GST/HST New Housing Rebate Calculator Canada

What the new housing rebate calculator does

The calculator estimates the sales tax on a newly built or substantially renovated Canadian home and the rebates that come back against it. Enter the pre-tax price, choose the province and whether the home is for you to live in or to rent out, and the tool reports the tax charged, each rebate separately, the net tax and the all-in cost.

A resale home is exempt from GST and HST, but a new build is not: the full rate applies to the price, which on a large purchase is a very large number. The rebates soften that, and they are complicated enough that builders, lawyers and buyers often disagree about the figure until closing.

The three rebates, and which one applies

The standard federal new housing rebate returns 36% of the federal GST paid. It applies in full up to $350,000 and tapers in a straight line to nothing at $450,000. Those thresholds were set in 1991 and never indexed, so across most of the country a zero on that line is correct.

The First-Time Home Buyers’ GST rebate refunds the whole federal GST, up to a cap, for a first-time buyer of an owner-occupied new home, and tapers over a much higher price band. Between the two upper thresholds you receive a proportional share, which is why the results show an amount rather than a yes or no.

The provincial rebate exists only where a province runs one. Ontario refunds part of the provincial share of the HST up to a fixed maximum, and because the maximum is reached at a fairly modest price, most Ontario buyers of a new home get the same provincial figure. Quebec runs a separate rebate against the QST, and several provinces have none.

Only one federal rebate can be claimed, so the calculator applies the larger of the first two and shows both.

A worked example

A $750,000 new home in Ontario, owner-occupied, not a first-time buyer, with Ontario’s rebate entered as 75% up to $24,000. The federal GST is $37,500 and the provincial part of the HST $60,000, so $97,500 of tax before rebates. The price is above $450,000, so the standard federal rebate is zero. The Ontario rebate reaches its $24,000 cap, leaving net tax of $73,500, an all-in cost of $823,500 and an effective tax rate of 9.8% on the price.

A first-time buyer of a $1,200,000 home in the same setup gets a first-time buyer rebate of $30,000 out of $60,000 of GST, because the price sits partway down the taper, plus the $24,000 Ontario rebate.

How the province changes the answer

In an HST province the combined rate applies to the price and the federal share is separated out for rebate purposes. In Quebec, GST and QST are charged separately. Alberta and the three territories charge only the 5% GST. In British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan the provincial sales tax does not apply to the sale of a new home, so buyers there pay GST alone.

The same house can therefore carry very different tax. A new build in a 15% HST province carries three times the headline tax of the same build in Alberta, and a capped provincial rebate rarely closes the gap.

Why two of the inputs are yours to fill in

The federal figures are stored parameters kept in line with the published rates. The provincial share and cap are inputs because provincial rebates are not one national scheme with thirteen values: they differ in what they apply to, how they are capped, whether the cap applies to price or tax, and whether they exist at all. Enter the two figures for your province, or set both to zero where there is no rebate.

Substantially renovated and owner-built homes

A substantially renovated home qualifies too, as does a home built or heavily rebuilt by the owner. The test is broadly that all or nearly all of the interior of the existing building has been removed or replaced, a much higher bar than a large renovation, and it excludes most kitchen and bathroom projects however expensive.

In that case the rebate is worked out on the tax paid across construction materials and contracted services rather than on one purchase price. Enter the total of those tax-bearing costs in place of a price. The shares, caps and thresholds are the same, but you claim directly and the paperwork is heavier.

Reading the result

The headline is the total rebate. The tax payable before rebates shows what the purchase attracts and the net tax what you are left paying. The effective rate on the price is the best single figure for comparing purchases in different provinces, because it combines the rate, the rebates and the caps.

The all-in cost adds the net tax to the price. Use it when working out affordability, because the tax on a new build is generally payable at closing and is not part of the mortgage.

Check your agreement: most builder contracts quote a price with the rebate already assigned to the builder, so the price you were shown is net of a rebate you never see. If the figure here looks like it counts the rebate twice, that is usually why.

This is an estimate for planning, not tax or legal advice. Eligibility for every rebate depends on conditions this tool does not test, and the final figure is set by the CRA and your province.

About This Tool: New Housing Rebate

New housing rebate: use this tool to get an instant, accurate estimate. The figures follow official CRA guidance and every rate and threshold is kept up to date for 2026. Adjust the inputs above to match your situation, or browse all our calculators to plan your next step.