// BUYING A HOME

Buying your first home in Canada, province by province

Pick your province for a mortgage calculator that starts from local benchmark prices and adds land transfer tax, CMHC insurance and the cash you need to close, plus every first-time buyer rebate and program that applies there. The federal programs, from the FHSA to the GST rebate on new homes, are further down.

Benchmark prices August 2026 · Rules checked October 16, 2026

Pick your province

Each card shows the benchmark price of the province’s main market in our data and the transfer tax or fee on that price, before any first-time buyer relief. Open a province for the full calculator and its programs.

Benchmark: CREA MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark for each province’s main market in our data, August 2026. Tax or fee on that price before first-time buyer relief; Nova Scotia at Halifax’s 1.5% rate. Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut aren’t covered yet: our price data has no benchmark for them. Their title fees are in the land transfer tax calculator.

Provinces side by side

On each province’s benchmark home
Province	Benchmark price	Transfer tax or fee	First-time buyer	Sales tax on CMHC premium
British Columbia	$1,081,900Greater Vancouver	$19,638	$19,638	None
Alberta	$571,500Calgary	$625	$625	None
Saskatchewan	$444,700Saskatoon	Not estimated	Not estimated	6%
Manitoba	$392,900Winnipeg	$5,508	$5,508	None
Ontario	$925,900Greater Toronto	$14,993	$10,993	8%
Quebec	$583,900Montreal CMA	$6,869	$6,869$5,467 back as a tax credit	9%
New Brunswick	$378,700Greater Moncton	$3,787	$3,787	None
Nova Scotia	$563,800Halifax-Dartmouth	$8,457	$8,457	None
Prince Edward Island	$372,800Province-wide	$3,728	$0	None
Newfoundland and Labrador	$425,400St. John’s	$1,800	$1,800	None

“First-time buyer” is the tax or fee after any provincial or Toronto-style rebate taken at closing. Saskatchewan’s title fees aren’t estimated: we couldn’t confirm ISC’s current schedule.

EVERY PROVINCE

Federal programs for first-time buyers

These work the same in every province. Many first-time buyers can use several together: the FHSA and the Home Buyers’ Plan for the down payment, the home buyers’ amount at tax time, and the GST rebates on a newly built home.

Federal

First Home Savings Account (FHSA)

$8,000 a year$40,000 lifetime: deductible going in, tax-free coming out

WHO QUALIFIES Canadian residents aged 18 to 71 who haven’t lived in a home they or their spouse owned in the current year or the previous four calendar years.

Contributions are deductible like RRSP contributions, and a qualifying withdrawal to buy your first home is tax-free and never repaid.
Unused room carries forward up to $8,000, so the most room you can have in one year is $16,000. Room only starts once you open the account.
The account has to close by the end of the year of the 15th anniversary of opening it, the year you turn 71, or the year after your first qualifying withdrawal.

Official details

Federal

Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP)

$60,000per person from your RRSP, with no tax withheld

WHO QUALIFIES First-time buyers (the same four-year test) with a written agreement to buy or build a qualifying home in Canada that they’ll live in within a year.

You repay it to your RRSP over up to 15 years. For a first withdrawal between January 1, 2026 and December 31, 2028, repayments start in the fifth year after the withdrawal.
Any year you repay less than the minimum, the shortfall is added to your income.
You can use the HBP and an FHSA withdrawal for the same home, and the home must be bought or built before October 1 of the year after your first withdrawal.

Official details

Federal

Home buyers’ amount (first-time home buyers’ tax credit)

$10,000claimed on line 31270 as a non-refundable federal credit

WHO QUALIFIES First-time buyers (no home owned and lived in by you or your spouse in the year of purchase or the four years before), and buyers eligible for the disability tax credit.

It lowers the federal tax you owe; there’s no refund if you owe no tax.
Two eligible buyers can split it, but not above the $10,000 total for the home.
You must plan to live in the home within one year of buying it.

Official details

FederalNew builds

First-time home buyers’ GST/HST rebate

Up to $50,000all the GST, or the federal part of the HST, on a new home up to $1 million

WHO QUALIFIES First-time buyers 18 or older, citizens or permanent residents, who haven’t lived in a home they or their spouse owned this year or the previous four, buying or building a new home to live in.

Full rebate at $1 million or less, shrinking to nothing at $1.5 million. CRA’s example: a $1.25 million home gets $25,000.
Bought from a builder: the agreement must be signed on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031, with construction starting before 2031.
It tops up the regular GST/HST new housing rebate, and applies only to newly built or substantially renovated homes.

Official details

FederalNew builds

GST/HST new housing rebate

Up to $6,30036% of the GST on new homes under $450,000

WHO QUALIFIES Anyone buying or building a new home as their own or a relative’s main residence, first-time buyer or not.

The full rebate applies at $350,000 or less and phases out by $450,000.
A builder can credit it to you at closing; otherwise you apply to the CRA, or to Revenu Québec for a home in Quebec.

Official details

Federal

CMHC Home Start: 30-year insured amortization

30 yearsinstead of 25 on an insured mortgage

WHO QUALIFIES Insured mortgages (under 20% down) where at least one borrower is a first-time buyer or the home is newly built.

The premium is 0.20 points higher: 4.20% instead of 4.00% with 5% to 9.99% down.
A longer amortization lowers the payment but adds interest over the life of the mortgage. Try both in the calculator.

Official details

Federal

First-Time Home Buyer Incentive

Closedno new applications since March 21, 2024

WHO QUALIFIES No longer open to new buyers.

It was a shared-equity mortgage with the Government of Canada worth 5 or 10% of the price toward the down payment.
CMHC granted no new approvals after March 31, 2024.

Official details

THE GUIDE

How buying a first home works in Canada

How transfer taxes differ across Canada

Most provinces charge a tax when the purchase is registered. Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador charge only registration fees instead.

Ontario, B.C., Quebec and Manitoba use marginal brackets, so the rate rises with the price. New Brunswick and P.E.I. charge a flat 1%. Nova Scotia leaves the rate to each municipality, from 1% to 1.5% on the province’s July 2026 list. Toronto and Montréal add or set their own rates on top.

First-time buyer rebates by province

Three provinces cut the transfer tax at closing for first-time buyers: Ontario (up to $4,000, plus up to $4,475 more in Toronto), B.C. (up to $8,000 on homes under $860,000) and P.E.I. (the whole tax, with no price cap).

Quebec pays back up to $5,875 of its welcome tax as a refundable tax credit from 2026, and Saskatchewan gives a provincial income tax credit of up to $1,575. Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador help with the down payment through loans instead. We found no provincial first-time buyer rebate in Alberta or Manitoba.

Down payment rules are the same everywhere

Across Canada the minimum down payment is 5% of the first $500,000 of the price and 10% of the part between $500,000 and $1,500,000. Insured mortgages stop below $1,500,000, so a home at that price or more needs 20% down.

With less than 20% down your mortgage must be insured. CMHC’s premium is 4.00% of the loan with 5% to 9.99% down, 3.10% with 10% to 14.99% and 2.80% with 15% to 19.99%, and it’s added to the mortgage. Insured mortgages are limited to 25 years, or 30 through CMHC Home Start for first-time buyers and new builds.

How the FHSA and Home Buyers’ Plan fit together

Both are per person, and you can use both for the same home. The FHSA lets each first-time buyer contribute $8,000 a year, up to $40,000, deduct it like an RRSP contribution and take it all out tax-free for a qualifying purchase, with nothing to repay.

The Home Buyers’ Plan lets each first-time buyer withdraw up to $60,000 from an RRSP without tax withheld, but it has to go back into the RRSP over up to 15 years. For first withdrawals from 2026 to 2028, repayments start in the fifth year after the withdrawal.

Sales tax on CMHC insurance

Three provinces tax the CMHC premium: Ontario at 8%, Quebec at 9% (9.975% for premiums paid after December 31, 2026) and Saskatchewan at 6%. The premium itself can be added to the mortgage, but the tax can’t, so it’s cash you need on closing day.

Elsewhere there’s no sales tax on the premium. With 20% or more down there’s no premium at all.

Frequently Asked Questions

What programs are there for first-time home buyers in Canada?

Federally: the FHSA (up to $40,000 saved tax-free), the Home Buyers’ Plan (up to $60,000 from your RRSP), the $10,000 home buyers’ amount, up to $50,000 of GST back on a new home, and 30-year insured mortgages through CMHC Home Start. Provinces add land transfer tax rebates, tax credits or down payment loans; pick yours above.

How does the Home Buyers’ Plan work?

First-time buyers can withdraw up to $60,000 each from their RRSPs to buy or build a qualifying home, with no tax withheld. You repay it over up to 15 years; for first withdrawals from 2026 to 2028, repayments start in the fifth year after. Any shortfall in a year’s repayment is added to your income.

Is the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive still available?

No. CMHC stopped accepting applications on March 21, 2024, and granted no new approvals after March 31, 2024. It was a shared-equity mortgage worth 5 or 10% of the price.

What is the First Home Savings Account (FHSA)?

A registered account for first-time buyers aged 18 to 71. You can contribute $8,000 a year, up to $40,000 in your lifetime, deduct contributions from your income, and withdraw everything tax-free to buy your first home.

Is there a first-time home buyer rebate in Canada?

Yes, several. On a newly built home, the federal FTHB rebate returns up to $50,000 of GST or the federal part of HST. On any home, Ontario, B.C. and P.E.I. cut their transfer tax for first-time buyers, and Quebec refunds up to $5,875 of its welcome tax through a tax credit.

How much is CMHC insurance?

4.00% of the loan with 5% to 9.99% down, 3.10% with 10% to 14.99% and 2.80% with 15% to 19.99%. A 30-year insured amortization adds 0.20 points. Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan also charge sales tax on the premium.

Are there grants for first-time home buyers?

Mostly the help is tax relief or loans rather than cash grants. Newfoundland and Labrador’s First-time Homebuyers Program includes a grant of half your legal closing costs, up to $1,500, alongside its down payment loan.

What is the first-time home buyers’ tax credit?

The federal home buyers’ amount: a non-refundable credit you claim on line 31270, on up to $10,000, the year you buy your first home. Saskatchewan adds its own credit of up to $1,575.

Which provinces have no land transfer tax?

Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador charge registration fees instead. In Alberta the transfer fee is $50 plus $5 per $5,000 of value.

Can two people both use the FHSA and Home Buyers’ Plan for the same home?

Yes. Each eligible buyer, including spouses, can make a qualifying withdrawal from their own FHSA and take up to $60,000 from their own RRSP under the Home Buyers’ Plan for the same home.

Sources

General information, not financial or legal advice. Programs have conditions on residency, past ownership and price. Rules checked October 16, 2026. See our methodology.