First-time home buyer land transfer tax relief across Canada

The relief takes three forms. In British Columbia and Prince Edward Island it is an exemption claimed when the transfer is registered, so the tax is not paid. Ontario's refund and Toronto's rebate can also be claimed at registration, where they offset the tax, or applied for after paying, within 18 months. Quebec has no first-time buyer exemption from the welcome tax itself: Revenu Québec repays part or all of the duty through a refundable income tax credit.

The past-ownership test differs. Ontario and Toronto exclude anyone who has owned a home or an interest in a home anywhere in the world. British Columbia excludes anyone who has owned a registered interest in a property that was their principal residence anywhere in the world. Prince Edward Island excludes anyone who has held a registered interest in property that was their principal residence. Quebec looks back only to the start of the fourth calendar year before the purchase.

Worked example: a first-time buyer of a $500,000 Toronto home owes $6,475 provincial tax and $6,475 municipal tax. After the $4,000 refund and the $4,475 rebate, $4,475 remains. In British Columbia the $8,000 of general tax on a $500,000 home is fully exempt.

Manitoba, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia (including Halifax) have no first-time buyer exemption in their transfer tax laws. Alberta, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador and the territories charge registration fees rather than a land transfer tax.

In British Columbia, the buyer's legal professional applies the exemption in the property transfer tax return. A buyer who did not claim it can apply for a refund (form FIN 265) from the first anniversary to 18 months after registration. In Prince Edward Island, the buyer files a declaration on registration of the deed. In Ontario, the refund is claimed at registration or applied for within 18 months; no interest is paid. Toronto works the same way, and the City charges a processing fee on refunds after registration. In Quebec, the credit is claimed on the income tax return with form TP-752.HA. An advance payment for 2026 can be requested in Mon dossier until December 1, 2026.

Each program is measured against a different value. British Columbia's thresholds use the property's fair market value: full exemption at $835,000 or less, and a partial exemption above $835,000 and below $860,000. Ontario's and Toronto's refunds apply to tax on the value of the consideration, with no price ceiling; above the point where the tax reaches the maximum, the refund stays at $4,000 or $4,475. Quebec's credit is reduced by 2.35% of the tax base above $750,000 and is nil once the base reaches $1 million. The Finance bulletin says the tax base generally corresponds to the property's market value at acquisition.

- Ontario: refund of up to $4,000 for conveyances on or after January 1, 2017. The Ministry says no tax is payable on the first $368,000. The buyer must be at least 18, occupy the home as a principal residence within nine months, and never have owned an eligible home anywhere in the world. - Toronto: rebate of up to $4,475 of municipal land transfer tax, with conditions that mirror Ontario's. - British Columbia: exemption on the first $500,000 for homes valued at $835,000 or less, reduced proportionally between $835,000 and $860,000. Buyers must have lived in B.C. for at least a year immediately before registration, or filed 2 B.C. tax returns in the last 6 years, and must move in within 92 days. - Prince Edward Island: "No tax is payable" for a first-time home buyer who files a declaration and intends to occupy the home as a principal residence (s. 5 of the Act). - Quebec: 100% of the first $5,000 of duty paid plus 25% of the next $3,500, up to $5,875.

Ontario's refund and Toronto's rebate apply to new and resale homes alike. British Columbia also has a separate newly built home exemption that is not limited to first-time buyers. For registrations on or after April 1, 2024, it is a full exemption at a fair market value of $1,100,000 or less and a partial exemption below $1,150,000. The buyer must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and use the home only as a principal residence. For Quebec's credit, a home is considered acquired on the first day that both the buyer's right is published in the land register and the home is habitable.

The Ontario, Toronto, British Columbia and Prince Edward Island programs are limited to Canadian citizens and permanent residents. In Ontario and Toronto, a buyer who gets that status within 18 months of the transfer can still apply. In British Columbia, a buyer who becomes a citizen or permanent resident by the first anniversary of registration can apply for a refund; foreign entities and taxable trustees are not eligible. Quebec's credit instead requires residence in Quebec on December 31 of the year. Extra taxes on foreign buyers are covered on the non-resident taxes page.

Separately from provincial programs, the federal home buyers' amount (line 31270) is a non-refundable income tax credit for first-time buyers. The Canada Revenue Agency's page for the 2025 tax year allows a claim of up to $10,000 for a qualifying home bought in 2025. A first-time buyer under this rule did not live in another home owned by them or their spouse or common-law partner in the year of purchase or the four preceding years. The CRA's first-time test does not apply to a person eligible for the disability tax credit, or to a buyer acquiring the home for a related person eligible for it, when the home is more accessible or better suited to that person's needs.

October 6, 2026: Revenu Québec announced that advance payments of the first-home credit can be requested in Mon dossier; the deadline for 2026 is December 1, 2026. July 7, 2026: the City of Montréal stopped accepting applications to its Programme d'appui à l'acquisition résidentielle, saying the provincial credit replaces the equivalent municipal help. April 17, 2026: the Ministère des Finances announced the Quebec credit for homes acquired after December 31, 2025. April 1, 2024: British Columbia raised its first-time buyer threshold to $835,000 (partial to $860,000) and its newly built home threshold to $1,100,000 (partial to $1,150,000). Ontario's $4,000 maximum has applied since January 1, 2017.