A new home in Ontario carries 13% HST. Two separate rebates claw part of it back, they work on completely different rules, and the federal one runs out at a price that no longer buys much.
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Enter the purchase price of the new build. The federal and Ontario rebates are calculated separately, then netted against the 13% HST.
HST is one line on your closing statement. See the full closing-cost breakdown → for land transfer tax, our fee and disbursements too.
The calculator above does the actual math; here's the shape of it.
The federal rebate returns 36% of the 5% GST portion, capped at $6,300. It begins shrinking once the price passes $350,000 and is gone entirely at $450,000 — thresholds that have not moved in a very long time, which is why most Ontario buyers get little or nothing from it.
The Ontario rebate returns 75% of the 8% provincial portion, capped at $24,000. It has no price ceiling at all, so the cap is reached at a $400,000 purchase price and every buyer above that receives the same $24,000.
Where the rebate actually goes, and how you can lose it.
On a builder purchase the rebate is normally assigned to the builder and is already baked into the price you were quoted. You never see the money, so it is easy to forget it was claimed on your behalf.
That matters because the rebate depends on you or a close relation occupying the home as a primary place of residence. Buyers who close and immediately rent the unit out, or who never move in, get reassessed for the whole amount later — with interest. There is a separate new residential rental property rebate → for genuine investors, but it has to be claimed properly rather than assumed.
Say you're buying a $400,000 new condo — a price inside the federal phase-out band, which shows both rebates at once:
At $300,000 the federal rebate is not yet phasing out and would be $5,400; at $450,000 and above it is $0. The Ontario rebate stays at its $24,000 cap either way, since it has no price ceiling. Run your own price in the calculator above for the exact split.
The federal rebate is 36% of the 5% federal portion of the HST, to a maximum of $6,300, phasing out between a $350,000 and a $450,000 purchase price. The Ontario rebate is 75% of the 8% provincial portion, to a maximum of $24,000, with no price ceiling.
Because the price was $450,000 or more. The federal rebate phases out completely at that point, while the Ontario rebate keeps applying at any price.
On most builder purchases, no — it is assigned to the builder and already reflected in the price. On an owner-built home, or where the assignment was not made, you claim it directly from the CRA.
The new housing rebate requires the home to be a primary place of residence for you or a close relation. If it is rented instead, the CRA can reassess and recover the rebate with interest. A separate new residential rental property rebate may be available, but it has to be claimed on its own terms.
Book a 20-minute call with a real estate lawyer — $150, HST included, credited in full toward your file if you retain us (once payment is received), paid by Interac e-transfer.
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