Program rules and dollar figures below are set by the federal and provincial governments, not by us, and they change — most of what's on this page has already changed at least once since 2019. Figures are current as of August 2026; confirm anything you're relying on in your own budget with your mortgage broker, accountant, or directly with CRA/CMHC before counting on it.
Launched in 2019, the CMHC Incentive offered eligible first-time buyers a shared-equity loan — 5% or 10% of the purchase price on a new build, 5% on a resale home — interest-free, repayable when you sold or after 25 years. CMHC discontinued it for new applications effective March 21, 2024, citing low uptake (fewer than 16,000 approved applications nationally) and eligibility rules that excluded most GTA-area buyers on income and mortgage-size caps. It isn’t coming back in its old form. What follows is what a first-time buyer can actually use in 2026.
The FHSA combines an RRSP’s tax-deductible contributions with a TFSA’s tax-free withdrawals — a rare federal program that's purely upside for a first-time buyer. You can contribute up to $8,000 per year, to a $40,000 lifetime maximum, and unused room carries forward one year. Contributions reduce your taxable income the year you make them, and — unlike the Home Buyers’ Plan below — a qualifying withdrawal to buy your first home is never repaid. If you're saving toward a down payment and haven't opened one, this is usually the first account to fund.
The HBP lets you withdraw up to $60,000 from your RRSP, tax-free, to put toward a first home — and a couple can combine two HBP withdrawals toward the same purchase. The catch: it's a loan from your own retirement savings, not free money. You have 15 years to repay it back into your RRSP, starting the second year after you withdraw, and any year you miss the minimum repayment gets added to your taxable income for that year. It stacks with an FHSA withdrawal on the same purchase.
Bill C-4 received Royal Assent in March 2026, making permanent a rebate that applies to agreements of purchase and sale signed on or after March 20, 2025: first-time buyers of a new-construction home used as their primary residence get 100% of the GST (or the federal portion of HST) rebated on homes priced up to $1,000,000 — worth up to $50,000 — phasing out on a sliding scale between $1,000,000 and $1,500,000, with nothing above that. It's available once per lifetime and runs through 2031. With so much of the Oakville/Mississauga/Burlington/Milton condo market being new construction under $1M, this is now one of the largest single incentives available to a first-time buyer here — larger than the discontinued CMHC program ever was for most applicants.
Ontario refunds first-time buyers up to $4,000 of the provincial land transfer tax owed on closing, which fully cancels the tax on homes priced up to roughly $368,000 and reduces it above that. It's claimed automatically by your lawyer at registration, not applied for separately. See our land transfer tax calculator for your exact number, including the rebate.
A non-refundable federal tax credit: first-time buyers claim a $10,000 amount on their tax return (line 31270), which works out to roughly $1,500 back at current federal rates. Modest next to the programs above, but it costs nothing to claim if you qualify — you don't lose anything by combining it with the FHSA, HBP, GST rebate, and LTT rebate on the same purchase.
Toronto charges its own municipal land transfer tax on top of Ontario's provincial tax — effectively doubling the tax and requiring a second rebate application to offset it. Oakville, Mississauga, Burlington, and Milton don't levy any municipal land transfer tax, so the provincial rebate above is the only one you need to claim.
For everything else that adds up on closing day beyond these programs — legal fees, title insurance, a home inspection — see our closing costs checklist.
No. CMHC stopped accepting new applications as of March 21, 2024. It has not been replaced by a direct successor program, but the FHSA, HBP, GST rebate, and Ontario LTT rebate together can be worth significantly more to most GTA West buyers than the old shared-equity loan was.
Yes. They're separate programs and both can be used toward the same qualifying first home — the FHSA withdrawal never needs to be repaid, while the HBP withdrawal does, over 15 years.
No, it's specifically for new construction — a new build purchased directly from a builder, or an assignment of one, that becomes your primary residence. Resale homes aren't eligible for this rebate, though they can still qualify for the FHSA, HBP, and Ontario LTT rebate.
Requirements vary by program — the FHSA and HBP require you to be a resident of Canada, and "first-time buyer" generally means not having owned and lived in a home in the current year or the four preceding calendar years for most of these programs. Confirm current eligibility details with your mortgage broker or accountant before relying on any of them in your budget.
No. CMHC stopped accepting new applications as of March 21, 2024. It has not been replaced by a direct successor program, but the FHSA, HBP, GST rebate, and Ontario LTT rebate together can be worth significantly more to most GTA West buyers than the old shared-equity loan was.
Yes. They're separate programs and both can be used toward the same qualifying first home — the FHSA withdrawal never needs to be repaid, while the HBP withdrawal does, over 15 years.
No, it's specifically for new construction — a new build purchased directly from a builder, or an assignment of one, that becomes your primary residence. Resale homes aren't eligible for this rebate, though they can still qualify for the FHSA, HBP, and Ontario LTT rebate.
Requirements vary by program — the FHSA and HBP require you to be a resident of Canada, and "first-time buyer" generally means not having owned and lived in a home in the current year or the four preceding calendar years for most of these programs. Confirm current eligibility details with your mortgage broker or accountant before relying on any of them in your budget.