Minimum Downpayment

If your downpayment is less than 20%, you'll typically require mortgage loan insurance.

If you're self-employed or have a poor credit history, your lender may require a larger downpayment.

The minimum down payment is based on the purchase price of your home.

Purchase Price	Minimum Downpayment
Over $1.5 million	20% of the purchase price
$500,000 to $1.5 million	5% of the first $500,000 and 10% for the remaining portion above $500,000
$500,000 or less	5% of the purchase price.

Home Buyers' Plan (HBP)

A program that allows you to withdraw from your registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) to buy or build a qualifying home for yourself or for a specified disabled person.

Current Limit: $60,000

Eligibility Requirements: - You must be a Canadian resident at the time of withdrawal - You or the specified disabled person must have a written agreement to buy or build a qualifying home at the time of your withdrawal - If you have previously participated in the HBP, your balance must be zero at the beginning of the calendar year of your withdrawal - You must intend to occupy the home as your principal residence no later than one year after buying or building it - You must not have lived in a home that you owned or your spouse owned at any time in the calendar year before the withdrawal or at any time in the preceding four calendar years.

Specified Disabled Person In respect of an individual, is a person who is the individual or who is related to the individual, where the person either: - is entitled to the disability amount at the time of the HBP withdrawal - would have been entitled to the disability amount if they had not claimed costs for an attendant of for care in a nursing home as medical expenses - was not entitled to the disability amount for any year before the HBP withdrawal, but a form T2201 certified by a medical practitioner, is filed for the person for the year of the HBP withdrawal, the person will be treated as if they are entitled to the disability amount.

Qualifying Home: A housing unit located in Canada. This includes existing homes and those being constructed. The following all qualify: - Single-Family Homes - Semi-Detached Homes - Townhouses - Mobile Homes - Duplexes - Triplexes - Fourplexes - Apartment Buildings - Condominium Units A share in a co-operative housing corporation that entitles you to possess, and gives you an equity interest in a housing unit located in Canada, also qualifies. For condo units, you are considered to own the unit the day you are entitled to immediate vacant possession of it.

Repayment: You have 15 years to repay the withdrawal amount to your RRSP. Your repayment period started the second year after the year you made your first withdrawal. If you repay less than the minimum required repayment, the difference must be declared as RRSP income while doing taxes.

Withdraw from your RRSP

Up To $60,000

Home Buyers

Plan

First Home Savings Account (FHSA)

A registered plan which allows you, if you are a first-time home buyer, to save to buy or build a qualifying first home tax-free.

Your contribution limit starts at $8,000 the first year and goes up an additional $8,000 each subsequent year.

If you have an existing account, you can find your participation room on your latest notice of assessment.

Unlike with the RRSP withdrawal, this does not have to be paid back when you withdrawal to purchase a home.

You must use the funds within 15 years of opening the account, if you don't use the funds to purchase a home, you can transfer it to your RRSP without paying taxes.

Oxford County Home Ownership Program

What is the Program?

A 20 year interest free loan registered on the title of your home that gives you up to 5% of the purchase of your home to use as a downpayment.

Eligibility:

- over 18 years old

total household income before deductions is less that $117,000 a year

- you are currently renting in Oxford County

- You do not owe rent arrears, housing charges or damages to any other social housing program

- your total household assets are below $40,000

- no household member owns a property or has interest in a property

- you are able to pay all closing costs and home inspection fee (if resale home)

-you qualify for a mortgage

- you are a legal resident of Canada

- you agree to have this home as your one and only residence

- you are purchasing a home valued under $425,000

Loan Repayment

forgiveable after 20 years (if you stay in the home at least 20 years, you do not have to repay the loan.

You may repay the loan at any time

The loan must be paid at the time of sale of your home if you did not repay sooner

The loan amount payable is the original loan value plus or minus 5% of the increase or decrease of value of your home.

New Housing Rebate

The GST/HST new housing rebate allows an individual to recover some of the GST or the federal part of the HST paid for a new or substantially renovated house that is for use as the individual's, or their relation's, primary place of residence, when all of the other conditions are met.

Owner-built houses

You may be entitled to claim a GST/HST new housing rebate for an owner-built house if you:

built, or engaged someone else to build, a house on land that you already owned or leased
substantially renovated, or engaged someone else to substantially renovate, your existing house (at least 90% of the interior of the existing house must be removed or replaced to be a substantial renovation)
renovated, or engaged someone else to renovate, your existing house and built, or engaged someone else to build, a major addition to your house, to the extent that this is viewed as a newly built house (for example, the addition of a full second story to an existing bungalow). Adding a sun porch, sun room, family room, or bedroom by itself is not a major addition
converted a non-residential property into your house
purchased a new or substantially renovated mobile home or a new floating home from a builder of the home (this includes the manufacturer or vendor of the home) or you or someone you hired substantially renovated such a home

For a mobile or a floating home, you can claim either the owner-built new housing rebate or the new housing rebate for a house purchased from a builder, mentioned below.

Houses purchased from a builder

You may be entitled to claim a GST/HST new housing rebate for a house purchased from a builder if one of the following apply:

you purchased a new or substantially renovated house (building and land) from a builder
you purchased a new or substantially renovated mobile home or a new floating home from a builder (this includes the manufacturer or vendor)
you purchased a share of the capital stock of a co-operative housing corporation (co-op) where the co-op has paid tax in respect of a new or substantially renovated house
you purchased a new or substantially renovated house from a builder where you leased the land from that builder under the same agreement to buy the house and the lease is for 20 years or more or gives you the option to buy the land

Who qualifies for the HST new housing rebate?

The GST/HST new housing rebate is a Canadian federal government program that offers a rebate on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) or the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) for new homes. The rebate is available to homebuyers who purchase a new-build home, preconstruction, or who make substantial renovations to an existing home.

You could receive a maximum rebate of $6,300.

New residential rental property rebate

If you buy a new residential property to rent out to a tenant, you need to pay HST on the purchase. However, if you purchase a used residential property, you generally don’t need to pay GST/HST on it. The government provides a partial HST rebate on new residential rental properties to level the playing field between used and new homes. To qualify for the New Residential Rental Property Rebate, you or your corporation will need to rent out the property for at least one year.

get at least $24,000 back from the government on new rental properties they purchase.

How Do I qualify?

You generally qualify for a rebate if you purchased a new home and you paid HST on it, and the first use of the unit (or is it reasonable to expect that the first use of the unit will be) one of the following

Your or your relation’s primary place of residence for a period of at least one year (or for a shorter period if, after the shorter period, the unit is leased to an individual who will occupy the unit as their primary place of residence).
A lessor’s, or their relation’s, primary place of residence for a period of at least one year (or for a shorter period if, after the shorter period, the unit is sold or leased to an individual who will occupy the unit as their primary place of residence).
An individual’s primary place of residence and the individual will occupy the unit continuously for a period of at least one year (or for a shorter period if the unit is sold to another person for use as the primary place of residence of that person or a relation to that person, or taken by the person or lessor, or a relation of the person or the lessor, for use as their primary place of residence).

Generally, CRA will recapture your rebate with interest if you sell the property within one year to a purchaser who is not acquiring it for use as their primary residence.

How is the Rebate Calculated?

There is both a Federal and Ontario rebate. You file two separate forms to claim the rebate. We discuss these details in the headings below.

Federal Rebate

The Federal Rebate is equal to 36% of the federal portion of the HST.

The maximum rebate is $6,300, equal to 36% of the GST payable on a $350,000 home.

When your home’s fair market value exceeds $350,000, the rebate is “clawed back” as the value of the home rises from $350,000 to $450,000. If your home purchase price is $450,000 or more, the federal rebate becomes $0.

Here’s the formula:

Federal rebate = $6,300 x ($450,000 – B) / $100,000

where, B = greater of ($350,000 or the fair market value of the home)

As you can see, if the home’s value is $450,000 or more, the rebate is $0. In Ontario’s red hot real estate market, it is common for people not to get a federal rebate.

Ontario Rebate

If you of the conditions for the federal rebate, you would also be entitled to claim an Ontario new housing rebate on the provincial part of the HST.

Unlike the federal rebate, Ontario doesn’t limit the purchase price. Therefore, you can claim the Ontario rebate even if you cannot claim the federal rebate.

The Ontario rebate is equal to 75% of the provincial part of the HST paid, up to a maximum rebate of $24,000. In other words, if the value of the home exceeds $400,000, you should qualify for the maximum rebate of $24,000.

Fair Market Value vs. Purchase Price

Note how the formula uses the “fair market value” when you paid HST (i.e., closing date). The rebate is not based on your purchase price. The fair market value (FMV) is the highest price you can get in the market between unrelated parties and should be comparable to similar housing in the local real estate market. FMV does not include any GST/HST payable on the FMV or provincial land transfer taxes.

Ontario Land Transfer Tax Refund

What is it: First time home buyers of an eligible home may be eligible for a refund of all or part of the tax. You may claim the refund at the time of registration, which may off-set your land transfer tax. If the refund is not claimed at the time of registration, the tax must be paid, and a claim for the refund may be submitted to the Ministry of Finance. Maximum refund of $4,000

Eligible Home:

Detached house
A semi detached house
A townhouse
A share or shares of the capital stock of a co-operative corporation if the share or shares are acquired for the purpose of acquiring the right to in‑habit a housing unit owned by the corporation;
a mobile home that complies with the Canadian Standards Association Standard CAN/CSA‑Z240 Mobile Homes and is suitable for year round permanent residential occupation;
a condominium unit;
a residential dwelling that is a duplex, triplex or fourplex;
a partial ownership interest as a tenant in common of real property if the ownership interest was acquired for the purpose of acquiring the right to inhabit a housing unit forming part of the real property;
a manufactured home that is manufactured in whole or in part at an offsite location, that is intended for basement installation, that is suitable for year round permanent residential occupation and that complies with,
- the Building Code made under the Building Code Act, 1992;
- if the manufactured home is constructed in sections that are not wider than 4.3 metres, Canadian Standards Association Standard Z240.2.1 Structural Requirements for Mobile Homes and Canadian Standards Association Standard Z240.8.1 Windows for Use in Mobile Homes; or
- if the manufactured home is constructed in sections that are 4.3 metres or wider, Canadian Standards Association Standard A277 Procedure for Certification of Factory Built Houses, or
any other residential property as may be prescribed

Eligibility Requirements: Over the age of 18, you and your spouse have never owned a home anywhere in the world. The method of acquiring the home is irrelevant. The refund applies to all homes, whether newly constructed or resale. No land transfer tax is payable for FTHB on the first $368,000 of the purchase price for eligible homes. A purchase price greater than $368,000 would receive a max refund of $4,000. If one or more purchasers are not a first time buyer then the refund is proportionate to the interest acquired by the individual(s) who qualify for the refund.

Purchaser over 18 years old
Purchaser must occupy the home as their principal residence within 9 months of the date of transfer
Purchaser cannot have ever owned an eligible home or interest in an eligible home anywhere in the world at any time
If the purchaser has a spouse the spouse cannot have owned an eligible home or had any ownership interest in an eligible home, anywhere in the world, while he or she was the purchaser’s spouse. If this is the case, no refund is available to either spouse.
Must be a Canadian Citizen and permanent resident of Canada. You have 18 months following registration to obtain Canadian Citizenship and apply for the refund.

First Time Home buyer tax credit (HBTC)

What is it: You can claim up to $10,000 for the purchase of a qualifying home. One individual can claim the tax credit, or you can split it between you and your spouse or common-law partner, but it cannot exceed $10,000

You can make the claim on Line 31270 of your tax return.

Eligibility Requirements:

You (or your spouse or common-law partner) acquired a qualifying home

You are a First-Time Home Buyer or you are a person with a disability

Only one of the spouses or common-law partners may claim this amount

First-Time Home Buyer Definition: If you (or your spouse or common-law partner) did not own a home inside or outside of Canada in the year of acquisition or any of the four preceding years.

Person with a Disability: You are eligible for the disability tax credit or you are aquiring the home for the benefit of a related person who is eligible for the disability tax credit.

Qualifying Home: The home must be registered in your or your spouse’s or common-law partner’s name in accordance with the applicable land registration system and must be located in Canada. It includes existing homes and homes under construction.

The following homes are considered qualifying homes:

single-family houses
Semi-detached houses
Townhouses
Mobile homes
Condominium units
Apartments in duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, or apartment buildings.