First Time Buyers                              

 

There are 4 programs for the First Time Buyers.

1) Home Buyer Tax Credit (HBTC) (up to $750)

You can receive up to $750 back from the federal government by applying for the home buyer tax credit in the year the home was purchased. To obtain the tax credit, complete line 369 on your personal income tax return.

You will qualify for the HBTC if:

• You, your spouse, or common-law partner acquired a qualifying home; and
• You did not live in another home owned by you or your spouse or common-law partner in the year of acquisition or in any of the four preceding years.

If you buy a house, with a spouse or common-law partner, either one of you can claim the credit or you can share the credit. However, the total of your combined claims cannot exceed $750. You must occupy the home as your principal residence no later than one year after the home was purchased.

2) RRSP Plan (up to $35,000)

The First Time Home Buyers RRSP Plan (HBP) allows first-time home buyers to withdraw up to $35,000 from RRSPs to buy or build a home for themselves or a related person with a disability. The withdrawn amount must be repaid within 15 years, subject to a minimum annual repayment that is 1/15 of the amount withdrawn. If the full $35,000 is withdrawn, the minimum annual repayment is $1,667. If less than the minimum is repaid in any particular year, the balance is added to the taxpayer’s income. To qualify for the Home Buyers Plan, an individual must not have owned a home during the last 4 full calendar years.

3) Ontario Land Transfer Tax Credit (up to $8,475)

The Land Transfer Tax Credit is a refund of the cost of the province's land transfer tax up to a maximum of $8,475 if the buyer purchased a home in Toronto or $4,000 for a home not in Toronto. This will allow first-time home buyers to purchase a home up to $400,000 without having to pay any land transfer fee. Any amount higher than $400,000 is taxed at a rate of approximately 1.5%. To qualify the property must be owner-occupied. The first-time home purchaser may claim the full maximum amount or a proportion of the maximum refund amount. To qualify for the Land Transfer Tax Credit, you cannot have ever owned a home, or an interest in a home, anywhere in the world. The refund can be given instantly at the lawyer's office but advise the lawyer prior to the closing date if you qualify for the rebate

4) First-Time Home Buyer Incentive

Eligibility:

• your total annual qualifying income doesn’t exceed $150,000 if the home you are purchasing in Toronto.
• your total borrowing is no more than 4.5 times your qualifying incomes if the home you are purchasing is in Toronto.
• you or your partner are a first-time homebuyer.
• you are a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or non-permanent resident authorized to work in Canada
• you meet the minimum down payment (5%) requirements with traditional funds (savings, withdrawal/collapse of a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), or a non-repayable financial gift from a relative/immediate family member)
• Never purchased a home before
• Did not occupy a home that you or your current spouse or common-law partner owned in the last 4 years (the 4-year period begins on January 1 of the fourth year before the Incentive is funded and ends 31 days before the date the Incentive is funded)
• Have recently experienced the breakdown of a marriage or common-law partnership (even if you don’t meet the other first-time home buyer requirements)

The Incentive is like a second mortgage on your home. Your first mortgage must be greater than 80% of the value of the property and is subject to a mortgage loan insurance premium. It also must be eligible through Canada Guaranty, CMHC, or Sagen.

How it works:

It allows you to borrow 5 or 10% of the purchase price of a home. You pay back the same percentage of the value of your home when you sell it or within a 25-year window. The incentive amount is 5% or 10% on New Construction, and 5% on Existing Homes.

It works like this:

• You receive a 5% incentive on the home’s purchase price of $200,000, or $10,000. If your home value increases to $300,000 your payback would be 5% of the current value or $15,000.
• You receive a 10% incentive of the home’s purchase price of $200,000, or $20,000 and your home value decreases to $150,000, your repayment value will be 10% of the current value or $15,000.