usually exempt. A sale may instead be taxable if the seller is a builder selling new or substantially renovated housing, if the property was held for taxable short-term accommodation, or if input tax credits were claimed on its acquisition or improvements. A later change in use can change the sale result or cause a separate tax event. Check the property's use and tax history before stating that no GST/HST applies (CRA: residential sales; CRA: vacation properties; CRA: deemed supplies).

If a rental rebate was claimed for a qualifying single unit and the unit is sold within one year of first residential occupancy to a buyer who will not use it as their or a relation's primary residence, the rebate may have to be repaid with interest. This can apply even where the sale itself is exempt (CRA: RC4231).

On a taxable real-property sale, the seller usually collects GST/HST. The buyer instead reports and pays it directly to the CRA if the buyer is GST/HST-registered, except an individual buying housing, or if the seller is a non-resident (CRA: RC4052).

How do housing rebates work in Quebec?

Revenu Québec generally administers both the federal GST and provincial QST housing rebate applications for homes in Quebec. The two taxes have separate tests and value limits. The ordinary owner-occupier QST rebate phases down above $200,000 and ends at $300,000 for an ordinary home and land purchase; the federal standard rebate uses its own, higher limits (Revenu Québec: new housing).

For a qualifying long-term rental, the ordinary QST rebate ends once a unit's fair market value reaches $225,000, while the federal rental rebate has a different limit. Revenu Québec uses separate GST and QST application forms for a rental, and co-owners each file their own QST claim (Revenu Québec: rental rebate).

The federal first-time buyer GST rebate can apply in Quebec, but Quebec has not matched that temporary measure with a new QST first-time rebate. Check the federal conditions and use Revenu Québec's first-time rebate form for a Quebec home (Revenu Québec: first-time GST rebate).

Example

Illustrative Canadian dollars. A new Ontario condo costs C$400,000 before HST. At 13%, HST is C$52,000: C$20,000 federal and C$32,000 provincial. The builder credits the standard owner-occupier rebates at closing:

1. Federal: 36% of C$20,000 is C$7,200, capped at C$6,300, then phased down: C$6,300 × (C$450,000 − C$400,000) ÷ C$100,000 = C$3,150.
2. Ontario: 75% of C$32,000 is C$24,000, which is also its cap.
3. The credit is C$3,150 + C$24,000 = C$27,150, so the closing statement shows C$52,000 − C$27,150 = C$24,850 of HST.

The buyer bought the condo for long-term rental, and the first occupant is a tenant; the C$27,150 credit must be corrected. If the condo's fair market value when HST became payable was also C$400,000 and the other rental conditions are met, the federal and Ontario rental rebates use the same formulas and also total C$27,150, claimed separately on Form GST524 with RC7524-ON (CRA: Ontario HST rate; Excise Tax Act, section 254; Excise Tax Act, section 256.2; HST Regulations No. 2, sections 41 and 47; CRA: RC4231).

Different for you?

• You assigned a presale or sold quickly: GST/HST on the transfer is addressed here; the profit's income-tax treatment is in Property flipping and assignment sales.
• You rent the unit, including for short stays: see Rental income for income tax and When to register for GST/HST for the registration test.
• You need to report a taxable assignment, self-supply or rental activity: see Filing GST/HST and input tax credits and get bookkeeping help with the agreements, invoices, leases and occupancy dates.
• You are selling your home: see Principal residence exemption for the separate income-tax question.
• You are a non-resident selling Canadian property: see Non-residents selling Canadian property for income-tax withholding; GST/HST collection on a taxable sale still needs its own check.