First-Time Homebuyer Rebate (FTHB) and Enhanced Rebate

First-Time Homebuyer Rebate (FTHB) and Enhanced Rebate


With the recent passing of Bill C-4 (Making Life More Affordable for Canadians Act) and the Ontario government’s announcement of the Enhanced New Home Rebate, Realti has been updated to complete these complex calculations.

This article provides a step-by-step walkthrough on how to configure your Purchase and Sale files to ensure the correct rebates are applied.

Understanding the New Rebates

Before entering data, ensure you identify which rebate applies to your file:

New Home Rebate (Legacy): The standard existing GST/HST New Home Rebate for transactions that do not meet the new criteria. The criteria for this rebate can be found in this publication from the CRA.
FTHB Rebate (Federal): Introduced by Bill C-4, this eliminates the 5% GST on newly constructed homes up to $1,000,000 (savings up to $50,000). Valid for agreements entered into between March 20, 2025, and 2031. More information can be found regarding eligibility criteria here.
Enhanced Rebate (Ontario): An enhancement to the Ontario New Home Rebate that removes the PST on eligible transactions (up to $80,000). Valid for agreements signed between April 1, 2026, and March 31, 2027. More information regarding eligibility criteria can be found here.

Attached to this article is a document that provides details on the different rebate scenarios.

Instructions for Purchase Files

Follow these steps to capture the applicable rebate for your purchaser:
  1. Set New Home Purchased from a Builder to Yes. This can be located under File Configuration on the Basic screen.
  2. Use the Rebate Inc In Contract Price as: dropdown to select the applicable rebate. Select the specific rebate that was included in the contract price at the time of signing.



  3. Navigate to the Contract screen and to the HST & Rebates section.
    1. By default it is indicated that HST is included in the price as this is the standard. If HST is not included in the price, deselect Included in Price. This will then calculate HST at a flat rate and no backouts will be performed.
    2. Verify the Purchaser Entitled to Rebate selection. Ensure that you have selected the appropriate Rebate that your purchaser is entitled to New Home Rebate (Legacy), FTHB Rebate, or Enhanced Rebate.  *Purchaser eligibility remains the responsibility of the law firm acting for the purchaser.
    3. If you select First-Time Home Buyer or Enhanced Rebate, fields for Construction Start Date and Construction Substantially Completed Date will appear. These dates will need to be filled in for the applicable rebate forms.
    4. Purchaser to Claim Rebate is an existing checkbox that will remove any rebates being credited to the Purchaser from the statement of adjustments. Use this only where the Purchaser will be claiming the rebates on their own and the rebates will not be assigned to the Builder.
    5. The system will automatically populate the Statement of Adjustments with the updated amounts, as well as forms GST190E and RC7190-ON** rebate forms.
      Example:
      This is where the New Home Rebate (Legacy) is included in the Contract, and at least one Purchaser is entitled to FTHB Rebate.
      

Info
Note: Only one rebate type can be selected at a time.

Instructions for Sale Files

If you are representing a builder, the workflow is similar but includes options for more detailed breakdowns of information:
  1. Set New Home Sold by a Builder to Yes. This can be located under File Configuration on the Basic screen.
  2. Use the Rebate Inc In Contract Price as: dropdown to select the applicable rebate. Select the specific rebate that was included in the contract price at the time of signing.



    1. If you are acting on behalf of a Builder, you may choose to activate the New Home Sale Bundle* which will activate more fields for extras as well as a more in depth statement of adjustments. See this article for more information on the New Home Sale Bundle. *additional fees apply

  3. Navigate to the Contract screen and to the HST & Rebates section.
    1. By default it is indicated that HST is included in the price as this is the standard. If HST is not included in the price, deselect Included in Price. This will then calculate HST at a flat rate and no backouts will be performed.
    2. Verify the Purchaser Entitled to Rebate selection. Ensure that you have selected the appropriate Rebate that your purchaser is entitled to New Home Rebate (Legacy), FTHB Rebate, or Enhanced Rebate.  *Purchaser eligibility remains the responsibility of the law firm acting for the purchaser.
    3. If you select First-Time Home Buyer or Enhanced Rebate, fields for Construction Start Date and Construction Substantially Completed Date will appear. These dates will need to be filled in for the applicable rebate forms.
    4. Purchaser to Claim Rebate is an existing checkbox that will remove any rebates being credited to the Purchaser from the statement of adjustments. Use this only where the Purchaser will be claiming the rebates on their own and the rebates will not be assigned to the Builder.
    5. The system will automatically populate the Statement of Adjustments with the updated amounts, as well as forms GST190E and RC7190-ON** rebate forms.

**As of the writing of this article, the CRA has not provided an updated version of the RC7190-ON - Ontario Rebate Schedule.

Indicating a Purchaser is a First Time Home Buyer

A Statutory Declaration has been added to both Purchase and Sale files within Realti. While this document is not a mandatory requirement to complete the transaction, having it signed by the purchaser provides an additional layer of verification that may be desired for your firm's compliance or at the request of a builder. To ensure the document generates correctly with the applicable purchaser’s information, please follow the requirements and steps below:

Requirements
For the Statutory Declaration to generate from document list, the following conditions must be met within the file:
  1. New Home Purchased from or Sold by a Builder: The indicator under File Configuration must say Yes.
  2. Eligible Timeframe: The Agreement of Purchase and Sale must fall between March 20, 2025, and 2031.
  3. Rebate Selection: On the Contract screen, the Purchaser Entitled to Rebate dropdown must be set to either FTHB Rebate or Enhanced Rebate.
How to Activate the Declaration for Purchasers
The Statutory Declaration is managed at the individual level. You must manually "flag" which purchasers are eligible to generate the document.
  1. Navigate to the Buyer in the left hand navigation. Select your Buyer.
  2. Locate the First-Time Home Buyer indicator on the right-hand side of the window.
  3. Click the indicator to activate it for that specific individual.
  4. The indicator is independent for each person. If all purchasers on the file are entitled to the rebate, ensure you repeat this process for each purchaser.


Document Generation
Once the above steps are completed, generate the Statutory Declaration Confirming Rebate Eligibility from the Documents screen. The system will generate a separate Statutory Declaration for each purchaser you have activated as a First-Time Home Buyer.


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