Oakville • Toronto • Mississauga  • Burlington • Milton • Hamilton

Buying a house for the first time is an exciting and important decision in your life. As someone who represents you and looks out for your best interest, I would like to introduce you to some helpful benefits you may be entitled to:

1. Home Buyers' Plan

2. Land Transfer Tax Rebate

3. First Time Home Buyers' Tax Credit

1. Home Buyers' Plan (HBP):

The Home Buyers' Plan is a government program that allows home buyers to withdraw up to $35,000 from their Registered Retirement Saving’s Plan (RRSP) to put towards buying or building a new home.

Before you can withdraw funds, you have to be entered into a written agreement that specifies whether you will be buying or building your new home.  You also must occupy this space no later than a year after buying or building this new home.

To take advantage of this program you have to be considered a first-time buyer. You are not a first-time home buyer if you (or you and your spouse) has owned a home which you have occupied as your principal place of residence in the past 5 years.

Once those conditions are met each person can withdraw up to $35,000 tax-free from their RRSP for a new home. Couples, including common-law, can withdraw up to $70,000. You will not pay income tax on these amounts as long as these funds will be repaid into an RRSP in the future.

Existing homeowners can also use this program to purchase an accessible home or a home for a disabled dependent relative. The intended individual must qualify for the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) and this home must be more accessible or better suited to the care of this individual.

You can click here for detailed information regarding the Home Buyer's Plan, or fill out the form on this page to contact me if you need clarification or have any questions. I'm here to help.

2. Land Transfer Tax Rebate:

First-time buyers of new and re-sale homes are eligible for rebates on provincial (Ontario) and Toronto land transfer taxes. 

For home purchases and sales that occured before January 1, 2017, the maximum amount of the refund was $2,000.

Beginning January 1, 2017, the maximum amount of the refund is $4,000. The increased limit of $4,000 applies only to purchases and sales that occur on or after January 1, 2017, regardless of the date the agreement of purchase and sale was signed.

Beginning January 1, 2017, no land transfer tax would be payable by qualifying first‑time home buyers on the first $368,000 of the value of the sale price for eligible homes. First‑time home buyers of homes greater than $368,000 would receive a maximum refund of $4,000.

Beginning January 1, 2017, eligibility for the first‑time homebuyers refund program is restricted to Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada.

The provincial LTT is payable anywhere in Ontario, including Toronto. 

Toronto LTT is payable only for properties in the City of Toronto. The maximum rebate a first-time home buyer can receive on Toronto Land Trasfer Tax is $4,475. The Toronto LTT rebates are in addition to any provincial LTT rebate the buyer qualifies for.

The buyer is considered to be a first-time buyer for the provincial and Toronto LTT if they are at least 18 years of age and must not have previously owned a home anywhere in the world at anytime. If a spouse is involved, the spouse cannot have owned a home or had any ownership interest in a home while he/she was the purchaser's spouse

Click here for more information regarding the First Time Home Buyer Land Transfer Tax Rebate, or fill out the form on this page to contact me if you have any questions - I'm always happy to help.

3. First-Time Home Buyers' Tax Credit (HBTC):

First-Time Home Buyers' Tax Credit (HBTC) is a government program geared towards buyers like you. The objective is to reduce costs associated with purchasing a home. As a first time buyer, you are eligible for a 15% income tax credit on a maximum of $5,000 of home purchase costs such as legal fees and land transfer taxes. It can be claimed for the taxation year that you acquired the house.

You are considered to be a first time buyer if neither you and your spouse or common-law partner has owned and lived in another home in the year of the purchase or in any of the four previous years.

You can click here for detailed information regarding the First Time Buyers' Tax Credit, or fill out the form on this page to contact me if you need clarification or have any questions. I'm here to help :)

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