{"id":560033,"date":"2026-03-25T16:00:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T16:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/560033\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T16:00:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T16:00:19","slug":"ontario-planning-to-remove-hst-on-new-homes-for-1-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/560033\/","title":{"rendered":"Ontario planning to remove HST on new homes for 1 year"},"content":{"rendered":"

The province is planning to temporarily remove Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) for buyers of new homes.<\/p>\n

Premier Doug Ford announced the plan Wednesday at a news conference in Mississauga, saying the full 13 per cent tax will be removed for new homes valued up to $1 million from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027.<\/p>\n

For homes valued up to $1.5 million the temporary measure would see them qualify for the maximum $130,000, decreasing proportionally to homes valued at $1.85 million, which would qualify for a $24,000 rebate, said the release. <\/p>\n

The rebate will be included in the upcoming provincial budget. <\/a><\/p>\n

“For too many families, the dream of home ownership is being pulled out of reach by high costs and economic uncertainty,” said Ford. <\/p>\n

Taxes, development fees and other costs add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the cost of a new home, said Ford. <\/p>\n

The release said eligible buyers could receive up to $130,000 from the rebate, which will be included in the upcoming provincial budget. <\/a><\/p>\n

WATCH | Province announced HST rebate for first-time buyers of new homes last year:\"\"<\/p>\n

Ontario plans to rebate provincial portion of HST for first-time home buyers <\/p>\n

The Ontario government announced it will eliminate the provincial portion of HST for some first-time home buyers. CBC’s Clara Pasieka breaks down the details. <\/p>\n

“[This] could stimulate an additional 8,000 housing starts in Ontario next year, supporting up to 21,000 jobs and boosting Ontario\u2019s GDP growth by $2.7 billion,” said the province.<\/p>\n

Ford repeated ahead of the budget his government “will never, ever raise a tax.” <\/p>\n

“Government doesn’t have an income problem, it has a spending problem,” he said, adding the province is “laser focused” on keeping costs down across sectors, including housing, transit and gas. <\/p>\n

Would this HST rebate encourage you to buy a new home? Send an email to\u00a0ask@cbc.ca<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This announcement comes after the provincial and federal government’s existing HST rebate for first-time buyers<\/a> of new homes valued up to $1 million.<\/p>\n

If he were a potential homebuyer, he would buy a new home and \u201cdo it right away,\u201d said Ford. <\/p>\n

“Please get everything together, you have one year … talk to your bankers and start buying the homes,” he said. <\/p>\n

Ford said the announcement was like a large retail sign that said 13 per cent off and that “people are hungry” to get into the market. <\/p>\n

He said the new measures will hopefully help \u201ckick start the construction sector.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who is eligible for the HST break?<\/p>\n

Eligible buyers must meet the following conditions, according to the province\u2019s release:<\/p>\n

Purchase agreement is signed with a buyer between April 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027.Homes bought as a primary residence must have construction begin on or before December 31, 2028 and be completed on or before December 31, 2031.\u00a0Homes bought as a rental property must have construction completed on or before December 31, 2029.<\/p>\n

Other eligibility criteria will be posted on the province\u2019s website by the end of March.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ford said the full HST will be covered \u2014 including the federal five per cent portion \u2014 thanks to a partnership with the federal government. <\/p>\n

The federal government has agreed to split costs with Ontario until legislation passes to cover the federal HST portion for new homes.<\/p>\n

That’s a move Ontario says would provide nearly $2.2 billion in tax relief for provincial housing. <\/p>\n

Ford did not provide additional details on the negotiation process with the federal government, which he said started “months ago.”<\/p>\n

\"AA ‘for sale’ sign is pictured in front of a home in Toronto, on March 17, 2026. (Alex Lupul\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Developer Mattamy Homes announced last week that it would cover mortgage payments for up to a year on its new builds located within six neighbourhoods in the Calgary and Edmonton areas in Alberta.<\/p>\n

When asked if developers should consider similar incentives in Ontario, Ford said that it\u2019s “strictly” up to developers to decide how to bring in buyers in \u201can open market.\u201d<\/p>\n

The province is taking a “massive step forward” to get more shovels in the ground to build new homes faster, said Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Rob Flack in a news release. <\/p>\n

“Homeownership is a cornerstone of Ontario\u2019s economic success,\u201d he said. \u201cOntario thrives only when its people thrive.”<\/p>\n

A competitive housing market will help fuel the construction sector, while also “boosting affordability and growing [Ontario’s] economy,” Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said at the news conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere in Ontario, we do not believe in raising taxes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He estimated the measure will spark an additional 8,000 housing starts, at a time when the most recent government projections show the province building 70,000 new homes this year, far off the pace needed to meet a goal of 1.5 million homes by 2031. <\/a><\/p>\n

HST rebate is a ‘game changer’: BILD president<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great time to buy,\u201d said Davide Wilkes, president of the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD).\u00a0<\/p>\n

The announcement is a \u201cgame changer,\u201d as homes have been \u201ctoo far out of reach\u201d due to government taxes, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wilkes said he would be surprised if developers didn\u2019t come up with “entrepreneurial” ideas, similar to Mattamy Homes in Alberta, to draw in potential buyers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The proposed measures will help builders get started on new projects across the province, said Scott Andison, CEO of the Ontario Home Builders’ Association.<\/p>\n

He predicts there will be a turnaround in the decline in new home builds seen over the last few years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“This is the biggest announcement we’ve seen in home building in decades,” he said, adding he looks forward to future provincial announcements to tackle development charges. <\/p>\n

The province and federal government are “making the dream of homeownership more attainable” by removing “one of the biggest upfront costs” for homebuyers, said Aurora Mayor Tom Mrakas. <\/p>\n

He said municipalities have been doing their part to create more housing, but cannot solve the affordability challenges alone. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The province is planning to temporarily remove Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) for buyers of new homes. Premier Doug…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":560034,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194291],"tags":[49,48,3302],"class_list":["post-560033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-toronto","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-toronto"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/560033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=560033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/560033\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/560034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=560033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=560033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=560033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}