How to Apply for the GST/HST New Housing Rebate (Form GST190) in Canada

You bought a new home, paid GST or HST on it, and now you want the money back that the rebate allows. The form most buyers need is Form GST190, and it is easy to make small mistakes that slow things down.

This article walks through the practical steps for a house bought from a builder: whether you need to file at all, what to gather, how the form's lines work, where it goes, and what to watch for before the deadline.

This article covers Canadian federal tax law, which applies in every province.

First check: do you need to file at all?

On closing, the builder may pay the rebate to you or credit it against the price. If it does, you do not send the application yourself, because the builder files it with its return.

The builder can do this only if it is the one that sold you the house. A person who sold you the purchase agreement by assignment cannot pay or credit the rebate, so an assignee must claim directly from CRA on Form GST190. Check your statement of adjustments to see whether a rebate was already credited.

Confirm you qualify before you fill in the form

The base rebate is for an individual who buys a new single unit residential complex or condominium unit as their own or a relation's primary place of residence, where total consideration is under $450,000 and ownership transfers after substantial completion. Only individuals can claim. Partnerships and corporations cannot, and an individual cannot claim if a partnership or corporation co-owns the house.

If more than one individual owns the house, only one of them can claim. The rebate is paid to that claimant and the other owners are listed as co-owners on the form.

• The first person to occupy the home as a residence must be you or a relation, unless you sell the home in an exempt sale before anyone occupies it.
• A cottage, an investment property, or a house you plan to use later, such as in retirement, does not qualify.
• Parents buying for an adult child can qualify if the child or another relation will be the first occupant and the other conditions are met.

Documents to gather

For a builder purchase, you send Form GST190, Form RC7190-ON if you are claiming an Ontario rebate, and a copy of the statement of adjustments. Keep the worksheet RC7190-WS and your supporting records for six years, and do not send the worksheet.

• Completed Form GST190
• Form RC7190-ON, only if claiming an Ontario rebate
• Copy of your statement of adjustments
• Your purchase agreement and closing records, kept for your own file
• Completed worksheet RC7190-WS, kept and not sent

How the numbers work on the worksheet

For a builder purchase of the usual kind (Types 1A or 2), line 1 is the GST or federal part of HST you paid on the house, including tax paid on an assignment. Line 2 is the purchase price paid to the builder excluding tax. Line 3 is 36% of line 1, up to the maximum, and line 4 is the final amount carried to line C of Form GST190.

The rebate is a percentage of tax paid, not of the price. The guide caps it at $6,300 where GST is 5% or HST is 13%, 14% or 15%. If total consideration is between $350,000 and $450,000, the amount is reduced by the formula, and at $450,000 or more it is nil. For example, with 5% GST paid on a $400,000 home, the rebate works out to $3,150.

Deadline and where to send it

If the builder does not pay or credit the rebate, you generally have up to two years from the date ownership was transferred to claim it. For houses on leased land (Types 1B and 5), the two years run from the date possession was transferred. You may instead apply to the builder within the same two years, and the builder may pay or credit it if it agrees.

CRA says it considers late-filed requests only for owner-built homes in extraordinary circumstances, and that does not apply to a house bought from a builder, so a missed deadline generally means the rebate is lost.

What to do next

• Look at your statement of adjustments to see whether the rebate was already credited.
• Note the date ownership transferred and mark the two-year deadline on a calendar.
• Complete the worksheet first, then transfer the result to Form GST190.
• Make copies of everything, send the required documents, and keep the rest for six years.
• Be accurate about eligibility. A rebate you were not entitled to must be repaid, and in some cases the builder and the individual can be jointly liable.

If your purchase involved an assignment, co-owners, a corporation, or a purchase for a relation, speak with a lawyer or accountant before filing.

Frequently asked questions